Orpheus
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1967-70) - Bruce Arnold (RIP 2022) -- lead vocals, guitar - Eric Gulliksen -- bass, backing vocals - Jack McKenes -- lead guitar, backing vocals - Harry Sandler -- drums, percussion, backing vocals
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- The Blue Echoes (Eric Gulliksen) - College Boys (Eric Gulliksen and Jack McKenes) - The Mods (Harry Sandler)
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Genre: sunshine-pop Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Ascending Company: MGM Catalog: SE-4569 Country/State: Worcester, Massachusetts Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $25.00
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Sadly, today Orpheus is best known as one of the "Bosstown" also-rans ... That's unfortunate since they were one of the more talented outfits to get caught up in producer Alan Lorber's vision for an East Cost counterpart to the San Francisco Sound.
With
their debut album having gained some press attention and modest sales
(putting them way ahead of most of their Bosstown compatriots),
producer Alan Lorber and MGM Records decided to release a follow-on
album. Coming roughly six months after the release of "Orpheus"
it doesn't seem to have crossed anyone's mind the band might need more time
to develop material for another album. In fact Arnold and company were
left scrambling for material. The end result was a t
"Ascending" track listing: 1.) I'll Fly (Bruce Arnold) - 2:29 rating: *** stars Geez, judging by 'I'll Fly' Arnold and company should have sued producer Lober for criminal neglect. To start off the song wasn't very good, sounding like it was penned as the theme song for a television sitcom, or perhaps an ad for an airline. With lead guitarist Jack McKenes handled lead vocals, this one at least had a melody. Unfortunately burying the song in waves of strings and horns, the band sounded like they were struggling to not drown. Lober's decision to speed the arrangement up just made it all the worse. Every time I hear it my mind wanders off to Alvin and the Chipmunks. 2.) Just Got Back (Steve Martin) - 3:51 rating: **** stars Band friend Steve Martin contributed three songs to the first Orpheus album and was back with what turned out the be the second album's standout performance. Showcasing Arnold's acoustic guitar, the brief introductory segment featured a beautiful, almost medieval feeling. Thirty seconds in the song switched into a heavy, bluesy melody complete with nice harmonies. This was one of the few songs that survived Lorber's brutal post-production work. With a dark, ominous feel, it's always reminded me of something off one of the two H.P. Lovecraft studio albums. 3.) Mine's Yours (Bruce Arnold) - 3:19 rating: ** stars Arnold had a lovely voice, but it was certain wasted on MOR ballads like 'Mine's Yours.' POwered by Arnold's finder-picking acoustic guitar the melody was certainly pretty enough, but the performance was just so precious ... Kind of an Saturday Night Live lounge act singer feel here. Add in Lorber's production and this was music to take a nap to. 4.) Don't Be So Serious (Bruce Arnold) - 2:15 rating: ** stars At least 'Don't Be So Serious' found the band moving away from sensitive ballads. The bad news is 'Don't Be So Serious' found them diving into cutesy, almost bubblegum territory. Kicked along by bright horns and complete with cartoon voices, this one would not have sounded out of place on a Partridge Family, or Spanky and Our Gang album. Pretty dreadful. Be happy now dammit !!! 5.) So Far Away In Love (Bruce Arnold) - 1:50 rating: *** stars Arnold wrote 'So Far Away In Love' while a member of the pre-Orpheus The Villagers. A nice folk-rocker, the song would have been even better without Lober's speeded up production. 6.) She's Not There (Rod Argent) - 3:10 rating: ** stars Covering a classic pop song like The Zombies' 'She's Not There' is normally a fool-hearted choice. Sure you can try to put your band's stamp on the tune with some bizarre arrangement, but most of the time you are going to fail. The one thing Orpheus might have had going for them was Arnold' and McKenes' voices. The timbre of their vocals could approximate Colin Blunstone (Arnold on lead with McKenes handlign the choruses). So how'd it turn out? Their arrangement stuck pretty close to the Zombies' original; Arnold and McKenes didn't sound bad, but even with the jazzy guitar interlude, ultimately their take added nothing to the original.
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2) At least to my ears, the bubbly 'Love Over Here' was easily the album's most commercially appealing performance. The performance was even better given the pair's snide snide anti-hipsters lyrics. Give them credit for seeing through all that peace and crap nonsense. As good as Arnold's vocals were, the real star on this one came in the form of Gulliksen's galloping bass line and the group's harmony vocals. 2.) Borneo (arranged by Orpehus) - 2:23 rating: * star Another old-timey number that probably sounded a lot better live and after you'd had a couple of cold beers, or partaken in some other recreational substance. The song was actually written in the late-'20s by Walter Donaldson (who should have gotten the writing credit). 3.) Just A Little Bit (Bruce Arnold) - 4:17 rating: ** stars The acoustic ballad 'Just a Little Bit' was another track from Arnold and Gulliksen's The Villagers' repertoire. It's always reminded me a bit of a bad America song. 4.) Walk Away Renee (Michael Brown - Tony Sansone - Bob Calilli) - 3:09 rating: *** stars I'd suggest just reading the comments under 'She's Not There' but plug in The Left Banke wherever you see The Zombies. Okay, with group harmonies this was marginally better than the earlier over, but i wasn't going to make you forget The Left Banke original. 5.) Roses (Eric Gulliksen) - 3:35 rating: * star Guitarist Gulliksen's lone solo contribution, 'Roses' was a painfully sincere acoustic ballad. Not sure what the wave sound effects were supposed to add. 6.) Magic Air (Harold Sandler) - 3:50 rating: *** stars Supposedly the first song he'd written, 'Magic Air' served as drummer Sandler's lone solo contribution, 'The album's trippiest outing, Sandler's voice wasn't anywhere near as good as Arnold's, but the mash-up of sweet, innocent vocal harmonies (move over The Association) and the lysergic lyrics was kind of cool. By the way, this was another one where the song's speed just sounded off.
76 years old, Arnold passed away in October, 2022.
SRB 05/2024 ©
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Genre: sunshine-pop Rating: 2 stars ** Title: Joyful Company: MGM Catalog: SE-4599 Country/State: Worcester, Massachusetts Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: torn DJ sticker on front cover Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $25.00
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I've always wondered how the members of Orpheus managed to stay together for a third album, let alone continued to work with producer Alan Lorber. My guess is it had something to do with legal threats and contractual requirements. No matter, once again produced by Lorber, 1968's "Joyful" found the band making a concerted effort at a more mainstream and commercial sound. Like the previous collection, the album featured a mixture of previously shelved originals ('I Can Make The Sun Rise'), new material written by Arnold and Gulliksen and a couple of cover tunes - notably The Turtles' 'Me About You' and the odd single 'Brown Arms I Houston.' Exemplified by material like 'To Touch Our Love Again', the single 'Brown Arms In Houston' and 'As They All Fall' the majority of the ten selections reflected big, hyper-sensitive, heavily orchestrated ballads. Perhaps if some of the melodies had been more memorable and Lorber's arrangements more streamlined? And like the previous albums the collection offered tantalizing glimpses into how good these guys could be. 'May I Look At You' was a decent pop tune, while 'Lovin' You' was a tasty Byrds-influenced folk-rocker. Sadly that wasn't the prominent sound. Unfortunately this is one of these album where thirty minutes after you've played it you'll find yourself struggling to remember any of the songs.
"Joyful" track listing: 1.) By The Size Of My Shoes (Jimmy Williams - Larry Weiss) - 3:40 rating: ** stars Hum, keyboard-powered, blue-eyed soul was a new musical niche for these guys. It wasn't bad, but somehow didn't really click with me. The "insightful" lyrics left me cold as did the MOR arrangement, complete with bleating female backing vocals. 2.) Me About You (Alan Gordon - Gary Bonner) - 3:02 rating: ** stars If you were familiar with The Turtles pop arrangement of 'Me About You', the Orpheus cover is going to be a shocker. Redone as a stark, acoustic singer-songwriter ballad it was pretty, but not particularly memorable. The arrangement would have been way better without Lorber's strings. Of course I still think The Turtles version is far stronger. 3.) May I Look At You (Bruce Arnold) - 3:00 rating: *** stars A surprisingly commercial tune, complete with strumming guitars and sweet group harmonies, 'May I Look At You' came about as close to outright pop as these guys ever came. 4.) To Touch Our Love Again (Bruce Arnold - Eric Gulliksen) - 3:00 rating: ** stars Opening and ending with church bells, the ballad 'To Touch Our Love Again' found Arnold and Gulliksen trading off lead vocals. The song's always reminded me of something off a Righteous Brothers album. 5.) Lovin' You (Bruce Arnold - Eric Gulliksen - Jack McKenes) - 2:35 rating: **** stars Kicked along by some glistening Byrds-styled twelve-string folk-rock moves, 'Lovin' You' was one of the best tracks they ever recorded. Unfortunately Lorber's hackneyed orchestration pushed the performance way to close to MOR sushine pop.
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2) Yes I know it was one of their two charting singles, but I have to tell you I dislike the flabby ballad 'Brown Arms In Houston.' To my ears it was tuneless, heavily orchestrated MOR with a Burt Bachrach-styled horn arrangement and lyrics were so sappy they made Jimmy Webb look like a death metal act . Completely forgettable. I'm guessing the only reason it was even recorded had something to do with the fact co-writer Lesley Miller was married to producer Alan Lorber. Hideous.
- 1969's 'Brown Arms In Houston' b/w 'I Can Make the Sun Rise' (MGM catalog number K-14022) # 91 Billboard pop charts
2.) As They All Fall (Bruce Arnold) - 2:35 rating: * star Hey, how about another heavily orchestrated ballad? In all fairness, the song at least had some nice Crosby and Nash styled harmonies. 3.) I Can Make The Sun Rise (Bruce Arnold - Eric Gulliksen) - 2:30 rating: * star Apparently a leftover from the debut album, 'I Can Make The Sun Rise' had a breezy melody that struggled under Lorber's horn arrangement. Another track that would have been so much better without the orchestration. 4.) Joyful (Bruce Arnold - Eric Gulliksen) - 3:30 rating: *** stars Yes, another ballad, but the title track at least boasted a memorable melody and some Free Design styled vocals. I really liked it until Lorber's orchestration buried the band. 5.) Of Enlightenment (Bruce Arnold) - 3:00 rating: *** stars Almost hymnal, the pastoral 'Of Enlightenment' can be seen as an indication of Arnold's future interests in activism and as a pastor.
© 06/2024 Scott R. Blackerby
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musical grab bag that sounded like it had been stitched together.
Included were 'I'll Fly' and a couple of castoffs from the debut album
sessions. As the band's prime songwriter,
Arnold's material was supplemented by material from the other band members -
Gulliksen contributing the acoustic ballad 'Roses' and Sandler adding the
album's most psychedelic effort 'Magic Air.' 'Just a Little Bit' and
'So Far Away In Love' were pre-Orpheus compositions dating back to Arnold
and Gulliksen's Villagers catalog. Rounding out the album were a pair
of serviceable cover tunes; The Zombies 'She's Not There' and The Left
Banke's 'Walk Away Renee.' In spite of its difficult
"birth", the sophomore set wasn't
a major departure from the debut. Given two weeks of studio time to
record the album, it's actually miraculous that it turned out as well as it
did. Also helping was the fact Lorber's penchant for heavy
orchestration was somewhat paired back, thought that was offset by his
decision to speed up the recording tapes on the final mix. Hearing
the album for the first time Arnold and company demanded MGM pull the
album. The label told them to pound sand and then essentially ignored
the album, not even bothering to float a single.
