Genre: folk-rock
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title: Eve of Destruction
Company: Dunhill
Catalog: D 50003
Year: 1965
Grade (cover/record): VG/VG
Country/State:
Comments: minor ring and edge wear (far better than most copies we've encountered); slight click on title track; mono pressing
Available: 1
GEMM Catalog ID: not yet listed
Price: $30.00
Barry McGuire's initial fame came from his acting work - he was a regular on television's "Route 66". By the
early-1960s he'd expanded his interests into music, collaborating with Barry Kane in Barry and Barry (see separate entry). 1962 found McGuire joining the New Christie Minstrels. Over the next two years he helped write and provided lead vocals on some of the group's biggest hits, including "Green Green", "Saturday Night" and "Three Wheels On My Wagon". in 1964 McGuire struck out in pursuit of a solo career.
Having met producer/manager Lou Adler at a Byrds concert, in 1965 McGuire signed with Adler's newly formed ABC affiliated Dunhill subsidiary (subsequently bringing The Mamas and the Papas to the label's attention). For his label debut, McGuire chose to release a cover of P.F. Sloan's topical "Eve of Destruction" b/w "What Exactly's the Matter with Me". With it's subtle anti-war lyrics (one of the first protest songs to gain widespread attention) the song immediately generated waves of controversy (leading many radio stations to band it). The resulting publicity certainly didn't hurt sales, the single quickly topping the pop charts. In keeping with established marketing strategy, Dunhill quickly rushed McGuire into the studio to record a supporting album. Co-produced by Adler, Sloan (who wrote much of the material) and Steve Barri, the cleverly-titled
"Eve of Destruction" featured a mix of socially relevant protest songs ("Sins of the Family", the six minute plus "Mr. Man On the Street - Act One" and "What Exactly's the Matter with Me"), mandatory Dylan covers ("She Belongs To Me" and "Baby Blue") and folk-rock numbers ("You Were On My Mind" and Sloan's "Sloop John B" - whose arrangement was largely appropriated by The Beach Boys for their cover version). While the set sounded somewhat rushed, it wasn't half bad. Ignoring the media's decision to cast McGuire as a "spokesman for his generation", the man had a decent voice (that occasionally recalled Eric Burdon). While McGuire didn't have much range, his rough hewn manner was well suited for much of the material; particularly numbers such as "Try To Remember" and the jangle-rockers "Ain't No Way I'm Gonna Change My Mind" and "Why Not Stop & Dig It While You Can". Propelled by the title track, the LP hit
# 37.
"Eve of Destruction" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Eve of Destruction (P.F. Sloan) - 3:20
2.) She Belonds To Me (Bob Dylan) - 2:40
3.) You Never Had It So Good (P.F. Sloan - Steve Barri) - 3:02
4.) Sloop John B. (P.F. Sloan - Steve Barri - Barry McGuire - Bones Howe) - 3:20
5.) Baby Blue (Bob Dyaln) - 2:25
6.) The Sins of a Family (P.F. Sloan) - 3:02
(side 2)
1.) Try To Remember (Tom Jones - Harvey Schmidt) - 3:18
2.) Mr. Man On the Street - Act One (P.F. Sloan) - 6:20
3.) You Were On My Mind (S. Fricker) - 2:40
4.) Ain't No Way I'm Gonna Change My Mind (P.F. Sloan - Steve Barri) - 2:35
5.) What Exactly's the Matter with Me (P.F. Sloan) - 2:23
6.) Why Not Stop & Dig It While You Can (Barry McGuire) - 2:13