Genre: rock
Rating: *** 3 stars
Title: Harmony Grass
Company: RCA Victor
Catalog: SF 8034
Year: 1970
Country/State: Essex, UK
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: UK pressing
Available: SOLD
Catalog ID: SOLD 6170
Price: SOLD $150.00
Cost: $66.00
Genre: rock
Rating: *** 3 stars
Title: This Is Us
Company: RCA Victor
Catalog: SF 8034
Year: 1970
Country/State: Essex, UK
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: Italian pressing
Available: 1
Catalog ID: 6171
Price: $150.00
Here's a late-1960s band that deserved far greater attention than they got - not that it would take much to do since they were virtually unknown in their native England, let alone complete unknowns in the States. Funny story ... Not knowing anything about this outfit I found two copies of their LP at a yard sale. The album looked interesting and the prices were right so I grabbed them. I remember looking the band up in Vernon Joynson's The Tapestry of Delights reference work and based on what was a lukewarm review, setting them aside. It took me five years to actually get around to listen to the collection. Stupid me ...
Singer Tony Rivers achieved some mid-1960s fame fronting the cleverly named Tony Rivers & the Castaways. When that outfit collapsed in 1966 he along with Castaways Ray Brown (bass) and Kenny Rowe (drums) formed Harmony Grass. With help from manager Colin Johnson in 1968 they signed a deal with RCA Victor scoring a hit with their debut single:
- 1968's 'Move In a Little Closer Baby' b/w ''Happiness Is Toy Shaped (RCA catalog number 1772)
YouTube has a great black and white performance clip from the German Beat Club television program:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjWsp1DozOE
That was quickly followed by a string of poor selling follow-on 45s:
- 1969's 'First Time Loving' b/w 'What a Groovy Day' (RCA catalog number 1928)
- 1969's 'I Remember' b/w 'Summer Dreaming' (RCA catalog number 1885)
- 1970's 'Mrs. Richie' b/w ''Teach Me How' (RCA catalog number 1928)
- 1970's 'Ceclia' b/w ''Mrs. Richie' (RCA catalog number 1928)
For anyone interested, the first two 45s saw a US release:
- 1968's 'Move In a Little Closer Baby' b/w ''Happiness Is Toy Shaped (RCA Victor catalog number 47-9724)
- 1969's 'First Time Loving' b/w 'What a Groovy Day' (RCA Victor catalog number 47-15 142)
For whatever reason RCA took its corporate time in releasing an album - "This Is Us" wasn't issued until 1970 and when it did appear enjoyed little or no promotion. Musically the collection offered up a mixture of previously released singles, demos, and unreleased studio numbers that sounded as if they've been previously recorded and shelved. Listening to the set its easy to see why it failed to attract much attention. The band's mix of original and cover tunes was a clear reflection of their musical influences which unlike most late-1960s UK bands had nothing to do with The Beatles, Cream, or The Who and instead looked up to American sunshine pop groups like The Association, The Beach Boys, and even a bit of Four Seasons. Exemplified by songs such as 'What a Groovy Day' and ''Summer Dreaming', that harmony rich, highly commercial sound was way out of whack with then-prevailing public tastes. Shame, but goes a long way to explaining why the album disappeared without a trace. As lead singer Rivers was quite good - he had a highly commercial voice that was well suited for these pop tunes, though occasional lead vocalist Tony Harding wasn't quite as appealing.
- Written by Americans Arnold Capitanelli and Robert O'Connor 'Move In a Little Closer Baby' was clearly intended for maximum radio exposure. Featuring a wonderful hook cloaked in Beach Boys-styled harmonies and heavy orchestration, its easy to see why this one was tapped as the band's debut single. That said, it is a bit on the calculated and saccharine side. Mama Cass also recorded a version of the song rating: *** stars
- Written by Rivers, 'My Little Girl' was another harmony-rich pop song that clearly showcased the band's affection for The Beach Boys. To my ears this track was actually better than the single since it showcased the band without the overwhelming orchestral arrangement that almost sank the other track. Tony Ferguson turned in one of the album's better solos on this one. rating: **** stars
- Given the dated sound (way more 1966-67 than 69-70), I'm guessing that the Rivers-penned 'What a Groovy Day' was actually A Tony Rivers & the Castaways track that was resurrected from the vaults for this album. It may have sounded a bit dated, but the fact of the matter is with a beautiful breezy melody and those trademarked tight knit harmony vocals (The Association would have been envious), this was one of the album's best performances. rating: **** stars
- A stark and slightly acid-tinged ballad, 'I've Seen To Dream' featured a multi-tracked Rivers lead vocal with more Beach Boys harmonies. Nowhere near as commercial as the earlier songs, but all the better for the more experimental edge and Ferguson turned in some cool jangle guitar moves. rating: **** stars
- '(It Ain't Necessarily) Byrd Avenue' was the album's first disappointment. Apparently intended to showcase their harmony vocal skills, the song was an exceptionally lame slice of MOR pop. Yeah the lyrics were mildly entertaining, but this one sounded like a bad Free Design outtake. rating: ** stars
- I won't even begin to speculate why they decided to include a cover of the Mack Gordon and Harry Warren chestnut 'Chattanooga Choo Choo'. Yeah, they tried to update it, but their pop-ified version really did nothing to improve this one. Totally forgettable. rating: ** stars
- Written by Capitanelli and O’Connor who'd penned the debut single, 'Good Thing' was the band's choice for their sophomore single though RCA management disagreed eventually releasing First Time Loving'. Bad choice on RCA's part since this Beach Boys-meets-the-Four Seasons pop song was far better. With Rivers turning in his best Frankie Valli impression, the title track refrain provided what was probably the album's most catchy moment. rating: **** stars
- Kicked along by some sterling acoustic guitar, standup bass, and church organ, 'Mrs. Richie' was a bit different than the rest of their catalog. The trademarked harmonies remained in place, but this time out The Beach Boys influences were replaced by a Crosby, Stills and Nash flavor. Very nice. Too bad they didn't get a chance to do more stuff in this vein. rating: **** stars
- A Tony Rivers and the Castaways track, 'Summer Dreaming' found the band returning to prime Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" territory. It looses points in the originality category, but more than makes up for it in terms of enthusiasm and having a wonderful hook. rating: **** stars
- With Tony Harding handling lead vocals, 'I Think of You' underscored the band's more irritating tendencies - in this case another pseudo-jazzy, MOR ballad that managed to make Sergio Medes and Brazil '66 sound like acid rockers. Extremely lame ... rating: * star
- Another Rivers original, 'Ballad of Michael' was one of the album's strangest tracks. Starting out as an folk rocker it seemed to have some sort of social commentary lyric (Rivers rapid fire, I'm-on-speed lyrics made it hard to follow the plotline), before suddenly taking an end-of-song detour into Dave Brubeck cocktail jazz territory. I found an interview with Rivers where he explained the song - '[it] was based entirely on our roadie at the time Mike Barnard, every word was a simple but true observation of an old ‘silver fox’ at work. He was prematurely grey, but only a young man. A real character, softly spoken, a real gentle man. Mike sadly died a few years ago, of a heart attack." rating: *** stars
- As a straight-ahead acappela number, their cover of the traditional 'Tom Dooley' was technically quite impressive, but not particularly pop-oriented. rating: ** stars
- Imagine The Association and The Four Seasons collaborating on a song and you'll get a feel for 'What Do You Do When Love Dies' sounds like. Another one that's a bit calculated, but the song's pop charms ultimate get to me. rating: **** stars
"This Is Us" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Move In a Little Closer Baby (Arnold Capitanelli - Robert O'Connor) - 2:34
2.) My Little Girl (Tony Rivers) - 3:18
3.) What a Groovy Day (Tony Rivers) - 3:31
4.) I've Seen To Dream (Tony Rivers) - 3 :15
5.) (It Ain't Necessarily) Byrd Avenue (Smith) - 2:06
6.) Chattanooga Choo Choo (Mack Gordon - Harry Warren) - 2:21
(side
2)
1.)
Good Thing (Arnold Capitanelli - Robert O'Connor) - 2:41
2.) Mrs. Richie (Tony Rivers - Kenny Rowe) - 3:45
3.) Summer Dreaming (Tony Rivers) -2:17
4.) I Think of You
5.) Ballad of Michael (Tony Rivers) -2:36
6.) Tom Dooley (traditional) - 2:20
7.) What Do You Do When Love Dies (Ubonsky - Weiss) - 2:48
I've never seen a copy, but the catalog includes a rare four track Portuguese EP.
"Harmony Grass" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) First Time Loving - 3:33
2.) Happiness Is Toy Shaped - 2:23
(side 2)
1.) Move In a Little Closer Baby - 2:43
2.) What a Groovy Day - 3:30
With various personnel changes the band continued to perform on the club circuit, but with little support from RCA they essentially ran out of steam in 1970.
Ferguson and Rowe subsequently reappeared as members of Capability Brown.
Rivers started to pursue a solo career, but shifted his attention to songwriting and production. He has a small web presence at: