Who wants to hear a white doo wop band tackle hits from the late 1960s?
I do!.
Frequent readers of this blog will know I love the older acts from the 1950s and early 1960s as well as the trad pop crooners when they try to tackle late 60s (or later) material.
Partially it’s the fish out of water story I like.
I’ve always been partial to that.
Part of the pleasure is the insanity of it (on occasion), part is the pleasure in hearing a favourite or well known tune done in a different style, part of it is the joy in the ambition of the artists.
Ultimately, it’s a test of musical skills to see if it can be pulled off successfully..
The trick is to do it in your style, whilst making the song still sound contemporary.
Easier said that done.
And, for an established still successful star, it is brave (and so rarely done). You don’t play with the hit making formula until you have to. And, even when you have to, for an act that has dropped off the charts, it is, equally brave. They have nothing to lose in record sales but they have to convince a label to take a chance and they have to be careful to not lose what audience they have left. A successful star can lose a few fans without losing sleep.
The Tokens were past their prime and to “modernise” was a brave move, and they had made steps towards that over the preceding two years.
In early 1969 they had placed “Go Away Little Girl” at #118 in the US charts but their last Top 40 was “Portrait of My Love” in 1967 and their last big hit was their only Top 10, the #1 song forever identified with them, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” in 1961. The recent songs placings were poor but they had started to incorporate “new sounds”.
They were still working but they weren’t a powerhouse act.
Most of the work they had been doing was behind the scenes
Beginning in 1963, the group began serving as record producers for other artists (The Chiffons, Randy & the Rainbows and, mainly, The Happenings). Their production company was called Bright Tunes and they also created their own record company, B.T. (Bright Tunes) Puppy Records and they had a few national US hits in the mid-60s including two Top 10s with the Happenings in 1966/1967.
The Tokens also released material under the B.T. Puppy label so I assume the jump to Buddah was money and better exposure and distribution (which is funny as Buddah (and it’s parent company Kama Sutra) was a large independent but still never had the clout of one of the major labels and found it hard to get exposure itself (though for a time it was distributed through MGM).
Buddah as a satellite label of Kama Sutra was (similarly) quite hip to new sounds, especially from the East Coast and NYC area (I love both labels).
The Lovin Spoonful, Brewer and Shipley were the big earners on Kama Sutra.
Buddah had Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, Elephants Memory, Melanie, The Lemon Pipers, Lou Chrisite as well as the bubble gum 1910 Fruitgum Co. and Ohio Express.
I’m not sure where the attraction for Buddah was in signing The Tokens but I assume they thought that their smooth doo wop pop would fit in with the bubblegum which was all over the charts. And they were New Yorkers.
And it was a good idea. The Tokens’ doo wop was a special brand of pure pop as was bubblegum, and they had a strong folk influence (especially over their first two albums) which was suited to the folkie singer songwriter movement emerging in the late 60s.
But there was some hedge betting. The second side is mainly old Tokens songs revamped and re-recorded for early 70s, just to remind fans that they were the Tokens.
“Both Sides Now” … get it?
It nothing else it shows that the old tunes could be adapted to the news “sounds”.
It is also clear they had been listening to the late 1960s Beach Boys, ironically, given their chart success had taken a tumble.
This, then became their first (and as it turns out only) release for Buddah.
Some of the songs are taken from the Kama Sutra / Buddah back catalogue of acts and that makes sense, though it is a pity that The Tokens didn’t tackle Captain Beefheart … that would have been interesting.
25 year old New Yorker, Brill Building-er whiz kid Norman Bergen did the arrangements.
The singles didn’t do well and the album failed to chart. The Tokens though did two more albums of songs in their own style on their own label (and one as “Cross Country” for Atlantic) before hitting the revival circuit.
Check out my other comments on this blog for background on them.
Tracks (best in italics)
Side One
- Both Sides Now – (Joni Mitchell) – Written by Joni but first recorded by Judy Collins who had a #8 with it (US) in 1968. The song has been often recorded but my favourite version is Frank Sinatra’s from his 1968 album “Cycles”. This starts off like “Lion Sleeps Tonight” before going into the song proper with references back to “lion” through the song. A smart mix of old and new. A new song but one that reminds you who the band was. It’s a wonderful version and becomes a sunshine pop tune. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Both_Sides,_Now
- Brandywine – (Les Emerson) – Emerson was the lead vocalist and guitarist for the American based Canadian band Five Man Electrical Band. As far as I know this hadn’t been recorded previously. Gentle and endearing pop with country flavours.
- Green Tambourine – (P. Leka, S. Pinz) – a big hit for label mates The Lemon Pipers in 1967 (#1 US). A gentler version of the classic, still a little trippy, but MOR trippy. Excellent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Tambourine
- Beautiful People – (Melanie Safka) – not a chart hit but identified with label mate Melanie. I love Melanie so this is a treat. There is a great gentle organ in the background.
- She Lets Her Hair Down – (P. Vance, L. Carr) – The song started commercial jingle as “Early in the Morning” (for Breck Shampoo) (apparently, one of the first “modern,” folk-rock style jingles of its type for a major national product and ad campaign). It was first released by Brainstorm in 1969 and covered by Gene Pitney the same year and then later by Bobby Sherman (1972). The Beach Boys would have loved this. An excellent version ..and more sunshine pop.
- Don’t Worry Baby – (Wilson, Christian, Tokens) – the magnificent song by the Beach Boys from 1964. Wow, almost as good, perhaps better than the Beach Boys version. It has been suggested that the 70s Beach Boys must have heard this and revamped the song for their 70s shows. I don’t know about that but that could be the case. The Beach Boys were largely responsible for sunshine pop and this song makes that link clearer still. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Worry_Baby
Side Two
- The Lion Sleeps Tonight – (Peretti, Creatore, Weiss, Stanton) – the #1 smash by The Tokens updated. Close to the original though the arrangement is more layered. Still great. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_Sleeps_Tonight
- Tonight I Fell In Love – (Margo, Medress, Siegel) – an update of their single from 1961 (one that they had produced for The Happenings also, on their self titled debut album from 1966). A doo wop given a bit of sunshine pep (yes “pep”).
- I Hear Trumpets Blow – (Margo, Margo, Medress, Siegel) – an update of their single and album (“I Hear Trumpets Blow”) track from 1966. Not too bad though the lyric makes it sound older than it is.
- He’s In Town – (G. Goffin, C. King) – an update of their single and album (“I Hear Trumpets Blow”) track from 1966.
- If I Were A Carpenter – (T. Hardin) – Written by Tim Hardin but a big hit for Bobby Darin in 1966 (#8US) (Hardin recorded it in 1967). The Tokens would have loved Tim Hardin’s folkiness though Darin the native New Yorker with his folk pop version (amongst many other folk pop songs he did in the mid 60s) would have been the inspiration. Their powerhouse vocals also suggest Darin. A great version. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_I_Were_a_Carpenter_(song)
- Some People Sleep – (Margo, Margo, Medress, Siegel) – recorded around this time and probably for this album. An original and one they would re-record for their album “Intercourse” (1972). Gentle and a little dreamy.
And …
A wonderful underrated album of sunshine pop. A minor obscure classic … I’m keeping it.
Chart Action
US
Singles
1969 She Lets Her Hair Down (Early in the Morning) #61 US Pop
1970 Don’t Worry Baby #95 US Pop
Album
Failed to chart
England
nothing
Sounds
Full album
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bZM0ehlULs
Both Sides Now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEI3PSl_Je4
She Lets Her Hair Down
Live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45akBxUlowI
Don’t Worry Baby
mp3 attached
Others
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgI4DdINQLQ
original versions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRe753rvhpc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRe753rvhpc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O04af9bySAc
Review
https://www.allmusic.com/album/both-sides-now-mw0000739990
https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/both-sides-now
Bio
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tokens
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-tokens-mn0000919853/biography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Bergen
Website
https://www.facebook.com/jaysiegelstokens
Trivia
- “Accompanist” for the Tokens is listed as Shenny Brown who under Shenny “Goofy” Brown released a 45 on B.T. Puppy records in 1967.
- I’m not sure what is up with the sleeve as only three of the tokens are featured and a not on the front sleeve says “Mitch was not available to be photographed when we did this picture, so please turn to the back to see Mitch and also see The Tokens “then”.”
- Neil Sedaka was in the Tokens in the mid 1950s.
the humorous 1970 “hip” back sleeve which actually explains the history of this album:
RIP John Prine 1946-2020
