Genre: pop
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title: The Yellow Balloon
Company: Canterbury
Catalog: CLPS-1502
Year: 1967
Country/State: California
Grade (cover/record): VG/VG
Comments: stereo pressing
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 4484
Price: $30.00
Cost: $66.00
1967's "The Yellow Balloon" is another mid-1960s album some dealers have labeled as psych. It isn't. That isn't to imply this set doesn't have it's virtues.
The Yellow Balloon started as a studio entity - the brain child of producer/songwriter Gary Zekley. Zekley had made his name working with and writing material for Jan and Dean. In the wake of Jan's near fatal 1966 car accident, Zekley continued working with Dean Torrence on a planned solo album (to be credited as a Jan and Dean product). Zekley provided Torrence with several tunes, but was disappointed with the studio recordings, eventually deciding to shop the songs around himself.
Finding an interested party in the form of Ken Handler's LA-based Canterbury Records (Handler's parent owned Mattel Toys), Zekley convinced Canterbury to rush release one of the songs as a single. Credited to 'The Yellow Balloon', 1967's 'Yellow Balloon' b/w 'Noollab Wolley' (Canterbury catalog number C-508) provided Zekley with an unexpected top-40 hit. The resulting publicity and demand for touring support forced Zekley to start looking for a touring band. At the same time Canterbury had signed child star Don Agrati aka Don Grady (aka Robbie of My Three Sons) to a solo recording contract. In addition to his television work, Agrati/Grady had been a member of the folk-rock outfit The Palace Guard and while touring with the band and as a solo act he'd accumulated a list of musicians he'd seen and worked with whom had impressed him. Put in touch with Zekley the two agreed on a collaboration with Grady subsequently calling up some of those musicians. The final Yellow Balloon line up consisted of ex-The Five of Us lead guitarist Paul Canella and singer Alex Valdez, former Rising Sons keyboardist Forrest Green and ex-The Breakaways bassist Don Braucht.
Produced by Zekley (credited as Yodar Critch), the album's surprisingly good considering it reflected a mixture of Jan and Dean castoffs, Zekley demos and new material recorded with a mix of studio musicians and the recently hired band. Offering up a mix of Beach Boys-styled rock and more conventional pop, the set benefited from strong melodies and the fact that Zekley and three others (Valdez, Grady (under the pseudonym Luke R. You) and Green) handled lead vocals. While every one of the eleven tracks had commercial potential, highlights included 'Stained Glass Window', 'Good Feelin' Time' and 'Springtime Girl'. Elsewhere Canterbury tapped the LP for two more singles:
- 1967's 'Good Feelin' Time' b/w 'I've Gotta Feeling for Love' (Canterbury catalog number C-513)
- 1967's 'Stained Glass Windon' b/w 'Can't Get Enough of Your Love' (Canterbury catalog number C-516)
"The Yellow Balloon" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) How Can I Be Down (Don Altfeld - Gibson - Gary Zekley) - 2:14
2.) Stained Glass Window (Don Agrati - Gary Zekley) - 2:03
3.) Baby Baby It's You (Dick St. John - Gary Zekley) - 1:57
4.) Panama Red (Lee - Gary Zekley) - 1:39
5.) I've Got a Feeling for Love (Don Altfeld - Jill Gibson - Lee - Gary Zekley) - 2:18
6.) Yellow Balloon (Lee - Dick St. John - Gary Zekley) - 2:16
(side 2)
1.) Good Feelin' Time (Don Agrati - Gary Zekley) - 2:12
2.) Follow the Sunshine (Byrne - Ferrell) - 2:35
3.) Springtime Girl (Byrne - Ferrell) - 2:06
4.) Can't Get Enough of Your Love (Anthony - Dick St. John - Gary Zekley) - 2:16
5.) Junk Maker Shoppe (Don Agrati) - 2:37