Big Secret – King Kong/It’s on my Mind –Finger 2046 038 (1973 Ger)
Jacki Baaron – King Kong/It’s on my Mind –Poplandia P-30569 (1973 Portuguese issue)
Based on the first nano seconds of spinning the Big Secret version, you could be fooled into thinking that you were listening to a demo of Holidays In The Sun...but no, the guitar then goes off on a tangent, the beat kicks in and the track turns into a mighty fine T.Rex-type tune where an organ swells behind snazzy female lead vocals. Regardless of your cover girl preference; there’s no denying the obvious fact that Enri and July win hands down sonically. The Big Secret mix is clearer, the reverb on the guitar and drums more potent and the separation works well...plus the vocals hit the spot whereas Jacki sounds somewhat deflated.
Both the A and B side backing tracks are identical and from the same production team,. So what was the big idea? King Kong was Big Secret’s follow up to the superb Ride Captain Ride. The girls were well implanted in Germany with their Les Humphries Singers TV appearances which was as good a springboard as any to solo continental success.
I don’t know who Jacki Baaron was, but she may have been Spanish. Perhaps it was felt in some quarters that mini-skirted dancing Pilipino girls wouldn’t maximise a single’s potential across all territories?
Hear a full version of Big Secret
Hear a full version of Jacki Baaron
Hear Big Secret's King Kong
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