Marketts, The
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1961-62) as The Mar-Kets - Michael Z. Gordon -- keyboards, rhythm guitar - Eddie Kay -- lead guitar - Bill Moody -- - Randy Viers --
line up 1 (1962-69) as The Marketts - Michael Z. Gordon -- keyboards, rhythm guitar - Eddie Kay -- lead guitar - Bill Moody -- - Randy Viers --
line up 2 (1973-75) - Ben Benay -- lead guitar - Mike Henderson -- sax - Tom Hensley -- piano - Richard Hobaica -- keyboards - Ray Pohlman -- bass - Gene Peollo -- drums, percussion
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- Michael Z. Gordon and Th Marketts - The Mar-Kets - The Microns (Michael Z. Gordon) - The Routers (Michael Z. Gordon)
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Genre: pop Rating: 2 stars ** Title: AM-FM, Etc. Company: Mercury Catalog: SRM-1-679 Country/State: Hollywood, California Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 779 Price: $20.00
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I certainly can't explain the background behind the sudden and unexpected re-appearance of The Marketts. In fact, as far as I can tell, other than the participation of producer Joe Saraceno and the nameplate, this Marketts line-up shared nothing in common with the earlier (1961-69) Michael Z. Gordion-led version of the band. Founding member Gordon didn't appear to have anything to do with the project and the "members" shown on the performance credits appeared to be studio pros (guitarist Ben Benay, sax player Mike Henderson, drummer Gene Pello, etc.).
Released in 1973, the Saraceno produced "The Marketts" marked the band's first studio set since 1967's "Sun Power". Musically it found the group continuing to troll their slightly odd instrumental legacy, although this time around they largely abandoned their hot rod and surf music roots in favor of more contemporary sounds. As an instrumental combo, the resulting sound was smooth and professional, but also served to instantly date them, as did the album's weird collection of covers, remakes and originals. From an artistic standpoint there simply wasn't much to get excited about. Even remakes of their 1962 hits 'Balboa Blue' and 'Surfer's Stomp' were pretty lame, while a decision to cover Henry Mancini's 'Mystery Movie Theme' was sleep inducing. If you had to pick a standout, then the honor probably went to their cover of Bill Justis' 'Raunchy' which at least maintained some of the original's energy (for goodness sake, it was supposedly the song that got George Harrison into The Beatles) and guitarist Ben Benay's funky 'The Gnome'. Other than that, this was largely a waste of vinyl.
"AM-FM
Etc." track listing: 1.) Mystery Movie Theme (instrumental) (Henry Mancini) - 2:14 Geez, I'm old enough to remember this song from the NBC television show. Didn't like it then and don't like it now. Smooth, MOR that was fitting for a television theme song ... Naturally Mercury tapped it as the band's comeback single. Yech. rating: ** stars 3.) Thoughts (instrumental) (Mike Hendersn) - 2:26 One of four originals, 'Thoughts' pushed the band into adult contemporary lite jazz. Nice enough, but this was the kind of stuff you heard in corporate lobbies, or while waiting to see your dentist. Soothing and coma inducing. rating: ** stars 3.) Bamdolero Homecoming (instrumental) (Mike Henderson) - 2:30 'Bamdolero Homecoming' sounded like some sort of weird mash-up between Broadway tune, flamenco workout, and Oktoberfest party. Weird and not particularly enjoyable. rating: ** stars 4.) Raunchy (instrumental) (W. Justis Jr - S. Manker) - 2:54 Their cover of Bill Justis' 'raunchy' may have been the album's highlight ... Yeah, the original version is better, but they turn in a cover that would not have embarrassed the writer. rating: *** stars 5.) Balboa Blue / Surfer's Stomp (instrumental) (Joe Saraceno - Murphy / Joe Saraceno - Daugherty) - 3:13 A nod to their own history, side one ended with remakes of their earlier hits - in 1962 they took 'Balboa Blue' to # 48 and 'Surfer's Stomp' hit # 32. The remakes were decent, but lacked the edge found on the original versions. rating: ** stars
(side
2) Maybe due to the fact my expectations were so low, I have to admit their cover of Vince Guaraldi's 'Cast Your Faith To the Wind' wasn't half bad. rating: *** stars 2.) Avenues and Alleyways (instrumental) (Peter Callander - Mitch Murray) - 2:55 Another one I'm old enough to remember - in this case Tony Christie originally recorded the tune as the theme to the television program The Protector. Without the vocal, this was nothing more than incidental film music. rating: ** stars 3.) The Gnome (instrumental) (Ben Benay) -2:54 One of two tunes penned by guitarist Ben Benay, 'The Gnome" was actually one of the two stand-out performances. Showcasing Benay's snarling lead guiatr, the result was a surprisingly cool slice of funk, that would have sounded right at home on some slinky Blaxploitation soundtrack. Surprised this one hasn't been repeatedly sampled. rating: **** stars 4.) Lucky Me (instrumental) (G.L. Bourdages) - 2:14 I'll keep these comments short ... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz rating: ** stars 5.) Sister Candy (instrumental) (Ben Benay) - 3:11 The second Benay-penned track, 'Sister Candy' could have been a mid-'70s radio hit had someone slapped a vocal on it and stripped off Mike Henderson's sax. Pretty tune with some nice multi-tracked lead guitar. rating: *** stars
As mentioned, the album spun off one obscure single:
- 1973's 'Mystery Movie Theme' b/w 'Sister Candy' (Mercury catalog number 73433)
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