I, like may of my generation, know Sebastian through the wonderfully evocative theme song to the hugely popular and yet misunderstood sitcom "Welcome Back Kotter" (one of the best of the 70s).
It was only later that I found the many pleasures of The Lovin' Spoonful for which he was the main songwriter and singer (actually I got all the original albums in the great foolish UQ music library sell off of 1988). The "Spoonful", at their best, were one of the best bands of the 60s and chartwise they were one of the US bands that broke the British Invasion … in 1965/66 they had five top 10s and one #1.
Having said all that, from the Sebastian solo albums I already have I think he is patchy.None of the solo albums reach any of the heights of the "Spoonful" albums. That, however, is not to say they are "patchy bad" but rather "patchy good". Even the weak songs are usually pretty good, whilst the best ones are great. But as albums there hasn't been one (thus far) that has knocked me over from the first track to the last.
This album is his first solo album and it is a weird thing. It was released on two labels (Reprise and MGM) with the same tracks but different artwork because of a contractual dispute which wasn't settled till after the release. Sebastian had signed to Reprise (Warner Brothers) but Karma Sutra (who put out the Lovin Spoonful) thought he owed them an album. So parent company, MGM, released this using second generation master tapes. It sounds fine to me but apparently the Reprise version has better sound … but I haven't heard it so I cant say.
Sebastian left "Loving Spoonful" in 1968 and this album, lyrically, isn't so much a new direction as an extension of where he was going. As required by a singer-songwriter album this album is more personal in tone but the ties and links to his work in "Lovin Spoonful" are clear … he even "re-does" a "Spoonful" track – "You're a Big Boy Now". There is also some hippie crap (hey it was 1970 and he did appear at Woodstock and he was at the time fond of some natural substances) but they never overpower any song.
However, sound wise, he has moved away from the folky jug band rock 'n' roll of the "Lovin Spoonful" (though those elements are still present) to a more laid back, urban, country, folky, singer-songwriter style, though with hints of Latin, pop balladry and R&B. The album is certainly more eclectic and diverse than any "Lovin Spoonful" album but that doesn't necessarily mean it's better (in fact form what I have heard, most of Sebastian's albums lack a cohesive "sound". Just because you are a multi-instrumentalist comfortable in many styles doesn't mean you should employ them all on one album). A review somewhere compared it in diversity and "new found freedom" to Paul McCartney's first solo album which also came out shortly after this in 1970 … and I would agree. It's as if Sebastian and McCartney could experiment with everything they had wanted to, but couldn't before in a group setting.
Putting aside any issues in relation to the master tapes the album was produced by the legendary Paul Rothchild. He produced the first five albums by The Doors as well as Joni Mitchell, Tom Rush, Neil Young, Tom Paxton, Fred Neil, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Lovin' Spoonful, Love, Tim Buckley, Janis Joplin and many others. Musicians on the album include Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, David Crosby (at one point Sebastian was asked to join the band that actually became Crosby, Stills and Nash), The Ikettes, pedal steel legend Bobby Emmons, Bruce Langthorne, Dallas Taylor, Danny Weiss (from Iron Butterfly), Harvey Brooke (from Electric Flag). Sebastian himself is no slouch (harmonica, guitar, piano ) and he has backed Dylan in the 60s, The Doors, The Everly Brothers, Dolly Parton, John Prine and many others. Given all this you know the musicianship is never going to be less than good.
The Tracks (the best in Italics)
- Red-Eye Express – the opening chords sound strangely like the opening to Elvis's "Money Honey" … otherwise a good country R&B shuffle.
- She's a Lady – a great song – gentle and subtle (and obviously not the Tom Jones song of the same name). This was a single with "Room Nobody" below on the B side released in 1969 in Sebastian's transitional period between "Spoonful" and solo. #84 US charts in 1969.
She`s a lady
And I chanced to meet her
In my scufflin days
She`s a lady
Hypnotized me there that day
I came to play in my usual way, hey
And I chanced to meet her
In my scufflin days
She`s a lady
Hypnotized me there that day
I came to play in my usual way, hey
- What She Thinks About – a gentle rocker with an emphasis on horns.
- Magical Connection – a gentle samba type song which would be perfect with a glass of red.
- You're a Big Boy Now – a tune originally record by The Lovin Spoonful for the soundtrack of the Coppola film of the same name. The song was good and this stripped down version does it no harm.
- Rainbows All Over Your Blues – a straight country, slightly humorous, positive statement
Let's go for a bounce
on my trampoline
I can show you the prettiest mountains
that you've ever seen
You better run to your closet
and fish out your blue suede shoes
I'll paint rainbows all over your blues
on my trampoline
I can show you the prettiest mountains
that you've ever seen
You better run to your closet
and fish out your blue suede shoes
I'll paint rainbows all over your blues
- How Have You Been – a gentle ballad with some nifty lyrics
Here is a turtle from a Long Island Expressway.
Says that his home has been covered with tar.
So I gave him a ride on the back of my suitcase.
And he wants to stay here in your yard,
at long his life won't be quite so hard.
Says that his home has been covered with tar.
So I gave him a ride on the back of my suitcase.
And he wants to stay here in your yard,
at long his life won't be quite so hard.
- Baby, Don't Ya Get Crazy – a gently funky singer songwriter R&B … which actually works up a groove and reminds me, slightly, of "Welcome Back"
- The Room Nobody Lives In – performed with a harmonium and a bass only.
- Fa-Fana-Fa – an instrumental with something called a wretch horn which sounds like a kazoo. The song recalls the novelty jug band type music across the south and Midwest … and what John Sebastian played in his youth.
- I Had a Dream – Sebastian is well known for this song – as he did an impromptu unscheduled version of it and a couple of others at Woodstock in 1969. It opens the triple LP set. The usual counter-culture lyrics … but hey …
And …
The album is certainly well above average …. and probably the best of the Sebastian solo albums I have so I'm keeping this.
Chart Action
The album (for Reprise) reached #20 in the charts.
Sound
She's a Lady – Live ( and check out Groucho)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JEnXWK5-HU
Rainbows All Over Your Blues – Live
How Have You Been
attached
attached
Other sounds:
Sebastian at Woodstock
Welcome Back Kotter
Website
Other
Trivia
- from wikipedia: As a songwriter, Sebastian's songs have been covered by Elvis Costello ("The Room Nobody Lives In"), Dolly Parton, Del McCoury, Helen Reddy, Brenda Lee, Johnny Cash, Bobby Darin, Slade, Joe Cocker and Jimmy Buffett ("Stories We Could Tell").
(Originally posted: 18/10/2009)
