EVIE SANDS - PICTURE ME GONE

(originally posted 9/13/08)

"Picture Me Gone" comes across sonically as though Brian Wilson was sitting in the producers' chair at the Motown studios, and has a power and majesty that SHOULD have made it a massive hit.

The amazing Evie Sands turns in what is one of her greatest performances (if not *the* best) with a vocal that shows her wide range and unique styling. Evie is a massively talented singer/ guitarist (and later) songwriter who saw her debut record's test pressing ("Take Me For A Little While") get stolen by a producer who took it to Chess Records in Chicago where Jackie Ross cut a version that was rush released and in turn sandbagged Evie record. It completely boggles my mind why this wasn't a huge hit (perhaps the fact that it was over 3:00?), but it took Evie a few more years to chart her biggest US hit (and another Chip Taylor composition) "Any Way That You Want Me".

The pairing of Al Gorgoni and Chip Taylor was a great one- Al made quite a name for himself as a session guitarist (he plays the jangly 12 string on Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds Of Silence" among so many others), and Chip Taylor penned the ubiquitous rock n roll anthem "Wild Thing", the smash pop-country hit "Angel Of The Morning", the sublime "I Can't Let Go" (cut by Evie Sands and the Hollies) among others.

It doesn't matter how many (hundreds) of times I've listened to this record- it always results in goosebumps.

from 1966...

EVIE SANDS - PICTURE ME GONE