|
Damaged more by the hype that they were the first all
female band to sing, play their own instruments and write
their material Fanny managed to carve a pathway for future
musicians a full decade before The Go Go’s and years before
The Runaways, The Slits and other all female combos appeared
on the scene. The cost of blazing your own trail is often
dismissal by a chauvinistic music business and that happened
to Fanny as well with producers and critics that were often
patronizing to this quartet founded by June and Jean Millington
of Sacramento, California. ***
As if the fact that June and Jean Millington didn’t
have to fight discrimination because they were women musicians
in a man’s world the sisters were of Caucasian and Filipino
descent. They struggled with maintaining a consistent line
up after touring with bands such as The Svelts touring the
West Coast with mixed success never quite able to reach
the elusive recording contract that they deserved. In 1969
the duo formed Wild honey and record producer Richard Perry
(“Ringo” and “Nilsson Schmisson” among other albums) happened
to catch their gig at The Troubadour in Los Angeles. Perry
convinced Mo Ostin to sign the band with drummer Alice de
Buhr and keyboardist/singer/songwriter Nickey Barclay on
board the quartet entered the studio with Perry to work
on their first album. ***
The band’s first album “Fanny” was initially issued
in Canada (though not in the US) with a slightly different
running order then withdrawn and reissued with the songs
for the final version. A mix of covers (“Badge”) and originals,
“Fanny” gives us a preview of what would come later with
their best albums “Fanny Hill” and “Mother’s Pride” (the
last to feature the original quartet). “Charity Ball” the
band’s second album had a much more stark and spare production
which was quite unusual for someone like Perry who tended
to put a lot of commercial gloss on the records he produced.
In a sense, it suited Fanny because live they were a powerhouse
and this album probably comes closest to capturing some
of that sound although the original material isn’t quite
as robust or strong as what followed on the next two albums.
***
“Fanny Hill” incorporated hard rock and gospel into
an intriguing mix for the band’s third and final album with
producer Perry. Again, Perry lets the music do the talking
(if you’ll pardon the mixed metaphor). The band though was
frustrated. Fighting between June Millington and Nickey
Barclay along with a dissatisfaction of being locked out
of the mixing of their albums (or being on the road while
Perry mixed their work) forced the band to change horses
in midrace—they went with producer Todd Rundgren who, in
classic Todd form, agreed that they should be involved in
all aspects of the album (much as he did with XTC)but then
proceeded to clash with the band and,once again, lock them
out during the key post-production period of mixing their
fourth album “Mother’s Pride”. That along with simmering
tension between June and Nickey saw the band fall apart
just as they were making great strides breaking through
the glass ceiling of the music world. The band here does
one of the few definitive Beatles covers with “Hey Bulldog”
which equals the Fab Four’s version in execution. ***
“Mother’s Pride” benefits from a darker mood that dominates
the original material and the two covers on the album fit
in perfectly with their “Old Hat” (by a forgotten but memorable
group called Uncle Dog which featured Free’s Paul Kossoff
on guitar, Carol Grimes, John Porter on guitar & bass( bassist
with Roxy Music and producer who later went on to work with
The Smiths), Malcolm Duncan and Roger Ball who would help
found the Average White Band) and “Last Night I Had a Dream”
(written by Randy Newman) making these covers their own.
***
The band splintered just as the album began to get
serious airplay with June and drummer Alice de Bhur leaving
the band and being replaced by Patti Quatro on guitar and
drummer/vocalist Brie Howard replacing them on the band’s
last album “Rock’n’Roll Survivors” which finally gave them
the hit that they deserved with the song “Butter Boy” (which
reached #29 in the Billboard charts and was followed by
“I’ve Had It” which made #79 as a follow up single) written
by Jean and Nickey about David Bowie (who Jean dated at
one time). “Rock’n’Roll Survivor” was also their first and
last album for the Casablanca label (and it’s finally being
reissued in August of 2009 on CD). June briefly returned
to the fold to help the band fulfill their touring obligation
for “Rock’n’Roll Survivor” before the quartet called it
quits. ***
June Millington moved into Womyn’s Music but eventually
reteamed with her sister Jean as the “Slammin’ Babes” in
2001. Barclay relocated to Australia after finding that
the band’s manager was taking everything from them but their
blood as part of the contract she had signed. That contract
along with the negative nasty rumors that their manager
spread forced Barclay to relocate so she could work as a
session musician and she appeared as part of Joe Cocker’s
Mad Dogs and Englishmen touring band before issuing a single
solo album entitled “Diamonds in the Junkyard”. De Buhr
did session work before working behind-the-scenes in the
music business as an A&R person. ***
Their legacy was mighty impressive even if their sales
weren’t and Fanny earned respect from the major labels and
male musicians. The most telling and accurate assessment
of the band came from fan and fellow musician David Bowie
in 1999 when he was asked about them- "They were extraordinary:
They wrote everything, they played like motherf*ckers, they
were just colossal and wonderful."
|
