Review: Spanky and Our Gang, “The Complete Mercury Singles”

Between 1966 and 1970, Spanky and Our Gang released three studio albums, one greatest-hits collection, one live set and 21 single sides. Though the gang was, in Spanky McFarlane’ s words, “eclectic as hell”– they covered John Denver and The Music Man on their first LP alone – they’re best remembered for three AM radio staples released in 1967 and 1968: “Sunday Will Never Be the Same,” “Lazy Day” and “Like to Get to Know You.” These three tunes are inextricably tied to the period in which they were recorded, yet are timeless evocations today of that era in which anything was musically possible. Despite the quality of the band’s album material, however, it can be fairly said that Spanky’s outfit (named, of course, after Hal Roach’s gang of Little Rascals!) was a “singles band,” making Real Gone Music’s release of The Complete Mercury Singles (RGM-0270) a particularly felicitous one.

This superlative 21-track anthology spans the period between 1966’s “And Your Bird Can Sing” b/w “Sealed with a Kiss” and 1969’s “Echoes (Everybody’s Talkin’)” and traces the evolution of the group. Spanky McFarlane, Paul “Oz” Bach and Nigel Pickering first joined together in Florida and then reunited in Chicago before being discovered by prolific Philadelphia producer Jerry Ross (“The 81,” “1-2-3,” “98.6” – seems he had a thing for numbers!). The trio was joined by Malcolm Hale (of The New Wine Singers) for their first recording session at Mercury Records, the label with which Ross was then affiliated.

The Complete Mercury Singles begins not with the sound of shimmering sunshine pop but with a rather brisk but largely straightforward cover of The Beatles’ “If Your Bird Can Sing” and an update of Gary Geld and Peter Udell’s Brian Hyland oldie “Sealed with a Kiss.” Arranged like “Bird” by prolific Philly-based arranger Joe Renzetti (who would later pen the string chart for Barry Manilow’s “Mandy” and pick up an Oscar for The Buddy Holly Story), “Sealed” was beefed up with a strong drum rhythm while strings kept the track appropriately ethereal. Still, neither side captured the zany, theatrical and eclectic quality that had made the group a standout on Chicago’s stages or effectively utilized the band’s foremost weapon: Spanky’s distinctive, powerful voice, a kind of combination of Grace Slick’s husk and Cass Elliot’s big belt. She was out front on the A-side of the group’s second single, “Sunday Will Never Be the Same” – and Spanky and Our Gang’s career would never be the same, either.

Gene Pistilli and Terry Cashman’s melancholy reflection of a love lost was originally conceived as a ballad and included on the duo’s Bound to Happen LP, but another Philly native, arranger Jimmy “Wiz” Wisner, turned it into a dynamic, ironically upbeat, pure-pop reverie. Ross and Wisner employed the cream of New York’s session players on the record and brought not only Spanky’s voice to the fore, but the Gang’s intricate vocal harmonies (somewhat recalling The Mamas and the Papas, one of the groups originally pitched the song by Cashman and Pistilli.) Released just a few months prior to the Summer of Love, it was an ideal, sunny soundtrack to that blissed-out period.

John Morier’s uptempo, positive “Making Every Minute Count” was the immediate follow-up to “Sunday,” but the real stylistic sequel was on the very next 45: Wisner’s arrangement of “Lazy Day” from writers George Fischoff (the Broadway musical Georgy) and Tony Powers (an early collaborator of Ellie Greenwich’s). Fischoff and Powers had written the Top 10 hit “98.6” for Keith, produced by Ross and arranged by Renzetti, in late 1966. The ebullient “Lazy Day,” with its happy, pastoral imagery, captured the zeitgeist of the era, and did almost as well as “98.6.”

The flip of “Lazy Day,” “(It Ain’t Necessarily) Byrd Avenue” introduced the names of Bob Dorough and Stu Scharf to a Spanky and Our Gang single; soon they would take over for producer Ross upon his departure from Mercury. Dorough brought with him a jazz background, and Scharf one in jazz. Both qualities would inform their work with Spanky and Our Gang. The infectious “Byrd Avenue,” also recorded by the Harmony Grass and the Serendipity Singers, married a breezy melody and bossa nova-inspired arrangement to some rather absurdist wordplay; it’s actually a stronger side than some of the tracks chosen as A-sides!

Hit the jump for more!

Like To Get To Know Them: Real Gone’s July Features Spanky and Our Gang, Lulu, Peggy Lipton, Grateful Dead and More

Tuesday – July 1, that is – will never be the same, thanks to Real Gone Music’s slate spotlighting a quartet of famous sixties girls! But that’s not all. The label is also dipping its toes into tropicalia, anthologizing an unsung country-pop hero, going both punk and disco, and returning to the venerable Grateful Dead catalogue!

Complete Singles Collections have become a specialty of Real Gone’s, and the label continues with a new title featuring every Mercury single released by Spanky (McFarlane) and Our Gang – “Lazy Day,” “Like to Get to Know You,” and “Sunday Will Never Be the Same” among them! Spanky’s recordings were much more diverse than just those sunshine pop classics, with folk, jazz and rock influences – and Real Gone has them all. Oh me, oh my…If you ever wanted to hear Duane Allman and Lulu on the same track, you’ll have the chance with the 2-CD reissue of Lulu: The Atco Sessions 1962-1972! This set, originally released by Rhino’s UK imprint and now a pricey collectible, collects every one of the smoldering soul sides such as “Oh Me Oh My (I’m a Fool for You Baby)” recorded by Lulu with both the Muscle Shoals house band and The Dixie Flyers! Real Gone then goes to Rio with Gal Costa’s self-titled 1969 album for Philips, a key album in the Brazilian tropicalia movement featuring songs from Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Jorge Ben. Country and pop star Ronnie Dove’s chart career began with 1964’s “Say You,” and continued with such hits as “Right or Wrong,” “My Babe,” and “Cry.” In 1965 alone he charted five singles, yet Dove’s output has been largely overlooked on CD. Real Gone rectifies this with a new disc featuring all 21 of the pop hits he notched during the ’60s on a single CD, many remastered from newly available tape sources. Fast-forward to the 1970s for an R&B journey courtesy The New York Community Choir’s 1978 RCA album featuring the hit disco floor-filler “Make Every Day Count.” Continuing to the 1980s, Real Gone has an expanded edition of X’s fourth album, More Fun in the New World, produced by The Doors’ Ray Manzarek. The label then arrives in the 1990s with its latest volume of Dick’s Picks. This entry in the series of live Grateful Dead concert recordings restores to print a 3-CD set taken from a 1991 show at the Boston Garden.

Last but not least, Real Gone has a groovy treat with the American CD debut of Mod Squad star Peggy Lipton’s 1968 self-titled Ode Records release in a first-time expanded edition! Produced by Lou Adler, arranged by Marty Paich and featuring the famed Wrecking Crew, Peggy Lipton: The Complete Ode Recordings reveals the striking beauty as a songwriter of great depth, performing her own evocative compositions alongside those of Carole King and Laura Nyro. I’m thrilled to announce here that I’ve written new liner notes for this lost slice of ornate Southern California pop, which also features five bonus tracks including a previously unreleased recording of Brian Wilson and Tony Asher’s “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” and rare singles penned by Laura Nyro, Donovan, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and Jimmy Webb!

After the jump, we have Real Gone’s press release with full information on every title plus pre-order links and more!