what Frank is listening to #229 – GARY LEWIS & THE PLAYBOYS – New Directions – (Liberty) – 1967
Hey, I've waxed lyrical about Gary Lewis on this blog already. Search those entries for background etc.
It would be nice to have each of these "comments" as self contained entries but my temperament doesn't allow for that. I love short hand. Too much sometimes.
The music here on this album recalls The Beach Boys and The Beatles of the preceding couple of years. Those bands who were much more innovative (derrr) and had already moved on to new sounds. Here, it's almost as if Lewis and his co-horts had figured there was still some life left in the the superseded style.
There wasn't.
Well there was, but not much.
You may have got away with this more successfully earlier in the 60s but by 1967 music was moving at a million miles an hour in all directions.
But that doesn't mean the tunes here are bad, just a little dated. If you were around in 1967 I would suspect you would have thought this is decidedly old hat, or you didn't notice because you were a "square".
What I have said is a little harsh because this album has a lot in common with Lewis' other album from 1967, the brilliant "Listen!". "Listen" is full of great tracks and leans heavily to "sunshine pop" which was quite contemporary at the time. This album also has a couple of "sunshine pop" type tunes and some contemporary tunes but it also has a few "old sounding" "fillers". So, it's not as good as "Listen".
But, fuck it, we don't have to make decisions or distinctions about sounds and relevance because we can sit back and enjoy the 1965 sound, recorded in 1967, in 2011.
Tracks (best in italics)
- Girls in Love -Bonner, Gordon – beautiful, well orchestrated 60s pop with a nod to the Beach Boys….
- Double Good Feeling -Bonner, Gordon – more 60s pop apparently recorded originally by Bonner / Gordon's group "The Magicians". A real toe tapper. I'd pay to see someone cover this at a local club.
- Keepin' Company -Bonner, Gordon – a slight ragtime feel as was popular at the time when bands were trying to be quirky.
- Here I Am- Duboff – so so
- Hello Sunshine -Darin- the Bobby Darin tune …done low key. Lewis' version is pleasant and understated but he isn't Bobby Darin.
- Neighborhood Rock n Roll Band– Sieglal – a forced upbeat rock song.
- New in Town -Lerman, Perles, Sheppard – a good pop song.
- Slow Movin' Man -Bonner, Gordon – A Beatles type ballad (circa 1964) with some ragtime in the background.
- A Little Love From You– Duboff, Kornfeld – a carnival Oom pah pah type song with a vague Kinksian feel …. I love the accordion. There isn't enough accordion in pop. Author Kornfeld was a music wunderkind and the man behind Woodstock.
- Let's Be More Than Friends– Daryll- another vaguely Beach Boys song and as genteel a song there ever was about winning on …. excellent
- Me About You -Bonner, Gordon – the Jackie DeShannon song, also from 1968. I don't know who did it first but Lewis is actually in exceptional voice on this ballad. It was also recorded by The Turtles (who Bonner and Gordon also wrote a number of tunes for).
- Moonshine -Bonner, Gordon- nice pop … with some orchestral flourishes by arranger Jack Nitzsche -pity the song was about radiant moon shine rather than alcohol.
And…
This album is a little "safe" but there are enough good pop tunes here (and a couple of brilliant ones) to make it a superior pop album, and one of Lewis' top 5.
And this kind of pop is always preferable to Herman's Hermits.
I'm keeping it.
Chart Action
US
Singles
Girls in Love #39, 1967
Album
#185, 1967
Singles
Girls in Love #39, 1967
Album
#185, 1967
England
Singles
—
Singles
—
Album
––
––
Sounds
Girls in Love
and attached
Double Good Feeling
and attached
Keepin' Company
Here I Am
Hello Sunshine
Neighborhood Rock n Roll Band
New in Town
Slow Movin' Man
A Little Love From You
Let's Be More Than Friends
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXPa-hUWeHU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXPa-hUWeHU&feature=related
Me About You
Jackie DeShannon
The Turtles
Moonshine
Others
Review
Bio
Website
Trivia
- from the net: Gary Lewis kindly shared some of the fond memories and disappointments on these sessions:
"The 2 albums that I made with Koppelman-Rubin were my favorite 2 albums I've ever done. Another good producer in that company was Gary Klein; he did most of the work with me. The writing of Bonner and Gordon was terrific and the best songs I ever did. It's just too bad that I was too young to realize that at the time. I had just come out of the Army, and I thought those 2 albums would put me back on top. (New Directions and Listen) But that didn't happen. Not because of the songs or bad production, but because the music got much harder in 1967. (Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane) So I was doomed no matter what I recorded. It took me a long time to get over that. Jack Nitzsche was a tremendous asset in the studio, and the arrangements were almost flawless. http://www.spectropop.com/KoppelmanRubin/KoppelmanRubin2.htm
1 Response to GARY LEWIS & THE PLAYBOYS – New Directions – (Liberty) – 1967