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| From | Stewart Mason <flamingo@theworld.com> |
| Subject | Re: Spanky and Our Gang |
| Date | Tue, 29 Jul 2003 12:30:50 -0400 |
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At 11:37 AM 7/29/2003 -0000, stevedurben2000 wrote:
>I have nothing by Spanky and Our Gang (hssss). But, I would like to
>correct this error. What's needed and can be found on CD? Stewart,
>given your preference for the singles, I assume you'd suggest a "best
>of", is there one that's the "best"?
The only one that's in print right now is GREATEST HITS, on Mercury. It's
pretty good, but it doesn't really give a full overview of their career,
because it eliminates most of their stranger songs. (Spanky and Our Gang
are usually compared to the Mamas and the Papas -- Spanky McFarlane
replaced Cass Elliot when the M&Ps reformed in the '80s -- but they had
more in common with Harpers Bizarre in the way that their records had a lot
of deadpan comedy and deliberately unfashionable non-rock influences.) I
would recommend finding either the LP or CD of SPANKY'S GREATEST HIT(S),
which does throw in a couple of oddities, including a really weird extended
version of "Sunday Morning" that ends with this bizarre staged argument
between the band and the producers as a loop of the vocal fadeout drones on
behind them.
Other than that, there's only three studio albums from the '60s, as well as
a 1975 reunion record called CHANGE (with Richard Thompson guesting!) that
I've never heard. All should be readily available on vinyl.
S
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