365 Days #262 - Joah Valley - The New Wave Sound of Joah Valley - Maximo! (mp3s)

MP3:
01 I Saw Her Standing There (3:00)
02 She Loves You (2:33)
03 Yesterday (2:08)
04 Things We Said Today (3:16)
05 In My Life (2:50)
06 Hey Jude (7:00)
07 Can't Buy Me Love (2:21)
08 Let It Be (3:57)
09 I'm a Loser (2:48)
10 Help (2:10)
11 I've Just Seen a Face (2:13)
12 Nessun Dorma (2:28)

Wish I knew more about this album and the man who made it. I found it in the collection of a small town radio station in Alabama where I was working in 1981. Then and now it strikes me as quite possibly the most misguided tribute to The Beatles anyone has ever attempted (I haven't seen the new film "Across the Universe" yet, but I suspect that might be worse). The album contains cover versions of eleven popular Fab Four songs, with an aria by Puccini thrown in for good measure. I'm pleased to report that Mr. Valley is equally not at home with pop and classical material. He sounds a bit like Buddy Max's citified cousin but lacks Buddy's charming Ukranianness and impressive beard mass.

I took the album home from work with me one night and made the cassette copy heard here. Wish I'd been bold enough to keep it while I had it in my hands because I've never seen another one. I've searched in vain for many years for an original vinyl copy, but it continues to elude me. Even information about the artist is impossible to find--aside from references to the appearance of "I Saw Her Standing There" on the UK compilation CD 'Exotic Beatles Vol. 2,' I've not found a single bit of information about Valley in eight years of Web surfing.

Anybody got a spare copy of this LP? I'm still looking.

- Contributed by: Perry Amberson

Images: Front Cover. Back Cover

Media: Vinyl LP
Label: Joah Valley Co.
Catalog: Joah 1001
Date: 1980

Comments

[fatty jubbo]

this is amazing. I love the stuttering timing.

[illlich]

Buddy Max, the singing, roller skating, harmonica playing, flea-market cowboy, is of Hungarian descent (or was he himself mistaken in his own liner notes?), not Ukrainian (though I admit his real last name of "Pastuch" does sound Ukrainain.

[Perry Amberson]

Hmmm... Buddy's Ukrainian heritage must have been an assumption on my part that got filed away as a fact. I guess I figured that anybody who knows as much as Buddy does about how they celebrate Easter in the Ukraine ("Easter Day"--b-side of the "Easter Bunny Buddy Max" 45) must have had family from there. Which album's liner notes mentioned Buddy's Hungarian heritage? Must be one I don't have.

[mike.]

A quick-and-dirty of "Joah Valley" got me this link to a just-expired auction of this record (I hope the winner was you). No further information, unfortunately, but at least you've got some good scans of the front and back of the jacket.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330159004483&SegalID=0

[365]

Thanks Mike! Front and back cover on the post + cover art embedded in the mp3 files.

[illlich]

"The Many Styles and Sounds of BUDDY MAX" is the only one I own, it mentions his real name as Boris Max Pastuch, and that he emigrated here from Hungary (or am I the one misremembering now?)

Like I said-- "Pastuch" sounds like a Ukrainian name, and indeed he may have had Ukrainian roots (my own family is Russian, BUT emigrated here from what is now Poland, so. . . .)

[Jon]

The warped disco version of The things We Said Today is the highlight so far. fantastic record! The little truncated bits of backing vocal on tyhese tracks with the same weird vibrato as the main vocal are killer. Thanks for this gem.
Just seen the back cover scan. So it's New Wave! That explains a lot. . . It doesn't explain the wig, but what could?
jon

[Jay]

Are you sure that's not Tiny Tim under a pseudonym?

Maybe his cousin?

[Ian]

a first step...

[Jupiter8]

Buddy Max is indeed of Ukrainian descent-he was actually born in NYC!

Many of his other records ("Together-Our Masterpiece", "The Great Nashville Star", "Little Circle B", "The Story Of Freda And Bud") mention this. I interviewed Buddy about 15 years ago (along with his wife Freda and son John-who was later tragically murdered) for an aborted documentary I was trying to make and he is quite the character...he told me he recorded over his old master tapes when he wanted to make new records!

[tony]

"I Saw Her Standing There" - mmmm, sounds a little like Bryan Ferry to me...Do the Strand!

[Garry Goodman]

I produced this album and played most of the music on it. There is a good story behind this.
The owners of this web page need to contact me.
The name of this artist was Clyde Diltz, Joah Valley was his "stage" name.

[Shnarf]

you can't sing Hay Jude from The Beatles. You suck

[Tobias]

wow...he kinda ruined the beatles for me...thats really gross...

[brad ford]

This is by far one my favorite 365 albums.

[Gary Morris]

Omigod, I'm so happy to see Joah getting his due via some attention! This is by far my favorite bizarre Beatles interpreter. A friend in San Fran turned me onto him quite awhile back and I've treasured the "Joah sound." My friend did some research. His real name was (is?) Clyde Diltz and he lived in L.A. He supposedly spent $25,000 on this album, which sounds astounding at first, but the music is totally polished, obviously by professional studio musicians. A great background for Joah's soaring craziness. Who could do better than his first operatic screech of "HELP!" And his version of "Things We Said Today" is friggin' great. My friend also was in touch with the guy who ran the studio sessions. That's where he got the info.

[Tom]

Just got this on vinyl and I'm laughing hysterically playing it! Classic!