I guess I added a couple of related albums to The Lovin’ Spoonful the other night on my adding binge, as I added this album from John Sebastian, the founder of the band. Sebastian frequently played guitar, harmonica, and piano in his music, though also played the autoharp in addition to singing as well. With that said, I haven’t exactly listened to a whole lot of The Lovin’ Spoonful, but know they were relatively popular in their day. This album seems like it ought to fall under the folk, rock, and singer/songwriter categories of music, or some sort of fusion, though that remains to be seen/heard by me. With that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Red-Eye Express” starts out low, wide, and strong, that gradually picks up a major sort of feel to it. Wow, I really dig the way the vocals are sung and arranged. Oh wow, that harmonica (I think?) has such great flavor to it. This has such a great bop-y folk rock feeling. This song is absolutely awesome, I’m really grooving to this one. I can’t really say much more about this one other than this is super groovy. I’m super excited for the rest of the album.
“She’s a Lady” changes the feel to something so gentle, the contrast between this and the previous song is really awesome. Where the last song had me leaning into it, this one sort of gently picked me up and is weaving around me gently. It turns out Stephen Stills and David Crosby both play on this one as well. I’m really digging the overall feel of this album so far, and the lyrics seem very well written as well.
“What She Thinks About” picks back up with that super strong feeling – a stark, though really cool contrast from the previous track. The way this track grooves with that interesting guitar work is super sick. It looks like Graham Nash is a guest musician on this one. It sounds like there’s even horns on this one, but I can’t quite tell if that’s just an interesting guitar effect – it might even be horns and guitar playing on top of one another. Wow, I really dig the folksiness of this lyrics combined with a really groovy rock and roll sort of feel. Meanwhile the drum track really crashes around you and keeps this song grooving around. Awesome song.
“Magical Connection” has almost a laid back jazz lounge feel to it with big upright bass sound and the soft playing of the guitar all combined with some conga and interesting keys – that might even be the intent of the song. I’m really digging this song. This whole album has been really awesome so far. I need to get a thesaurus or something, but for now, I’m sticking with awesome as a somewhat apt description for this one. That conga and the chime-sounding keys really give this track such a groovy jazz like feel.
“You’re a Big Boy Now” has an acoustic-bluesy feel, that switches to more of a folksy feel when the lyrics come on. This one is so gentle, though wide in sound. Sebastian is singing so softly, I might even call it crooning. The only instrument so far is the acoustic guitar that really gives the song such a stripped down feel, but the way it’s arranged it also feels very full in sound. Honestly a great song.
“Rainbows All Over Your Blues” brings a little country rock feel to the mix-up with the pedal steel guitar and that distinct backbeat. The vocals even sound a bit country, something out of Texas back in the day. It reminds me a lot of The Flying Burrito Brothers in this one. That pedal steel guitar work is really enchanting in this one.
“How Have You Been” has a feel to it like the air stood still to hear the opening vocal lines, and begins gently swishing around again as that acoustic guitar comes on. I think there’s a bass in the mix as well. Oh wow, there’s some other instruments coming in later that add an effect that makes it almost sound like a waterfall, or at least the type of music that I’d expect to be played by or nearby a waterfall – super natural to the song, and absolutely beautiful. This song is awesome, and the album continues to wow me.
“Baby, Don’t You Get Crazy” has a really groovy, almost funk-like beginning to it with that moog synthesizer, electric organ, the bass line, and the conga mixed with the drums. This song is really awesome, and that feel is super groovy. Those gospel-like choir background vocals really adds a really awesome layer to the song and the album as a whole. The bass line is really tasty in this one too. The way this song crescendos as it comes to a close really has a great energy to it.
Oh wow, “The Room Nobody Lives In” is a totally different feel. Much like earlier in the album, where the previous song had me almost leaning in, this song has almost enveloped me in the soft, gentle soundscape of the strings and vocals in this tune. It’s almost like a ballad of some sort, and has a very serene storytelling feel to it. The vocals have such great emotion to it. I can’t express how much I’m digging this album.
Oh wow, “Fa-Fana-Fa” falls right into place coming off the heels of the previous track. Wow, I’m really digging this one. It seems like a recorder has taken the place of vocals in the intro. Oh wow, I’m not sure if I’m listening to vocals or not – it sounds like Elmo from Sesame Street. This song has such a positive, groovy feel to it. Oh wow, those horns in the bass are so deep, wide, and low. This one feels like a groovy jam piece where almost all the instruments from the album come to visit and play. This one definitely has such a fun, playful feeling to it. Absolutely sweet song.
“I Had a Dream” sounds like the waking sounds from a dream with that super melodic harp, the air percussion, the pedal steel (I think?), with the organ, and the bass that keeps the song rocking back and forth, and then the gentle, though awakening feeling the in the vocals from Sebastian. This song has a great conclusory feeling to it. This song would be insane to wake up to. The ending piano and guitar in combination with the soft horns and the melodic harp almost sound a bit psychedelic in nature, but I suppose that could just be a dream-like state of sorts. Really awesome end to an incredible album.
Wow. I’m going to give this my recommendation to all music lovers, and especially to those who enjoy folk rock of any sort. This album was apparently waiting for release for about a year, maybe even more, before it hit the shelves in stores, and if that’s that case then it was very much ahead of its time. Even in 1970, the album was still wildly creative and quite polished, and even reached #20 on the Billboard hot 100 back in the day. At 32 minutes long, this one is the perfect length for people wary of the folk rock category and want something to dip their toes into. I really enjoyed listening to this one tonight, and hope that if you give it a listen that you enjoy it at least as much as I did.
-A