Vocals in the Background - Lynn Carey and Mama Lion
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Artist:
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Album:Preserve Nature
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Jacqueline Susann's "Valley of the Dolls" was the sort of smash hit trashy novel that paved the way for people like Jackie Collins. It's actually considered one of the most commercially successful novels of all time. Go figure. It spawned an equally successful movie of the same name. It's heavy handed with an implicit moral about how a girl can go wrong when left to her own devices.
"Beyond The Valley of the Dolls" on the other hand, is one of those few movies that is so astoundingly bad, you can't take your eyes off of it. It works off of many of the themes of the first but is not a sequel, no, but rather (as the trailer so eloquently puts it) "...it's not a sequel, there's never been anything like it before!" Combine that with a screenplay by a then unknown (future film critic) Roger Ebert, and have it directed by gonzo boob meister Russ Meyer, and you have the Citizen Kane of B Movies.
It's not bad in a "Gigli" or "Plan 9" kind of way, it's bad in a "Who would ever believe that people actually talk like this?" kind of way. It's one strength is that the actors seem thoroughly convinced that this IS how their characters would talk through out the entire film. So curl up with this one and some one you enjoy watching movies with (put the kids to bed though) and prepare to fall on the floor for this orgiastic corporate re-interpretation of 60's counter culture.
But alas, this is not what this post is about. It's about back ground figures, like Lynn Carey, who did the vocals for the character Kelly McNamara, played by Dolly Read, the fictional all girl group The Carey Nations in the afore mentioned movie. Sadly AMG has no information on the sultry, Joplin-esque singer responsible for such in the movie hit's as "Candyman". Strangely enough though, two different songs exist by the name "Candy Man" with vocals by Ms. Carey. One song appears on the BTVOTD soundtrack credited to The Carey Nations, and a completely different song with the same name appears Mama Lion's debut album "Preserve Wildlife". I'm sure whatever the story behind it, is interesting, but alas, information is limited to a brief wikpedia entry and near identical IMDB bio.
Wikipedia lists her as " American singer, songwriter, model, and actress...She is also the daughter of actor MacDonald Carey, as well as Penthouse pet of the month in December 1972. Oh yeah, while I was looking for more info, I found this great little tid bit of appropriation/theft. Remember this picture?
compare it to this one:
The later was on the fold out of Mama Lion's 1972 album. An album cover that is probably more remembered than the actual LP itself. Here's a quoted review from All Media Guide, that I was unable to find on AMG, but did find on the blogAn Overdose of Fingal Cocoa:Released shortly after Led Zepplin hit big, this LP walks in the shadow of that style. Now mostly remembered for the promoition blitz for this album - that included the lead singer Lynn Carey topless on the LP cover breastfeeding a lion cub and a stint as the September 1972 Penthouse Pet of the month (keep in mind these were different times and promotion like this was edgy but acceptable). The music shares more in common with bands like Cold Blood and Rare Earth than Janis Joplin. Its what 1972 really sounded like. All that said, the songs themselves just are not that good, most are average at best. Good intentions lost in translation. Even with that excuse the LP has not aged well. I really wanted to like this album, but in the end its mearly O.K. ... © Michael Wilson, © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC
Here's a few YouTube vids to groove on, and see the sex kitten that was a Mama Lion.Original trailer for "Beyond The Valley of the Dolls" (NSFW). I got to hand it to this voice over guy, he's a real pro. He reads as if he's just being handed sheets of written text while peaking on microdots. You just can't find that kind of dedication anymore.
This is a filling in the gaps post
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