In-depth, nearly 2-hour interview about Paul Levinson’s music, with lots of details never discussed before …
Paul Levinson signed in August 2018 with Old Bear Records in Batavia, NY to record a brand new album of science fiction related songs. He recorded eight new songs at Old Bear Studios, October 31 – November 2, 2018 — right upstairs from the Moon Java Cafe, pictured above (photo by Tina Vozick). The second photo shows the four central musicians on the recordings (left to right): Jeremy Thompson (guitar), Paul Levinson (songwriter, lead vocals), Steven Padin (keyboard, percussion), Chris Hoisington (producer, harmonies). Behind the scene in this photo: Anthony Hoisington ( keyboard), Ron Shrock (studio engineer), and Tina Vozick (photos). The new album, entitled Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time, was released in early 2020 by Old Bear Records, with vinyl distribution by Light In The Attic. Welcome Up is the first album of new songs by Paul Levinson since Twice Upon A Rhyme in 1972.
Here are some reviews of Welcome Up:
“Eight slices of interstellar delight” – Jon Pruett, Ugly Things Magazine (8/15/2020)
“Welcome Up (Songs of Space and Time) is a contemporary dispatch, firmly sent. It hits the ear as the best kind of long-delayed follow-up to a phenomenon of cultish proportions; unstrained, totally comfortable in the present time, but sounding like nothing else on the current scene.” – Joseph Neff, The Vinyl District (6/10/2020)
“Sounding at times like a collect call from another dimension mimicking Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons … Welcome Up is … quite triumphant, actually — and any fan of Twice Upon A Rhyme will be overjoyed by it. It’s a testament to Levinson’s innate talents as both a songwriter and storyteller. As otherworldly, mystical and far-out as the subject matter may be, the songs burst with love and warmth and humanity. Check it out, you’ll dig it.” – Evan LeVine, Swan Fungus (2/03/2020)
“Welcome Up is a stunning folk pop album with gorgeous late 60s elements like vintage velveteen cloth.” – Taro Miyasugi, vinylacaconda, (1/08,/2020)
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In the late 1960s to early 1970s, Paul was a songwriter, singer and record producer. He worked with music business greats ranging from Ellie Greenwich to Murray the K. His songwriting career featured recordings by the Vogues and other 1960s groups. He wrote lyrics and sometimes music, often in collaboration with other songwriters such as noted composer Jimmy Krondes and a then unknown young songwriter named Linda Kaplan who years later wrote the Toys ‘r’ Us jingle.
One of Paul’s songs, “Hung Up On Love,” written by Paul Levinson & Mikie Harris, and recorded by Paul’s group The Other Voices for Atlantic Records in 1968 (produced by Ellie Greenwich and Mike Rashkow), was released by Rhino Handmade in February 2004 in a compilation CD album called Come To The Sunshine: Soft Pop Nuggets, and in 2005 in the UK as A Whole Lot of Rainbows: Soft Pop Nuggets. Entertainment Weekly gave the CD an “A” review, calling it “inspired and strange.” Steven Rosen, reviewing the compilation for Los Angeles City Beat notices Paul’s trademark internal rhyming, citing “the Other Voices’ cheerfully sincere ‘Hung Up on Love,’ with its couplet rhyming sunshine and lunchtime.” David Bash in Shindig Magazine says the compilation “may be the best compendium of soft pop the world has yet to hear” and he calls “Hung Up On Love” one of the “absolute best of the lot.” Patrick Rands, writing in Gullbuy, also raves about the compilation, and then says this recording of “Hung Up On Love” is “a really exciting pop masterpiece … which has a 5th Dimension/Tokens sound to it, really upbeat and chipper in a harmony pop kind of way.” That “Tokens sound” is Paul, doing his infamous falsetto harmony, with Stu Nitekman and Ira Margolis making the magical three-part sound that The Other Voices (originally called The New Outlook) were known for.
Paul’s LP record album, Twice Upon a Rhyme, was released in 1972 and appears from time to time on cult collectors’ lists. The July 2002 issue of Japan’s Record Collectors’ Magazine featured Twice Upon a Rhyme in its roundup of American 1960s “Psychedelic Movements”. The reviewer, Taro Miyasugi, said, “It’s human mystical pop music… wonderful songs.” Sealed vinyl copies are still available for purchase.
The album is discussed in Hans Pokora’s book, 4001 Record Collector Dreams, Patrick Lundborg’s Acid Archives, Vernon Joynson’s Fuzz Acid and Flowers Revisited, and Paul Major’s Enjoy the Experience.
Twice Upon a Rhyme was re-issued on CD with 3 bonus tracks by Big Pink/Beatball Records (Korea) in December 2008 and on Vivid Records (Japan), March 2009. The album re-issued in remastered, re-pressed vinyl Whiplash/Sound of Salvation Records (UK) in December 2010, with a second pressing, March 2012.
The album is available for sale and/or streaming on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and many other sites.
Extensive interview with Paul about his music on It’s Psychedelic Baby!
Here are excerpts from some of the many recent reviews –
- “Best discovery in 2016” – Jeffrey Lewis, Manic Pop Thrills (Dec 20, 2016)
- “Tim Hardin meets The Zombies … a real forgotten gem from 1972 that serves as perfect listening on a Saturday morning in November … warm and peaceful.” – Choreographer of the Hill (Nov 09, 2013)
- “Twice Upon a Rhyme (Happysad ‘72): I’ve seen multitudes of folkpsych wannabes hyped to the skies for their garage charm in euro lists that don’t hold a candle to this baby. “Forever Friday” is so amazing and lo-fi real I still get chills when I hear it. And the long track “The Lama Will Be Late This Year” sweeps whatever floor is left in this department.” – Paul Major, Enjoy the Experience (May 01, 2013)
- “… mixes the psychedelic pop of the ‘60s, a dash of Simon & Garfunkel and some expansive and imaginative arrangements which recall the Beach Boys or even Burt Bacharach in places. There’s a real warmth and love running through these cuts …” – Phil, Norman Records (Sep 19, 2012)
- “Twice Upon a Rhyme from 1972 was one of Shindig’s favourite rereleases of last year.” – Shindig Happening! (Sep 17, 2012)
- “a musician full of summer sun” – Dave Greenwald, RAWKBLOG (Jan 19, 2011)
- “Superb fuzz guitar irresistibly drizzled across several tracks … a memorable personality indelibly locked inside the grooves … the perfect sound track for a lethargic spring day.” – Austin Matthews, Shindig Magazine (Jan 01, 2011)
- “The vocals are reminiscent of a live Beatles gig, I haven’t seen them live but my grandma said they are quite good.” – Daniel Thomas, Independent Music News (Feb 06, 2011)
- “Had this record been released in 1968-1970 and with the support of a major label it would have been hailed as a psych pop masterpiece.”
– George Cannon, Way Off the Grid Radio (Dec 12, 2010) - “romantic, sunshine happy Americana or bluesier … a handful of good feeling summer breeze love songs … a touch of Santana exotic elements and a lot more fuzz guitar … melodic and harmony vocals” – Gerald Van Waes, Psyche Folk (Nov 11, 2010)
- “In recent years the album has gone from an unknown collectors’ gem to a much more widely known (and acclaimed) folk-rock recording.” – Evan LeVine, WFMU’s Beware of the Blog (Dec 05, 2009)
- “At their best, Levinson and his crew produce dark, druggy pop music remindful of neighbors The Patron Saints or bayou obscuros Feather Da Gamba.” – Vernon Joynson, Fuzz, Acid and Flowers: A Comprehensive Guide To American Garage, Psychedelic and Hippie Rock (Feb 16, 2004)
Songs from Twice Upon a Rhyme: “Looking for Sunsets (in the Early Morning),” written by Paul Levinson and Ed Fox, was recorded by Sundial Symphony (Don Frankel and Robbie Rist) in 2013. “Today Is Just Like You,” written by Paul Levinson, was recorded by Sundial Symphony (Don Frankel and Robbie Rist), in 2015.
A standalone song, “Merri-Goes-Round,” written by Paul Levinson and Ed Fox, was recorded by Sundial Symphony (Don Frankel and Robbie Rist), in 2016. It was released by Big Stir Records in 2019 as the A-side of a single on which Sundial Symphony’s recording of “Looking for Sunsets (In the Early Morning)” was the B-side.
“Sundial Symphony, ‘Merri Goes Round’ (words by Paul Levinson, music by Ed Fox) … Another track where the British Invasion tips its hat to Brian Wilson on the way to San Francisco, circa 1967. This one will feel fresh and familiar to you, all at once. Sundial Symphony, ‘Looking For Sunsets (In The Early Morning)’ (words by Paul Levinson, music by Ed Fox): The album wraps up with another nod to psychedelic San Francisco, with a Jefferson Airplane dynamic in its sing-along chorus.” – Mike DeAngelis, There Once Was A Note (10/12/2019)
And here’s Paul’s song, “Unbelievable (Inconceivable) You” recorded by The Vogues in 1968 for Reprise Records, but never released.
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These are the tracks on Twice Upon a Rhyme (songwriters in parentheses):
1. Today Is Just Like You (P. Levinson)
2. Looking for Sunsets (in the Early Morning) (P. Levinson & E. Fox)
3. Gentle Blue Cherry Bell (P. Levinson & E. Fox)
4. I’m Seeing You in a Different Light (P. Levinson & E. Fox)
5. Learn to Learn (P. Levinson & E. Fox)
6. Looks Like a Night (I Won’t Catch Much Sleep In) (P. Levinson & E. Fox)
7. Raincheck (P. Levinson & E. Fox)
8. You Are Everywhere (P. Levinson & D. Kaley)
9. Forever Friday (P. Levinson & E. Fox)
10. The Soft of Your Eyes (P. Levinson)
11. Antique Shop (The Coming of Winter) (P. Levinson & P. Rosenthal)
12. Not Yet Ready to Say Goodbye (P. Levinson & L. Kaplan)
13. The Lama Will Be Late This Year (P. Levinson & E. Fox)
A complete discography of all songs written and/or recorded by Paul can be found here (scroll down page).
Up-to-date blog posts about Paul’s music here.
Paul’s music on Spotify here and here.
Ninety videos of Paul’s music – including live performances – here.