Dick & Mimi's LPs

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Dick & Mimi's LPs - Memories

Memories

Vanguard : VSD-79263

Released : April, 1968

Cover photo by Jim Marshall; design by Jules Halfant

Back cover photo by Dave Gahr (taken 7/23/65 - Newport Folk Festival)

Liner notes by Maynard Solomon.

Original label : Gold

Contains outtakes and previously unreleased songs recorded between September, 1964 and March, 1966.

Memories, VSD-79263, back cover. Photo by David Gahr

side 1

- The quiet joys of brotherhood - a 1964 song of Dick's, arranged by Peter Schickele recorded in Nashville in 1967.

- Joy 'round my brain (alternate version) - a longer (and stereo) version of their December, 1966 single, written in the fall of 1964

- Lemonade lady - another early one, from early 1964, and probably an outtake from their first album

- Downtown - Outtake from Celebrations for a grey day, written in the summer of 1964

- Almond joy - Another summer of 1964 song, although Dylanologist Ian Woodward says proof exists to date it back to the January, 1963 UK sessions that produced the Dick Farina & Eric von Schmidt LP

- Blood red roses - A traditional song with slightly rearranged or adjusted lyrics, copyrighted to Dick by Mimi in January, 1969. An outtake of uncertain origin.

- Morgan the pirate - I could swear I saw this on a single in 1968, but thus far, research has only proven this to be a false memory. Recorded in 1967 in Nashville for a solo LP for Mimi, it took a slight turn and ended up as Mimi, Joan, outtakes & live from Newport recordings and copyrighted by Mimi in January, 1969.

side 2

- Dopico; Celebration for a grey day (live)

- House un-American blues activity dream (live) - along with the above Dopico; Celebration, these three songs make up the only released segment of their 7/26/65 Newport performance. Discredited on the 2001 Complete Vanguard sessions , that afternoon's performance is most likely as clear as this excerpt.

- A swallow song (sung by Joan Baez) - Outtake from her "rock and roll" album, also released as a single, VRS-35040 (June, '66).

- All the world has gone by (sung by Joan Baez) - ditto for this one, but not released as a single; co-authored by Dick, Joan, and Kim Chappell

- Pack up your sorrows (alternate version) - not the 1st album version, not the single version, but a whole other stereo edit/mix/vocal/dulcimer break


1st pressing, apr'68	1st pressing, Canada (Phonodisc)

White label promo copy - apr'68

Originally cataloged as Richard Fariña, and cataloged VSD-79281 as a Mimi solo LP of Dick's songs, Memories may not have sold as well as t

he previous two albums, as witnessed by the fact that I have never seen a stamper higher than a 1B, meaning they covered their sales and only wore out one stamper doing it. Vanguard used their gold label until 1973, when they switched to a marbled one. I have never seen a copy of this album with a marbled label. Sales must have been relatively small indeed.

Tracks by the numbers

1. The quiet joys of brotherhood - In Long time coming and a long time gone, Mimi says this was Dick's first written song, which would put it back to 1963 (although the copyright didn't get registered until 2/12/64, and was registered as "new words set to traditional music"). One of Dick's most popular songs, it was recorded by Sandy Denny in 1972 and Mimi recorded it for her own Solo on Rounder in 1986.

2. Joy 'round my brain - Recorded in September, 1964 (with a copyright coming through on 10/19/64) during the sessions for their first album, it was rejected and not released until late 1965, as the B side to "Pack up your sorrows" (VRS-35032). Though Solomon's notes say this was the version released on one of the two single releases included on the album, it wasn't. The 45 version is 2:36 and a totally different take of the song included here (though probably an edit of a longer take), which times in at 3:45. The fade-outs on both are markedly different.

3. Lemonade lady - Written in late 1963 and the first of his songs to have both words and music by Dick, this was probably another outtake from their first album.

4. Downtown - An instrumental solo by Dick, and another outtake from the September, 1964 sessions for the first album.

5. Almond Joy - Originally recorded for the 1963 UK-only Dick Fariña & Eric von Schmidt , this is probably a version rejected from the first album sessions.

6. Blood red roses - Traditional song with lyrics shifted and revised here and there by Dick. There is alleged to be a Burl Ives version of this that predates the Fariñas' version, but other than having a friend who could sing it from memory, I've never heard nor seen it.

7. Morgan the pirate : Mimi reports this to be the last song they ever recorded, and may have been recorded in early March, 1966 while Dick was producing a rock album for sister-in-law Joan Baez (who also used Grady Martin for some of the arrangements and back-up). It was a radical departure for the Fariñas, clocking in at over 5 minutes, and featuring a larger, studio band rather than their usual Langhorne/Savakus band of brothers. The band is led by Grady Martin, who would eventually play for almost everyone, but started out in the house band at the Grand Ole Opry in the late 40s.

8. Dopico; Celebration for a grey day

9. House un-American blues activity dream - Numbers 8 and 9 are previously unreleased live versions from the 7/25/65 New Folks concert at the Newport Folk Festival. These were released on the CD reissue but not on the Complete Vanguard Recordings, where they were skipped in the Memories section, and dropped in favor of 7/24 workshop versions.

10. A swallow song - A Joan Baez version of one of Dick's best songs, recorded in New York City for her unreleased rock and roll album, produced by Dick and, according to the label, " with orchestra conducted by Richard Fariña". Released in June of 1966 as Vanguard single VRS-35040 (and again, the single is a much different mix of what sounds like the same session tape, with the single clocking in at 2:47 and the album version going only to 2:45). The A side was " Pack up your sorrows", with an arrangement conducted by Grady Martin and Dick playing dulcimer.

11. All the world has gone by - Another fugitive from the rock and roll album. This one was written and copyrighted by Joan Baez and Kim Chappell in May of 1965, and then recopyrighted with "new & rev. lyrics" by Mimi (executrix of Dick's estate) in November of 1968.

12. Pack up your sorrows - The other one designated as a single on the album. But it's not. Recorded in September, 1964 in New York City, a 2:56 version was included on their first album, and in February, 1966, Vanguard released a 2:39 single version that jumped quite a bit more than the LP version and was a whole different take and mix from the original. The Memories version is yet another version (at 3:00) with a different dulcimer break and as always, a different mix and take.

Ó 2002, 2003, 2010 Greg Pennell

last updated 4 mar'10