Back to Mono (1958–1969)

Back to Mono (1958-1969)

Box set by Phil Spector
Released	November 12, 1991
Recorded	1958-1969
Genre	Brill building
Length	206:12
Label	ABKCO
Producer	Phil Spector

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

Back to Mono (1958–1969) is a box set four-disc compilation of the recorded work of record producer Phil Spector, through the 1960s, released in 1991 by ABKCO as #7118-2. The first track, "To Know Him Is to Love Him," released in 1958, features Spector performing as part of the group The Teddy Bears. Initially a vinyl album-sized package, the box contained a booklet with photographs, complete song lyrics, discographical information, and a reproduction of the essay on Spector by Tom Wolfe, "The First Tycoon of Teen." The package also contained a small, round, red "Back to Mono" pin.

Content

Back to Mono surveys recordings leading up to and featuring the Wall of Sound, Spector's famed production trademark. Starting with "He's A Rebel" on disc one, through "I'll Never Need More Than This" and including disc four, all of the musical arrangements are by Jack Nitzsche. The list of musicians contributing to the tracks number in the hundreds, but prominent among them are Brian Wilson, Hal Blaine, Sonny Bono, Red Callender, Glen Campbell, Al DeLory, Steve Douglas, Jim Gordon, Jim Horn, Carol Kaye, Barney Kessel, Larry Knechtel, Jay Migliori, Ray Pohlman, Don Randi, Lyle Ritz, Billy Strange, Tommy Tedesco, Bill Pitman, and Nino Tempo.

The set collects every single produced by Spector and issued on the Philles label, with the exception of Philles 132, "White Cliffs of Dover" by The Righteous Brothers, which did not chart. Of the catalogue items Philles 100 through 136, the set omits: Philles 101, 103, and 104, produced by Spector's early business partner and label namesake, Lester Sill; Philles 133, produced by Jeff Barry, although its b-side produced by Spector, "When I Saw You," does appear; and Philles 134, produced by Bob Crewe. Philles 105, withdrawn initially in 1962 owing to its controversial subject matter, has also been included. Both "Walking in the Rain" by The Ronettes and "Stumble and Fall" by Darlene Love are listed in most discographies, including the box booklet, as Philles 123. The single "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," initially released in 1963 as Philles 119, was re-released the following year as Philles 125 with a different b-side, and did not chart either year. Philles 134 through 136 were not released in the United States; however, there are DJ promo pressings of 136.

In addition to the Philles singles catalogue, the first three discs present Spector productions for other labels, various unreleased material, and two album tracks from Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica, Philles 4006, and one from River Deep - Mountain High, Philles 4011. Spector created additional imprints for specific projects, such as the Phil Spector label to promote the solo career of Veronica, the future Mrs. Spector, Veronica "Ronnie" Bennett of The Ronettes. Some of those items also appear on these discs.

The fourth disc contains the entirety of the holiday album released on the same day as the JFK assassination, A Christmas Gift for You, purportedly the only long-playing album from his Philles heyday that Spector worked on with the same intensity that he generally lavished on the singles. It peaked at #13 on the Christmas Albums chart in 1963, although a reissue in 1972 went to #6.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 64 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. With the exception of an anthology of his productions for the girl group The Paris Sisters, Back to Mono represents the totality of Spector's singles from this period in print, as of Spring, 2007.

Track listing

All selections produced by Phil Spector, except "Spanish Harlem" produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Disc One

Track	Catalogue	Release Date	Chart Peak	Song Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Time
1.	Dore 503	December 1958	#1	To Know Him Is To Love Him	Phil Spector	The Teddy Bears	2:23
2.	Dunes 2002	January 1961	#9	Corrina, Corrina	Mitchell Parish, Bo Chatman, J. Mayo Williams	Ray Peterson	2:40
3.	Atco 6185	1961	#10	Spanish Harlem	Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector	Ben E. King	2:51
4.	Dunes 2007	August 1961	#7	Pretty Little Angel Eyes	Tommy Boyce and Curtis Lee	Curtis Lee	2:45
5.	Musicor 1011	September 1961	#42	Every Breath I Take	Gerry Goffin and Carole King	Gene Pitney	2:43
6.	Gregmark 6	October 1961	#5	I Love How You Love Me	Barry Mann and Larry Kolber	The Paris Sisters	2:06
7.	Dunes 2008	November 1961	#46	Under the Moon of Love	Tommy Boyce and Curtis Lee	Curtis Lee	2:50
8.	Philles 100	January 1962	#20	There's No Other (Like My Baby)	Phil Spector and Leroy Bates	The Crystals	2:31
9.	Philles 102	May 1962	#13	Uptown	Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann	The Crystals	2:19
10.	Philles 105	withdrawn		He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)	Gerry Goffin and Carole King	The Crystals	2:32
11.	Philles 106	August 1962	#1	He's a Rebel	Gene Pitney	The Crystals	2:25
12.	Philles 107	January 1963	#8	Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah	Ray Gilbert and Allie Wrubel	Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans	2:49
13.	Philles 108	February 1963	#43	Puddin' N' Tain	Gary Pipkin, Alonzo Willis, Brice Coefield	The Alley Cats	2:48
14.	Philles 109	February 1963	#11	He's Sure The Boy I Love	Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil	The Crystals	2:44
15.	Philles 110	March 1963	#38	Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts	Ellie Greenwich, Tony Powers, Phil Spector	Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans	2:48
16.	Philles 111	May 1963	#39	(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry	Greenwich, Powers, Spector	Darlene Love	2:48
17.	Philles 112	June 1963	#3	Da Doo Ron Ron	Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector	The Crystals	2:17
18.	unreleased			Heartbreaker	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	The Crystals	2:34
19.	Phil Spector 2			Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	Veronica	2:39
20.	unreleased			Chapel of Love	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	Darlene Love	2:24
21.	Philles 113	July 1963	#63	Not Too Young To Get Married	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans	2:27
22.	Philles 114	September 1963	#26	Wait Til My Bobby Gets Home	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	Darlene Love	2:23
23.	Philles 122	August 1964	#98	All Grown Up	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	The Crystals	2:49

Disc Two

Track	Catalogue	Release Date	Chart Peak	Song Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Time
1.	Philles 116	October 1963	#2	Be My Baby	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	The Ronettes	2:40
2.	Philles 115	September 1963	#6	Then He Kissed Me	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	The Crystals	2:37
3.	Philles 117	November 1963	#53	A Fine Fine Boy	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	Darlene Love	2:46
4.	Philles 118	February 1964	#24	Baby, I Love You	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	The Ronettes	2:50
5.	Philles LP 4006	1964	#96	I Wonder	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	The Ronettes	2:51
6.	unreleased			Girls Can Tell	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	The Crystals	2:36
7.	Philles 119x	February 1964	#92	Little Boy	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	The Crystals	2:59
8.	Shirley 500			Hold Me Tight	John Lennon and Paul McCartney	The Treasures	2:53
9.	Philles 120	May 1964	#39	The Best Part of Breakin' Up	Vini Poncia, Pete Andreoli, Phil Spector	The Ronettes	3:02
10.	unreleased			Soldier Baby Of Mine	Poncia, Andreoli, Spector	The Ronettes	2:52
11.	Philles 131			Strange Love	Poncia, Andreoli, Spector	Darlene Love	3:00
12.	Philles 123	1964		Stumble And Fall	Poncia, Andreoli, Spector	Darlene Love	2:22
13.	Philles 133b	1966		When I saw you	Spector	The Ronettes	2:43
14.	Phil Spector 1			So Young	William Tyus	Veronica	2:36
15.	Philles 121	August 1964	#34	Do I Love You?	Poncia, Andreoli, Spector	The Ronettes	2:50
16.	unreleased			Keep On Dancing	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	The Ronettes	2:32
17.	Philles LP 4006	1964	#96	You, baby	Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, Phil Spector	The Ronettes	2:56
18.	unreleased			Woman in love	Weil, Mann, Spector	The Ronettes	2:56
19.	Philles 123	December 1964	#23	Walking in the Rain	Weil, Mann, Spector	The Ronettes	3:16

Disc Three

Track	Catalogue	Release Date	Chart Peak	Song Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Time
1.	Philles 124	December 1964	#1	You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'	Weil, Mann, Spector	The Righteous Brothers	3:46
2.	Philles 126	March 1965	#52	Born to Be Together	Weil, Mann, Spector	The Ronettes	2:57
3.	Philles 127	May 1965	#9	Just Once in My Life	Goffin, King, Spector	The Righteous Brothers	3:56
4.	Philles 129	July 1965	#4	Unchained Melody	Hy Zaret and Alex North	The Righteous Brothers	3:37
5.	Philles 128	June 1965	#75	Is This What I Get for Loving You?	Goffin, King, Spector	The Ronettes	3:21
6.	unreleased			Long Way to Be Happy	Gerry Goffin and Carole King	Darlene Love	2:48
7.	Philles 130b	January 1966		(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons	Deek Watson and William Best	The Righteous Brothers	2:47
8.	Philles 130	January 1966	#5	Ebb Tide	Carl Sigman and Robert Maxwell	The Righteous Brothers	2:48
9.	unreleased			This Could Be the Night	Harry Nilsson and Phil Spector	The Modern Folk Quartet	2:39
10.	unreleased			Paradise	Perry Botkin Jr., Gil Garfield, Nilsson, Spector	The Ronettes	3:37
11.	Philles 131	June 1966	#88	River Deep - Mountain High	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	Ike & Tina Turner	3:35
12.	Philles 135			I'll Never Need More Than This	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	Ike & Tina Turner	3:27
13.	Philles 136			A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knockin' Everyday)	Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland	Ike & Tina Turner	2:57
14.	Philles LP 4011	September 1966	#102	Save the Last Dance for Me	Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman	Ike & Tina Turner	2:47
15.	unreleased			I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine	Greenwich, Barry, Spector	The Ronettes	3:49
16.	A&M 1040			You Came, You Saw, You Conquered	Toni Wine, Irwin Levine, Spector	The Ronettes	2:49
17.	A&M 1053	July 1969	#13	Black Pearl	Wine, Levine, Spector	Sonny Charles and The Checkmates, Ltd.	3:19
18.	A&M 1039	May 1969	#65	Love Is All I Have to Give	Bobby Stephens and Phil Spector	The Checkmates, Ltd.	4:09

Disc Four: A Christmas Gift for You

Initially released as Philles 4005, November 22, 1963

Track	Song Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Time
1.	White Christmas	Irving Berlin	Darlene Love	2:52
2.	Frosty the Snowman	Steve Nelson and Walter Rollins	The Ronettes	2:16
3.	The Bells of St. Mary	A. Emmett Adams and Douglas Furber	Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans	2:54
4.	Santa Claus Is Coming to Town	J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie	The Crystals	3:24
5.	Sleigh Ride	Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish	The Ronettes	3:00
6.	Marshmallow World	Carl Sigman and Peter DeRose	Darlene Love	2:23
7.	I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus	Tommie Connor	The Ronettes	2:37
8.	Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer	Johnny Marks	The Crystals	2:30
9.	Winter Wonderland	Felix Bernard and Dick Smith	Darlene Love	2:25
10.	Parade of the Wooden Soldiers	Leon Jessel	The Crystals	2:55
11.	Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)	Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry and Phil Spector	Darlene Love	2:45
12.	Here Comes Santa Claus	Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman	Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans	2:03
13.	Silent Night	Josef Mohr and Franz X. Gruber	Phil Spector and Artists	2:08

References

↑ Back to Mono at AllMusic

Phil Spector

Productions

Albums	Twist Uptown He's A Rebel A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica Just Once in My Life River Deep - Mountain High Let It Be All Things Must Pass John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band The Concert for Bangladesh Imagine Living in the Material World Some Time in New York City Rock 'n' Roll Born To Be With You Death of a Ladies' Man End of the Century Season of Glass Silence Is Easy

Singles	"To Know Him is to Love Him" "Corrine, Corrina" "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" "Talk to Me" "Under the Moon of Love" "There's No Other (Like My Baby)" "He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)" "He's a Rebel" "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Heart" "(Let's Dance) The Screw" "Da Doo Ron Ron" "Then He Kissed Me" "Be My Baby" "Baby, I Love You" "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" "Do I Love You?" "Walking in the Rain" "Ringo, I Love You" "Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love" "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin" "Just Once in My Life" "Is This What I Get for Loving You?" "Hung Up on You/Unchained Melody" "Ebb Tide" "River Deep - Mountain High" "A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday)" "Proud Mary" "You Came, You Saw, You Conquered!" "Black Pearl" "Instant Karma (We All Shine On)" "The Long and Winding Road" "My Sweet Lord" "What Is Life" "Power to the People" "Mother" "Try Some, Buy Some" "Bangla-Desh" "Imagine" "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" "A Woman's Story" "Born to Be with You" "Baby, Let's Stick Together" "Rock 'n' Roll High School" "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" "Silence Is Easy"

Compilations

Other songs

Associates

Category

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