Elkie Brooks
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1975-) - Elkie Brooks (aka Elaine Bookbinder, aka Elkie Gage) -- vocals
supporting musicians: (1977) - Julien Barber -- strings - Carla Benson -- backing vocals - Evette Benton -- backing vocals - Peggy Blue -- percussion, backing vocals - Jimmy Chambers -- backing vocals - George Chandler -- backing vocals - George Devens -- percussion, virbaphone - Ronnie Eades -- horns - Jerry Friedman -- guitar - Pete Gage -- guitar - Joe Goodman -- strings - Isaac Guillory -- guitars - Corky Hale -- harp - Carl Hall -- percussion, backing vocals - Barbara Ingram -- backing vocals - Marry Ellen Johnson -- backing vocals - Jesse Levy – strings - Danny Kahn -- horns - Guy Lumia -- strings - Bob Millikam -- horns - Trevor Morais -- drums, percussion - Morris Pert -- percussion - Tony Posk -- strings - Barry Rogers -- horns - Charlie Rose -- horns - Elliot Rosoff -- strings - Jean Roussel -- keyboards - Rick Sortonne -- strings - Mike Stoller-- keyboards - Dave Taylor -- horns - Harvey Thompson -- horns - Lee Vanderbilt -- backing vocals - Carol Webb -- strings - Eric Weissberg-- guitars - Steve York-- bass - George Young -- horns
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- Dada (Elkie Brooks) - Elki & Owen (Elkie Brooks) - The Anti-Heroin Project (Elkie Brooks) - The Vinegrettes (Elkie Brooks) - Vinegar Joe (Elkie Brooks)
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Two Days Away Company: A&M Year: 1977 Country/State: Salford,UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $14.00
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I've always wondered why Elkie Brooks and her management team decided it would be a good move to bring in the writing and production team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for her second solo album.. Mind you Lieber and Stoller had a long and impressive track record as writers and producers, but when I think of the pair's catalog it tends to be for their '50s and early '60s work.
Released
in 1977, "Two Days Away" was certainly a quirky
endeavor. Perhaps not a big surprise, but
Leiber and Stoller made sure Brooks covered some of their material. In
fact five of the ten tracks were Leiber-Stoller compositions and at least
one other track reflected their publish
"Two Days
Away" track listing: 1.) Love Potion No.9 (Jerry Leiber - Mike Stoller) - 3:42 rating: ** stars It was only naturally that Lieber and Stoller would want Brooks to record some of their tunes. I've never been a big fan of the tune and the slowed down, bluesy revamp didn't do anything for me. Brooks didn;t even sound that interested in the tune. Recorded from the audience, YouTube has a clip of a slightly older Brooks performing the song at the 2019 Cornbury Festival. Elkie Brooks: Love Potion No 9 (youtube.com) 2.) Spiritland (Elkie Brooks - Pete Gage) - 3:19 rating: *** stars The album's only Brooks original, 'Spiritland' served as a nice example of how good Brooks voice could be when she wasn't to belt it out of the park. Highly commercial, it would have made the album's best choice as a single. Shame it faded out so soon. 3.) Honey, Can I Put On Your Clothes (Jean Monte Ray) - 3:22 rating: ** stars Lyrically I've always found 'Honey, Can I Put On Your Clothes' to be disconcerting. Musically the fragile ballad was just bland and forgettable. I did not know this but Jean Monte Ray was also know as the late Jean Ray (aka Jean Glover) of the duo Jim and Jean. There was a Leiber - Stoller connection here as well given the pair served as Jim and Jean's publishers. Goodness knows why, but A&M released the song as a US promo single:
- 1977's 'Honey, Can I Put On Your Clothes' (stereo) b/w 'Honey, Can I Put On Your Clothes' (mono) (A&M catalog number 1968-S)
4.) Sunshine After The Rain (Ellie Greenwich) - 3:23 rating: *** stars 'Sunshine After The Rain' was a standard, mildly commercial ballad that seemed intended to attract radio exposure. Released as a single in the UK it went top-10. In the States it was released as a promo 45
- 1977's 'Sunshine After the Rain' b/w 'You Did Something for Me' (A&M catalog number 1953-S) YouTube has a clip of Brooks performing the song for an August 1977 appearance on the BBC's Top of the Pops television program. Looks like she's lip synching the tune.: Elkie Brooks - Sunshine After The Rain [totp 18th Aug 1977] (youtube.com) 5.) Pearl's A Singer (Jerry Leiber - John Sembello - Mike Stoller - Ralph Dino) - 3:39 rating: ** stars Another tune that does nothing for me, but is probably her best know performance, 'Pearl's A Singer' was originally recorded by Ralph Dino and John Sembello on their 1974 debut album "Dino and Sembello" (which Leiber and Stoller had produced). During the recording sessions Leiber presented the song to Brooks as a potential tune for her to record. She suggested it be revamped to lose some of the country flavor and the middle section be revamped - those changes were made and it was released as a single through the world (except in the States), going top-10 in the UK.
- 1977's 'Pearl's a Singer' b/w 'You Did Something for Me' (A&M catalog number 1935-S)
YouTube has another Top of the Pops performance of the tune: ELKIE BROOKS - PEARL'S A SINGER (1977 HIT SINGLE) (youtube.com)
(side
2) If you've ever heard the Marvin Gaye, or Neville Brothers' versions then this cover is going to come off as an also-ran effort. Still, Brooks' cover had two things going for it - her performance was energetic and it wasn't another Leiber-Stoller composition. 2.) Do Right Woman, Do Right Man (Dan Penn - Lincoln Moman) - 3:28 rating: *** stars I'll simply say this wasn't Aretha's classic version ... It was released as a UK single:
- 1977's 'Do Right Woman, Do Right Man' b/w 'Potion No. 9' (A&M catalog number AMS-7324)
YouTube shows the song's still a staple in her live show: Elkie Brooks... Do Right Woman, Do Right Man...Harrogate. (youtube.com)
3.) You Did Something For Me ( Jerry Leiber - Mike Stoller) - 2:50 Okay, if I had to pick my favorite of the Lieber-Stoller performances I guess it would be the bouncy 'You Did Something For Me.' 4.) Night Bird (Jerry Leiber - Mike Stoller - Pete Gage) - 3:06 rating: ** stars The bass line was nice, but otherwise 'Night Bird' brought Brooks a little too close to disco-funk for her own good. I can picture a group like Penny McLean and Silver Convention covering this one. 5.) Saved (Jerry Leiber - Mike Stoller) - 2:40 rating: ** stars Lavern Baker? Not sure who originally recorded this one but it's another Leiber-Stoller classic. That's not to say I'm a big fan of the tune Brooks' all-in Gospel take complete with pounding keyboards and screaming chorus simply irritated me. Imagine being trapped in a never ending Sunday morning church service. Thankfully the song faded quickly. It was also released as a UK single:
- 1977's 'Saved' b/w 'Night Bird' (A&M catalog number AMS 7296)
YouTube has a clip of Brooks performing the song on the Dutch PopTop television show: TOPPOP: Elkie Brooks - Saved (youtube.com)
© Scott R. Blackerby September, 2024
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ing
interests.. And that was part of the album's problem. While it
may have been a classic rock tune, was their a need for yet another cover of
'Love Potion No. 9' or 'Saved'? Judging by Brooks slowed down, bluesy
covers the answer was no. Gifted with a sultry and bluesy voice, there
was no denying Brooks was talented.
And like a lot of blues-oriented rockers she frequently made the mistake of
confusing power with quality. At least to my ears her repeated efforts
to "power through" tracks like '' and '' were simply
irritating. Interestingly, judging by her lone songwriting
contribution (the commercial 'Spiritland') Brooks was a competent
writer. She just wasn't given much latitude in material - "here
sing this one.". Listening to the album I walk away with the impression
Brooks was little more than an "employee" hired to do a job.
Shame she wasn't allowed to display more of her own material. Add in
the dated '70s production moves and sounds (check out Jean
Rousse's keyboards) and
this just wasn't a very impressive sophomore
release.. 
