Don_Krider's Full Review: 30 Years of Rock N Roll: Happy Together [Box] by T...
The very first 45 rpm record I ever bought was a little ditty on White Whale Records entitled "Happy Together" by The Turtles in 1967.
I was all of 10, but that pure pop wall-of-sound grabbed my attention and has never let go.
"Happy Together" was just one of The Turtles' 17 Billboard magazine Hot 100 chart hits between 1965 and 1970.
Most of those songs are among the 60 tracks in The Turtles 5-CD set, "30 Years Of Rock 'n' Roll: Happy Together."
The band:
Formed as a Beach Boys'-style surf group in the early 1960s known as The Crossfires, the band evolved into The Turtles by 1965 behind lead vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman.
Kaylan and Volman later recorded as Flo & Eddie; they also sang backup for artists such as T. Rex, Frank Zappa (joined in The Mothers Of Invention by Turtles' guitarist Jim Pons) and The Johnny Popstar Luv Explosion.
Among the band's other standout musicians was drummer Johnny Barbata who later backed Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and was a member of The Jefferson Starship.
The band was produced for a time by Ray Davies, lead singer of The Kinks. The band's members wrote many of the group's songs, but the group also recorded outside material as well from composers such as Bob Dylan, Carole King, Harry Nilsson, Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, Gary Bonner and P. F. Sloan, among others.
The standout tracks:
"Happy Together" was the band's biggest hit and their only million-selling single. It reached # 1 for three straight weeks in 1967 during a 15-week stay in Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
The song remains a favorite of Kaylan and Volman, according to the CD booklet, which states:
"Most meaningful, they say, are the testimonials from Vietnam veterans who recall singing it in foxholes while imagining reunions with loved ones."
My father was at sea with the U. S. Navy at the time, while this 10-year-old lad was home at the Newport (R. I.) Navy Base with my mother ("you're the man of the house while I'm gone," my father said, as many a father has told his son before shipping out for possible combat), so I can identify with that thought.
"Happy Together" remains one of those great recorded moments in pop. Whether it's the fact that the song is dated by the lyric about a 10-cent pay phone call or the simple romantic optimism that bubbles from the record's grooves doesn't matter --- this is how pop music is supposed to sound: honest, from-the-heart, memorable and bound to make you sing along with the band.
Written by tunesmiths Gary Bonner and Alan Gordon (who also wrote hits for Gary Lewis and Petula Clark), "Happy Together" opens with a gentle guitar intro, progressing slowly to a heavily orchestrated chorus:
"Imagine me and you, I do / I think about you day and night, it's only right / to think about the girl you love and hold her tight / so happy together / if I should call you up, invest a dime / and you say you belong to me and ease my mind / imagine how the world could be, so very fine / so happy together..."
Toss in a "vocal interlude" with the band singing the amazingly wonderful sounding "lyric" of "ba-ba-ba-ba" over-and-over again and you have one of the Swingin' Sixties' catchiest performances.
"It Ain't Me Babe":
The Turtles hit the Top 10 two years earlier with their first single, "It Ain't Me Babe," (a # 58 hit for Johnny Cash in 1964), written by Bob Dylan (who also scored Top 10 mid-'60s hits as a songwriter via The Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man" in 1965 and Manfred Mann's "The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)" in 1968).
The Turtles version of "It Ain't Me Babe" rose to # 8 in 1965, the first of five Top 10 hits for the group. It's a gentle, folk-rock masterpiece, full of the band's gorgeous harmonies, but a somewhat unromantic message:
"...you say you're lookin' for someone / who's never weak but always strong / to protect you and defend you / whether you are right or wrong / someone to open each and every door / but it ain't me, babe / it ain't me you're lookin' for, babe..."
"You Baby":
The Turtles finished 1965 with a second Top 40 hit with "Let Me Be" (which peaked at # 29).
They followed that success in 1966 with a return to the Top 20 with a classic uptempo rocker written by P. F. Sloan, "You Baby" (which peaked at # 20), powered by a memorable 12-string guitar riff and some rock-steady drumming by Barbata:
"From the time I fall asleep / 'til the morning comes I dream about / you baby / and I feel all right / 'cause I know tonight I'll be with / you baby / and who makes me feel like smiling / when the weary day is through / you baby, no one but you, baby, nobody but you..."
And what lover wouldn't fall for the line sung by the five Turtles, "...they say candy is sweet / but it just can't compete with / you baby..."?
"She'd Rather Be With Me":
After stumbling with minor hits at the end of 1966 ("Grim Reaper Of Love" at # 81 and "Can I Get To Know You Better" at # 89), the band followed up their # 1 comeback of "Happy Together" in 1967 with yet another Bonner-Gordon smash.
That tune, "She'd Rather Be With Me," rose to # 3 in the "Summer Of Love" of 1967. Another rockin' tune (which also features the "ba-ba-ba-ba" "Happy Together" lyrics in its bridge), the song is one of sweet appreciation of two people devoted to each other:
"Some girls love to run around / love to handle everything they see / but my girl has more fun around / and you know she'd rather be with me / me-oh-my, lucky guy is what I am / tell you why you'll understand / she don't fly although she can / some boys love to run around / they don't think about the things they do / but this boy wants to settle down / and you know he'd rather be with you..."
"Elenore":
Following two more Top 20 hits in 1967 ("You Know What I Mean" at # 12 and "She's My Girl" at # 14), The Turtles returned to the Top 10 in 1968 with "Elenore," a band-written hit.
Song co-writer and band lead singer Howard Kaylan, according to the CD booklet, responded to threats from his record label that the band needed "another 'Happy Together'-size hit" by reversing and then mutating the "Happy Together" chord progressions, then adding "childish lyrics" (such as "you're my pride and joy, et cetera").
Expecting rejection, the band then gave the song to producer Chip Douglas, who loved it (making "a few changes," of course)
"Elenore" wound up rising to # 6 on the charts when released in 1968. A truly gorgeous love ballad, whether intended to be or not, the song is another catchy performance from the fab five:
"You got a thing about you / I just can't live without you / I really want you, Elenore, near me / your looks intoxicate me / even though your folks hate me / there's no one like you, Elenore, really / Elenore, gee I think you're swell / and you really do me well / you're my pride and joy, et cetera..."
"You Showed Me":
Kicking off 1969, the band scored one final Top 10 hit (though they had four additional Hot 100 singles in 1969-70) with the folk-rock ballad "You Showed Me," written by Roger McGuinn (aka "Jim" McGuinn) and Gene Clark of The Byrds. "You Showed Me" again carried the band to # 6 on the charts:
"You showed me exactly how to do / exactly what you do / how I fell in love with you / oh, oh, oh, it's true / you fell for me too / and when I tried it / I could see you fall / and I decided / it's not a trip at all / you taught it to me, too / exactly what you do / and now you love me, too / oh, oh, oh, it's true / we're in love, we two..."
The box set:
A fine, 5-CD box set (I must note that it's a small, CD-sized, cheap cardboard box) of their best material at a very reasonable price (I've seen it as high as $25, but I purchased this copy at Sam's Warehouse for $15.99 in December 2002) is available from Laslerlight Records (the band's White Whale label ceased to exist long ago).
Each CD comes in its own jewel box with its own CD book liner notes for the songs on that particular CD. The notes are informative and well-researched by Ken Barnes, rock music writer for publications such as Rolling Stone magazine.
Each of the five booklets is well-illustrated with photos of the band (the box that holds all five CDs is covered with dozens of shots of the band as well).
The 5 CDs each have 12 songs for a grand total of 60 tracks. Buying the set is kind of like striking the motherlode of Turtles' music.
All 5 CDs were previously released individual albums by Laserlight under the titles "She's My Girl," "Let Me Be," "Elenore," "The Story Of Rock 'n' Roll" and "Eve Of Destruction."
The tracks:
"It Ain't Me Babe" (written by Bob Dylan), "You Showed Me" (written by Gene Clark and Roger McGuinn of The Byrds), "The Story Of Rock & Roll" (written by Harry Nilsson), "Surfer Dan" (great Beach Boys' tribute here about a guy who's "so cool they can't see him go by"), "Wanderin' Kind," "How You Loved Me," "Your Ma Said Ya' Cried," "Dance This Dance With Me," "Can't You Hear The Cows," "So Goes Love" (co-written by Carole King), "Chicken Little Was Right" and "The Owl."
Also, "She's My Girl," "Can I Get To Know You Better," "Sound Asleep," "Me About You," "Battle Of The Bands" (co-written by Nilsson), "Out Of Breath," "Goodbye Surprise," "Glitter & Gold," "To See The Sun," "I'm Chief Kamanawanalea (We're The Royal Macadamia Nuts)," "Too Young To Be One" and "You Want To Be A Woman."
Also, "She'd Rather Be With Me," "Love In The City," "Grim Reaper Of Love," "Guide For The Married Man" (from the film of the same name), "Eve Of Destruction" (their 1970 version (which hit # 100) of the Barry McGuire # 1 hit from 1965), "House On The Hill," "It Was A Very Good Year" (their folk-rock version of Frank Sinatra's # 28 hit from 1966), "If We Only Had The Time," "Think I'll Run Away," "Almost There," "We'll Meet Again" and "Down In Suburbia."
Also, "Happy Together," "Let Me Be," "You Don't Have To Walk In The Rain," "Lady-O" (# 78 in 1969), "Makin' Up My Mind," "Buzzsaw," "Hot Little Hands," "Just A Room," "Who Would Ever Think That I Would Marry Margaret," "Like It Or Not," "Like A Rolling Stone" (also by Dylan) and "Can I Go On."
Also, "Elenore," "You Baby," "You Know What I Mean," "Outside Chance" (by Warren Zevon), "Like The Seasons," "Bachelor Mother," "The Last Thing I Remember, The First Thing I Knew," "Love Minus Zero" (another Dylan song), "I Can't Stop," "Earth Anthem," "Somewhere Friday Night" and "We Ain't Gonna Party No More."
Recommendation:
Scores of great tunes at a cheap price --- this set is perfect for fans of '60s vocal groups (The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Dave Clark Five, The Monkees, Herman's Hermits).
If you get a chance to see the band live, do so. I've caught them three times: their stage show is full of humor and great musical memories. These guys entertain and work hard (not bad for guys quite a few years past their mid-20s).
On the web:
The official web site: http://www.theturtles.com/
Tour schedule for 2003: http://www.theturtles.com/tour.html
Info on how to get an autographed photo (all you need is a SSAE): http://www.theturtles.com/contact.html
You might also enjoy:
Capitol/EMI's 20-track 24-bit digitally remastered CD "Greatest" by Raspberries (the original lineup --- Eric Carmen, Wally Bryson, Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti --- who sang the million-seller "Go All The Way" reunited in 2004-2005) was released in May of 2005 in the U. S. and Europe. It features all 7 of Raspberries Hot 100 singles, has 20 tracks and runs 78:53 minutes: http://www.epinions.com/content_186044681860
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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