Post by Pete70s on Nov 21, 2005 19:24:54 GMT -5
Being busy with my last semester of school, I don't get to do these reviews as often as I wish I could, but I do still like to write them when I have a little extra time. Plus, they're therapeutic for me to write.
So here's an album review I've been meaning to do for quite some time, by one of my very favorite groups. I don't really expect anyone but Ed to have heard of these guys, but some of you MAY be familiar with one song in particular.
Orpheus, 1967
*BTW- Since this band is not very familiar here, I've linked an Amazon page with sound samples.
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000004EM/ref=m_art_li_1/104-7584482-8675948?v=glance&s=music
I STRONGLY encourage you to give them a listen, and if you like what you hear, feel free to PM me, and maybe we can work out a trade or something. I have an out-of-print CD set that includes all four of their albums in their entirety.*
The tracks:
1- I've Never Seen Love Like This
2- Lesley's World
3- Congress Alley
4- Music Machine
5- Door Knob Song
6- I'll Stay With You
7- Can't Find The Time To Tell You
8- Never In My Life
9- The Dream
Orpheus were the spearhead of an ill-fated movement known as the "Bosstown Sound" in the mid-late 60's. Several groups from the Boston area were signed to MGM records and pushed as "the next big thing". Among them were The Ultimate Spinach, The Beacon Street Union, The Ill Wind, Bagatelle, Phluph, and Earth Opera.
The problem was, there were SO many groups, and NONE of them had anything that resembled a specific "Sound", they all sounded completely different. Thus, "The Bosstown Sound" did not really exist. Rolling Stone magazine, then a hip counter-culture magazine, dismissed it as "media hype", and the movement kind of "died on the vine".
But one of these bands really SHOULD have gone on to be huge, and that was Orpheus. Based in Worcester, MA (twenty minutes from where I live!), and led by singer-guitarist Bruce Arnold, Orpheus made four albums between 1967-1971 (the first three by the original group, the fourth on a different label by a reformed group) and placed two songs in the Billboard Hot 100.
Their sound was mellow, classical-influenced pop music, very similar to a lot of the orchestrated pop of the time, with unusual chord structures and complex arrangements, (by producer/arranger Alan Lorber) and of course, great vocal harmonies, which you know I'm a big fan of.
As the movement died out, Orpheus hung on until 1969 (Ironically, this was the year they would chart those two singles on Billboard). In 1971, Bruce Arnold reformed the band with longtime lyricist Steve Martin (not the comedian..), who had written songs on the first three albums but had not been a member. (another irony is that Orpheus reformed earlier this year, with Martin and the members of the original band, MINUS Bruce Arnold!)
This first album is my personal favorite of the four, and the easiest to find
So here's a brief track-by-track:
"I've Never Seen Love Like This" is a great upbeat opener, with great string arrangements. I think this was attempted as a single at one point, because on the original vinyl copy I had was a sticker on the front cover stating this as the "hit", so I assume it got airplay in Boston, but nowhere else.
"Lesley's World" The only song there is no sample for on the Amazon link, because it was the only song from this album that did not make that particular collection. Too bad, as it's one of the best cuts here!
"Congress Alley" was written about a street in Worcester,
which someday I plan to look for, I just don't get to Worcester much these days..
"Music Machine" keeps going with the flow of the album, with great horn and string arrangements.
"Door Knob Song" is the most socially conscious track here, a song about prejudice. No one batted an eyelash at the line "Remember how our auntie Mary used to bitch and moan?" Pretty coarse language for 1967!
"I'll Stay With You" is a great opener to side 2.
"Can't Find The Time" is a song some of you may know in some form. It was a HUGE hit in Boston (#80 nationally), and still to this day gets airplay here. A group called Rose Colored Glass had a national hit with it in '71, and Hootie & The Blowfish covered it for the soundtrack to "Me, Myself and Irene". But in Boston, THIS is the only version that matters!
"Never In My Life" a song done in 3/4 time (and even states it in the lyrics!). A little weird sounding at first, but it becomes quite catchy, and also has a very strange psychedelic sound collage at the end.
"The Dream" When I first heard this album, I liked this song the least, but I've grown to like it a lot. It's a slow moving, haunting piece that is quite beautiful, and closes the album nicely.
There you have it.. The first album clocks in at less than a half hour in length, so it's short but sweet. Not a bad song in the bunch. While their second album, "Ascending", was good, it contained a couple of covers and a couple of novelty tunes which I never cared for. The third album, "Joyful" was also good but nowhere near as good as their debut. "Orpheus" stands as a memento of what was and what could've been, and to this day has a warm spot in the hearts of many people in New England!
So here's an album review I've been meaning to do for quite some time, by one of my very favorite groups. I don't really expect anyone but Ed to have heard of these guys, but some of you MAY be familiar with one song in particular.
Orpheus, 1967
*BTW- Since this band is not very familiar here, I've linked an Amazon page with sound samples.
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000004EM/ref=m_art_li_1/104-7584482-8675948?v=glance&s=music
I STRONGLY encourage you to give them a listen, and if you like what you hear, feel free to PM me, and maybe we can work out a trade or something. I have an out-of-print CD set that includes all four of their albums in their entirety.*
The tracks:
1- I've Never Seen Love Like This
2- Lesley's World
3- Congress Alley
4- Music Machine
5- Door Knob Song
6- I'll Stay With You
7- Can't Find The Time To Tell You
8- Never In My Life
9- The Dream
Orpheus were the spearhead of an ill-fated movement known as the "Bosstown Sound" in the mid-late 60's. Several groups from the Boston area were signed to MGM records and pushed as "the next big thing". Among them were The Ultimate Spinach, The Beacon Street Union, The Ill Wind, Bagatelle, Phluph, and Earth Opera.
The problem was, there were SO many groups, and NONE of them had anything that resembled a specific "Sound", they all sounded completely different. Thus, "The Bosstown Sound" did not really exist. Rolling Stone magazine, then a hip counter-culture magazine, dismissed it as "media hype", and the movement kind of "died on the vine".
But one of these bands really SHOULD have gone on to be huge, and that was Orpheus. Based in Worcester, MA (twenty minutes from where I live!), and led by singer-guitarist Bruce Arnold, Orpheus made four albums between 1967-1971 (the first three by the original group, the fourth on a different label by a reformed group) and placed two songs in the Billboard Hot 100.
Their sound was mellow, classical-influenced pop music, very similar to a lot of the orchestrated pop of the time, with unusual chord structures and complex arrangements, (by producer/arranger Alan Lorber) and of course, great vocal harmonies, which you know I'm a big fan of.
As the movement died out, Orpheus hung on until 1969 (Ironically, this was the year they would chart those two singles on Billboard). In 1971, Bruce Arnold reformed the band with longtime lyricist Steve Martin (not the comedian..), who had written songs on the first three albums but had not been a member. (another irony is that Orpheus reformed earlier this year, with Martin and the members of the original band, MINUS Bruce Arnold!)
This first album is my personal favorite of the four, and the easiest to find
So here's a brief track-by-track:
"I've Never Seen Love Like This" is a great upbeat opener, with great string arrangements. I think this was attempted as a single at one point, because on the original vinyl copy I had was a sticker on the front cover stating this as the "hit", so I assume it got airplay in Boston, but nowhere else.
"Lesley's World" The only song there is no sample for on the Amazon link, because it was the only song from this album that did not make that particular collection. Too bad, as it's one of the best cuts here!
"Congress Alley" was written about a street in Worcester,
which someday I plan to look for, I just don't get to Worcester much these days..
"Music Machine" keeps going with the flow of the album, with great horn and string arrangements.
"Door Knob Song" is the most socially conscious track here, a song about prejudice. No one batted an eyelash at the line "Remember how our auntie Mary used to bitch and moan?" Pretty coarse language for 1967!
"I'll Stay With You" is a great opener to side 2.
"Can't Find The Time" is a song some of you may know in some form. It was a HUGE hit in Boston (#80 nationally), and still to this day gets airplay here. A group called Rose Colored Glass had a national hit with it in '71, and Hootie & The Blowfish covered it for the soundtrack to "Me, Myself and Irene". But in Boston, THIS is the only version that matters!
"Never In My Life" a song done in 3/4 time (and even states it in the lyrics!). A little weird sounding at first, but it becomes quite catchy, and also has a very strange psychedelic sound collage at the end.
"The Dream" When I first heard this album, I liked this song the least, but I've grown to like it a lot. It's a slow moving, haunting piece that is quite beautiful, and closes the album nicely.
There you have it.. The first album clocks in at less than a half hour in length, so it's short but sweet. Not a bad song in the bunch. While their second album, "Ascending", was good, it contained a couple of covers and a couple of novelty tunes which I never cared for. The third album, "Joyful" was also good but nowhere near as good as their debut. "Orpheus" stands as a memento of what was and what could've been, and to this day has a warm spot in the hearts of many people in New England!
