The Sunshine Company
Band members Related acts
line-up 1 (1967) - Merle Bregante -- drums, percussion - Maury Manseau -- vocals, lead guitar, keyboards - Mary Nance (RIP 2019) -- vocals - Larry Sims (RIP 2014) -- bass
line-up 2 (1967-69) - Merle Bregante -- drums, percussion - Maury Manseau -- vocals, guitar, keyboards NEW - Douglas 'Red' Mark -- lead guitar - Mary Nance (RIP 2019) -- vocals - Larry Sims (RIP 2014) -- rhythm guitar
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- The Dirt Band (Merle Bregante) - Feather (Merle Bregante) - Loggins and Messina (Merle Bregante and Larry Sims) - Redeye (Douglas "Red" Mark)
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Genre: sunshine-pop Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: The Sunshine Company Company: Imperial Catalog: LP-12368 Year: 1968 Country/State: Los Angles, California Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $20.00
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Maury Manseau and Mary Nance met while choral students attending Long Beach's Harbor Junior College. The pair formed a duo and eventually added drummer Merle Bregante and bassist Larry Sims to the line-up. Their break came when Nitty Gritty Dirt Band manager William McEuen saw them playing at a Long Beach bar and offered to help them score a recording contract. With The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band signed to Liberty, his efforts saw quartet (now operating as The Sunshine Company) sign a recording contract with the Liberty associated Imperial Records.
Released in 1968,
the group's sophomore album "The Sunshine Company"
continued their musical partnership with producer Joe Saraceno. Not a
surprise, the second album found the
group continuing to mine the sunshine pop vein. With Manseau and Nance
splitting vocals, the album again
featured a mixture of covers and original numbers - Manseau and Sims
handling the writing c
"The
Sunshine Company" track listing:
1.) Look, Here Comes The Sun (John Boylan - Terry Boylan) - 2:53 rating: *** stars Spotlighting Maury Manseau's fragile voice, 'Look, Here Comes The Sun' was a sappy, heavily orchestrated ballad. The title track hook was actually pretty good, but George Tipton's orchestration threatened to overwhelm Manseau and just sucked the energy out of the performance. Imperial went ahead and tapped it as a single: - 1968's 'Look, Here Comes The Sun' b/w 'It's Sunday' (Imperial catalog number 66280) # 56 Billboard pop charts 2.) Reflections On an Angel (Maurice Manseau) - 2:38 rating: **** stars One of three group originals, Manseau's ballad 'Reflections On an Angel' showcased a sweet folk-rock arrangement that would not have sounded out of place on an early Lovin' Spoonful album. Helped by Mary Nance's backing vocals, Manseau's light vocals sounded much better on this one. My life seemed so much more innocent in that time. 3.) Love, That's Where It Is (Bob Schwartz - January Fine - Thomas Kaye) - 2:09 rating: *** stars With Nance handling lead vocals, 'Love, That's Where It Is' was one of the album's more upbeat, pop-oriented performances. I'll admit her little girl voice was quite sweet, but once again Tipton's heavy orchestration threatened to bury her. No idea if Douglas Mark actually played it, but if so the album sported a nice fuzz guitar solo. Should have been tapped as a single. 4.) Sunday Brought The Rain (Gregory Allman) - 2:41 rating: **** stars The sweet group vocals and traded lead vocals bore more than a passing resemblance to The Mamas and the Papas. In fact 'Sunday Brought The Rain' could easily have slotted on a Mama and the Papas album. Certainly a mid-'60s time piece, the song was even more fascinating as one of the first Greg Allman covers I've encountered. Nah, it wasn't a proto-'Whipping Post' ... The track also appeared as the "B" side on their 'Let's Get Together' 45. 5.) I Can't Help But Wonder (Tony Michaels - Vinny Gormann) - 2:11 rating: **** stars Hum, 'I Can't Help But Wonder ' found the group dipping their collective toes into pop-psych ... Treated vocals, pounding keyboard pattern, Sims' awesome bass line, what sounded like an early Moog ... 6.) I, To We, and Back Again (Larry Sims - Maurice Manseau) - 3:33 rating: **** stars Sounding like someone was putting an album on a record player, the opening sound effects were funny. From there showcasing Maurice on lead vocals and the rest of the band on harmonies, 'I, To We, and Back Again' was the album's prettiest performance.
(side
2) A staple of Salvation Army record bins, Les Baxter is best known for the vast amount of exotica music he recorded and for scoring dozens of long forgotten "B" films. That makes The Sunshine Company's cover of 'It's Sunday' one of the album's biggest surprises. Their cover was nothing short of great. Upbeat, bouncy and a load of fun, it was as good as anything John Phillips and company put down. The Friends of Distinction also recorded a version of the song though their arrangement sounds like The Fifth Dimension at their jazziest. 2.) You Don't Know Her Like I Do (Steve Gillette) - 3:10 rating: **** stars The album's most interesting performance, their folk-rock cover of Steve Gillette's ' You Don't Know Her Like I Do' finally displayed what they sounded like as a self-contained band. No orchestration, just lots of electric guitar and bass. Very impressive and an indication of what might have been. Extra star for Manseau's tasty lead guitar. 3.) Your Heart Is Free Just Like The Wind (Christian Chevallier - Frank Thomas - Jean-Michel Rivat - Joan Shakespeare) - 2:27 rating: * star Oh geez, this heavily orchestrated MOR ballad gives me visions of Richard Harris. For goodness sakes Vicki Carr even recorded a version of the song. 4.) If You Only Knew (Curtis Boettcher) - 2:50 rating: **** stars The late Curt Boettcher is one of my favorite pop-psych writers and his original version of 'If You Only Knew' is simply dreamy. With Manseau on lead vocals and backing vocals, The Sunshine Company's cover stuck with the original melody and arrangement and the result was simply gorgeous. Powered by some simple organ fills, light percussion and a nifty little guitar riff, this was one of the album highlights. Hard to believe it wasn't tapped as a single. 5.) Darcy Farrow (Steve Gillette) - 2:35 rating: ** stars Steve
Gillette's Darcy Farrow' has become something of a folk classic covered by
scores of musicians. With Nance and Manseau sharing lead vocals, their
versions was simply too folksy for my tastes. Admittedly their voices
melded nicely. Another track where Nance and Manseau shared lead vocals, 'Without Really Thinking' was a pretty ballad. Unfortunately Tipton's Baroque orchestration came out of nowhere and served as a good example of overwhelming the rest of the song.
© Scott R. Blackerby November, 2024
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Genre: sunshine-pop Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Sunshine & Shadows Company: Imperial Catalog: LP-12399 Year: 1968 Country/State: Los Angles, California Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: gatefold sleeve; sticker on cover Available: 1 Catalog ID: 4830 Price: $20.00
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Drummer Merle Bregante, guitarist Maury Manseau, singer Mary Nance and guitarist Larry Sims met while attending Los Angeles' Harbor Junior College. Manseau and Nance were members of the school choir, but all four quickly discovered they shared mutual interest in folk music. Low key performances on the local club circuit saw the group attract the attention of manager Bill McEuen who helped them score a contract with Imperial Records.
By the time The Sunshine Company got around to releasing their third and final studio album (there's supposedly a fourth set that was shelved by Imperial), popular tastes had moved on leaving these folks with little in the way of an audience. That's somewhat unfortunate since 1968's Joe Saraceno produced "Sunshine & Shadows" actually had some nice moments. The Mamas and Papas comparisons remained apt throughout much of the collection with tracks like 'On A Beautiful Day', the pretty ballad 'I'm Gonna Love You' and 'Wingate Square' underscoring their long-standing 'sunshine pop' sound. On the other hand material such as a cover of The Youngblood's 'Come Together' (mis-titled as 'Let's Get Together') and the hysterically inept 'Love Poem' found them trying to increase their 'hip' factor. The album also saw the group trying to flex their creative influence. Unlike earlier releases, this time around almost half of the songs were group originals. Unfortunately record company demands for a safe commercial project limited the group's flexibility resulting in a rather MOR sound. Still, tougher numbers like 'A Stitch In Time Saves None' provided a taste of what these guys might have been able to do with a little more artistic freedom.
"Sunshine
& Shadows" track listing:
1.) On A Beautiful Day (Gene Stashuck) - 2:15 - 1968's 'On a Beautiful Day' b/w 'Darcy Farrow' (Imperial catalog 66308) 2.) To Put Up with You (Paul Williams - Roger Nichols) - 2:33 3.) Lets Get Together (Chet Powers) - 3:12 - 1968's 'Let's Get Together' b/w '' (Imperial catalog number 66298) 4.) I'm Gonna Love You (Larry Sims - Maury Manseau) - 2:50 5.) Out On the Town (Larry Sims - Mike Collins) - 1:56 6.) Love Poem (Larry Sims - Maury Manseau) - 2:40 9.) Wingate Square (Carol Conner - Ron Nadel) - 3:55
(side
2) 2.) Willie Jean (Hoyt Axton) - 4:25 - 1968's 'Willie Jean' b/w 'Love Poem' (Imperial catalog number 66324) 3.) Springtime Meadows (Tom Campbell) - 4:27 4.) A Stitch In Time Saves None (Phillip Freed) - 2:46 3.) Ways and Means (Larry Sims - Maury Manseau) - 2:27 6.) Bolero (Larry Sims - Maury Manseau) - 2:30 7.) I Hate Pigeons (Victor Milrose - Dave Hess) - 1:10
One last non-LP single, 1969's "The Only Thing That Mattered (After All)" b/w 'Bolero' (Imperial catalog number 66399) and they were history.
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