Len Novy
Band members Related acts
|
line up x (1969) - Len Novy (aka Len Meyers) -- vocals, guitar
supporting musicians (1969) - Byard Ray -- fiddle - Sam Brown -- guitar - Paul Harris -- keyboards - Ralph Casale -- guitar - Herb Lovelle -- drums, percussion - Chuck Rainey -- bass
|
- Len and Judy
|
|
Genre: pop Rating: ** 2 stars Title: No Explanations Company: ATCO Catalog: SD
33-274 Country/State: Chicago, Illinois Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: sealed copy Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $30.00
|
So how does an artist appear out of nowhere, get signed to a major label like Atlantic ATCO subsidiary and then again disappear? Good luck finding any in-depth biographical information on singer/guitarist Len Novy; let alone a detailed review of his sole album - 1969's "No Explanation".
As far as I can piece Novy's history, the Chicago born native started his career in the late 1950s working as a rockabilly duet with sister Judy. As Len & Judy, they release an obscure 1961 single on the small Chicago-based Deer label:
- "I'm Leaving Town, Baby" b/w "Willy Nilly Joe" (Deer catalog number #3001)
Four years later the duo were firmly in the folk revolution, releasing and album for the jazz-oriented Prestige label - 1965's "Folk Songs/Sweet & Bittersweet:" (Prestige catalog number PR 7355 (mono) PRST 7355 (stereo). Prestige also released a non-LP single:
- 1965's "Love's Bittersweet" b/w "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well" (Prestige catalog number PR 45-359)
And then the trail starts to wander. After a short stint in college in 1966 sister Judy showed up as a member of Time with keyboard player Barry Goldberg and singer/guitarist Bob Slawson. Time morphed into The Chicago Loop who recording a series of four singles over the 1966-68 timeframe.
Older
brother Len apparently joined the Army, getting out after a two year tour of
duty. A year later he was recording an album for Atlantic's ATCO
Records. Recorded at New York's Century
Sound Station, "No Explanations" teamed Novy with
producer Arthur Gorson (best known for his work with folk acts like David
Blue, Jim & Jean and Tom Rush). In terms of material the album
offered up a mixture of Novy originals and mostly obscure covers.
Credited with vocals
And that seems to have been the end of Novy's recording career ...Someone out there will know the rest of the story.
"No
Explanations" track listing: 1.) Think About It (Eric Anderson) - 4:16 rating: ** stars Given Novy's prior country and folk catalog, it made sense he'd be interesting in recording something along the likes of Eric Anderson's "Think About It". What was odd about it was the MOR-ish arrangement he came up with. Complete with Paul Harris' (string and horn orchestration). , 2.) Round Once Again (Wyatt Day) - 3:31 rating: *** stars Singer-songwriter territory, but the title refrain had a nice "pop" sound. Unfortunately, once again Harris' heavy orchestration pushed the song into MOR and Broadway territory. Extra star for the nice chorus. 3.) Suntanned, Wind, Sand (Len Novy - Bonnie McCullough) - 3:59 rating: ** stars The first of three originals, "Suntanned, Wind, Sand" was a weird mix of singer/songwriter angst (lots and lots of words) and MOR schmaltz with a touch of bossa nova added to the mix. Tough to sit through, though Chuck Raimey's bass work was cool.. 4.) Shy Ann (traditional - arranged by Byard Ray - Arthur Gorson) - 2:07 rating: * star Opening up a song with old fashion fiddle wasn't the way to get my attention. Powered by Ray' fiddle, the blue-grassy "Shy Ann" was a hard no for me. 5.) Tucson (Len Novy - Michael Thomas) - 4:01 rating: *** stars Powered by some Paul Harris jazz-flavored piano and unexpected fuzz guitar, Novy's "Tucson" was the album's most rock oriented performance. If I was going to pick a favorite performance, this would be it.
(side
2) I was familiar with "You're the One for Me" via Marvin Gaye's soulful 1966 cover. Novy's rock arrangement was interesting; the fuzz guitar adding a nice touch. One of the LP's standout performances, Novy's delivery was energetic, but couldn't match the intensity of Gaye's version. ATCO tapped the song as a promotional single:
- 1969's "You're the One for Me" b/w "Rain and Snow" (ATCO catalog number 45-4462)
2.) The Lady In The Magenta Dress (Len Novy - Bonnie McCullough) - 2:43 rating: ** stars The bouncy "The Lady In The Magenta Dress" h as always reminded me of one of those '70s pop balladeers like Chris De Burgh, Lobo, Rupert Holmes, or Terry Jacks. Certainly commercial, but also a musical niche I really dislike. 3.) Til I Can't Take It Anymore (Clyde Otis - Dorian Burton) - 3:20 rating: ** stars Big, overblown, over-sentimental ballad. Surprising it wasn't a big country hit. 4.) Rain and Snow (Obrey Ramsey) - 6:32 rating: *** stars Ever seen a video of a snake charming? A guy playing a pungi (wind instrument) appearing to hypnotize a cobra ... Well, listening to "Rain and Snow" had the same effect on me. Written by the late banjo player Obrey Ramsey and powered by Byard Ray's sawing fiddle," Rain and Snow" was similarly fascinating ... The ballad started out slow and very country but built up considerable energy as it went along - powered the entire time by that fiddle, Chuck Rainey's bass and Novy's increasingly pissed off vocals. WTF did I just listen to? Normally a song like this would send me running to lift the needles, but this was ... inexplicable. The track also appeared as the "B" side to Novy's "You're The One For Me" single. I pulled this from production supervisor Jerry Schoenbaum's liner notes: "An original and daring idea was to bring in Byard Ray, a country fiddler from North Carolina, who is well into his sixties. Although he had never played with New York studio men before, his playing turned everybody on. The excitement generated in "Rain And Snow" and "Shy Ann", two traditional songs, is largely due to the way this great country fiddler interacts with the uniquely talented Len Novy."
© Scott R. Blackerby June 2025
|
BACK TO BADCAT PAYMENT INFORMATION
and acoustic guitar, Novy had an interesting voice. Hard to describe it, but
it wasn't your standard rock and roll voice. On songs like a cover of Eric
Anderson's "Think
About It"
and "Tucson Days" it was clear he
could belt material out, but there was something about his tone and delivery
that has always struck me as very measured; very Broadway. Unfortunately
Paul Harris's penchant for heavy orchestration didn't do Novy
any favors, merely underscoring the Broadway comparison. The other problem I
had with the album was Novy's musical tastes didn't line-up with mine.
"Think About It", "Shy Ann" and the bizarre "Rain
and Snow" were very country. "Suntanned, Wind,
Sand" had a cocktail jazz feel. "The Lady In The Magenta
Dress" and "Til I Can't Take It Anymore" were schmaltzy MOR
ballads. So what was left? The Novy original
"Tucson" was the album's most rock-oriented tune. A cover of
"You're the
One for Me" was nice, though not as good as the Marvin Gaye
version. Best of the lot was the weird "Rain and
Snow". I could spend a page trying to explain why this was the
coolest performance. Ultimately you'll just have to listen to it in
order to see if you agree.