Candy Jo Tyler "Mr. Tambourine Man"

caUSE co-MOTION! made some of the best rattly pop of recent years.  They also re-introduced the world to Candy Jo Tyler's extra-perky take on "Mr. Tambourine Man" via their essential podcast for Slumberland Records.  It took a while, but I finally found a great condition copy*.  I can only agree with everything Arno from the group said at the time:

A way upbeat version of "The Tambourine Man." Handclaps, xylophone, stops and starts, along with Candy’s low-range singing. It’s the most unexpected take on this song I’ve heard, and pretty great.

What sets it apart from a lot of the female voiced pop of the mid-60s is Candy's unique, slightly rough, Country-tinged voice.  It's a whole lot less cute than, say, Marie Applebee's or Diane Renay's but it really works against the sugary backdrop of the music.  Unfortunately, my copy arrived without the lovely generic Laurie Records sleeve. That was rectified, however, by a quick visit to 45-sleeves.com and a few dollars to a seller in the US.  Happy days!  Wouldn't it be nice to have another lovely SLR podcast to enjoy?

Hear it in all its glee club glory HERE (it's the first song)

* Unfortunately, it wasn't included on Ace Records' brilliant Laurie girl groups cd.  If it had been I would've settled for having it on that.