The A-side sounds like the Bee Gees. Not as good as the Bee Gees of course. Not only that but the vocal on the B-side sounds like Robin Gibb in places.
Images of You: They threw in everything but the kitchen sink, and the result is on the cacophonous side. It could have been streamlined a little and the reverb cut a bit, but this is a lost opportunity. Not awful though, and there's the off chance it could be a grower, so 3/5 Words I Like: I thought, "This is more like it", for about 30 seconds. Then it sped up with more percussion, slowed down, went back to its original pace, sped up again ... randomly thrown in instruments and passages make the end result too clever by half. But the last sentence directly above applies here too, including the rating of 3/5
Decca F 12737 (1968-02-02) A: Adios Amor (Goodbye My Love) - The Casuals CD: The Casuals – Jesamine (1991)
They’d had one previous UK single released on Fontana towards the end of 1965, prior to relocating to Italy where they’d found success, notably with an Italian language version of the Bee Gees’ ‘Massachusetts’. This was their Italian follow-up The Casuals - Adios Amor The YT posting above pictures the UK single, but plays the Italian version - I imagine that Decca would have released the English language version - the label does not include a credit for the Italian lyricist Giorgio Calabrese. The song had been written by Tom Springfield and Norman Newell and previously released on a 1967 UK single by José Feliciano (produced by Springfield) - the single was also released in many other countries, but seemingly not in the US. https://www.discogs.com/master/527453-José-Feliciano-Adios-Amor-At-Days-End The Casuals had a big UK hit with their next release The Casuals - Wikipedia The B-side 'Don't Dream of Yesterday' was co-written (with three other writers) by their producer in Italy David Pardo.
Adios Amor: I thought it was a bit ragged at the beginning but it smoothed out quickly enough. Not understanding Italian doesn't help me as a listener, even though it's about 90% music and 10% lyrics for me. The string arrangement adds a half point to what might have otherwise been a nondescript song. 3.5/5 Don't Dream of Yesterday: A decent slow-burn effort with a moody side thanks to the minor chord grounding. The arrangement of horns and strings works well. A somewhat higher 3.5/5 than its A-side
The third of his six Decca singles - someone at Decca appears to have had more belief in him and patience than the label had with many of their artists who would disappear after one or two singles that had failed to become hits, but their vision for him seemed to be as another Engelbert Humperdinck. This song was written by Cyril Ornadel and Peter Callender (the writers of the 1966 UK’s Eurovision Song Contest entry ‘A Man Without Love’ for Kenneth McKellar) - there had been an earlier version released in the previous summer on EMI/Columbia by a young singer using the name Jonny Ross (he would later join the New Seekers in 1973 as Peter Oliver) Songs written by Cyril Ornadel | SecondHandSongs Songs written by Peter Callander | SecondHandSongs The B-side was written by Charles Tobias and Nat Simon who both had musical careers which had begun in the 1930s. Charles Tobias - Wikipedia Nat Simon - Wikipedia
Too Much Love: Firmly in the Englebert / Tom Jones camp. Bold and dramatic, a superior effort that probably didn't fare as well as less worthy songs. His titular complaint is one that, for better or for worse, I can't say I've ever been subjected to. 4/5 What Do I Want for Tomorrow: Another MOR job, this one slower and in 6/8 time, with the usual orchestral arrangement. It's quite alright but they picked the right A-side without question. I'll give it a little benefit of the doubt at 3.5/5
Decca F 12739 (1968-02-09) A: Just As Much As Ever - Dave Berry CD: Dave Berry – Picture Me Gone The Decca Sessions 1966-1974 (2010)
B: I Got The Feeling - Dave Berry CD: Dave Berry – Picture Me Gone The Decca Sessions 1966-1974 (2010)
Another singer that Decca appeared to be trying to turn into Engelbert Humperdinck - this was a song that Nat “King” Cole had first recorded in 1958, although his version was not released until the 1960 US EP “Midnight Flyer”, by which time the song had become a US hit for Bob Beckham (#32). In the UK Nat’s recording was issued on a single and was the hit version, peaking at no.18 towards the end of 1960. I imagine that the Dave Berry recording was prompted by the song having more recently been recorded by Bobby Vinton, reaching #24 in Billboard (#14 in CashBox) and released in the UK by EMI/Columbia on the same day Bobby Vinton - Just As Much As Ever Cover versions of Just as Much as Ever written by Larry Coleman, Charles Singleton | SecondHandSongs Vinton hadn’t appeared on the UK singles chart since 1963, but he would eventually have another big hit here (no.2) in 1990 following his version of ‘Blue Velvet’ being featured in a TV ad. The Dave Berry B-side 'I got the feeling' was written by Eddie Hirst (aka the arranger Ivor Raymonde) with (Larry?) Ashmore
Just as Much as Ever: It wouldn't sound out of place on a 1958 chart, but does so in 1968. Passable, nothing more. 3/5 I Got the Feeling: Not nearly as much of a throwback, and I'd be hard-pressed to pick a year for it. It got better as it went along, but some of the production touches sounded a bit random and the song had too many stops-and-starts. Still not bad. 3.5/5
From Sydney, this was their fourth single on the Australian Festival label and their only UK release; the A-side was written by their lead singer Doug Parkinson who continued to have a long career in Australia until the time he died in 2021 Doug Parkinson - Wikipedia ‘Something Wonderful’ by Rodgers and Hammerstein from “The King and I” seems as if it may have been the A-side in Australia. The Questions [Sydney] - Something Wonderful
We Got Love: Once it gets past the fake psychedelia noodling (I was thinking Vanilla Fudge), it turns into a garage-y effort with "hey-hey-hey" squawks that reminded me of the ones in She's About a Mover by the Sir Douglas Quintet. Then it just proceeds with the tex-mex chord sequence for a couple of minutes, and that's it. 2.5/5 Something Wonderful: There's more here - more melody, more expressive vocals, an arrangement with some effort put into it. Rodgers and Hammerstein weren't responsible for all of that. 3.5/5
Decca F 12741 (1968-02-16) A: I'm So Proud - Rudi Bennett CD: File Under: Male Vocal - The Golden Age Of The Beat Balladeer (2009)
Dave Berry was a unique singer and just didn't fit into any genre. He tried his hand at R&B and rock & roll in his earlier days, but his clean, high-pitched voice and his mature appearance (and short hair) made him a bit of an anomaly in the burgeoning beat scene of the period. I think "The Crying Game" and "This Strange Effect" were good fits for his style, but by '67 his star had faded and I think Decca was willing to throw anything at the wall to see if it would stick.
Reissue of the withdrawn Decca F 12729, now with a B-side in the Phil Spector tradition (strangely not available on CD)
He continued to have some hits in the Netherlands and Belgium around this time and had an LP released in the summer which did include some more suitable material. One of Dave's favourites - 'The Coffee Song', a Ray Smith - Tony Colton song, previously recorded by Cream Vinyl Album: Dave Berry - '68' (1968) I don't remember him having short hair ...
