"A nice - if too brief - retrospective of everyone's favorite '60s singing family. Of course the usual suspects are here (The Rain, The Park, & Other Things, Indian Lake, We Can Fly, Hair). What makes it for me the best Cowsills set yet released is the inclusion of the stellar singles Silver Threads and Golden Needles and The Prophecy Of Daniel & John The Divine (you'll be chanting six-six-six for days!) plus the original version of the Love American Style tv theme. A pre-stardom Most Of All leads off the set and a great track from Bill Cowsill's solo debut When Everybody's Here concludes it. It's all groovy. Check it out!"
Heavenly,underrated pop group!
Bob Ashley | texas | 01/30/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Everybody knows "The rain,the park,and other things",but there's much more classic pop up their sleeves.Unfortunately,there are only 12 cuts on this CD.They should have a box set or something!What's here is cool,though.Their famous cover of "Hair" is here along with their "Love american style" theme will take many of us back.There are 3 tracks from their apocalyptic christian pop album(really!)that didn't help their career,but still fun to hear!This is a great CD,but I hope their albums will be re-released."
Good stuff, but not enough...words cannot describe a live sh
Randy Arco | 01/18/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A few weeks ago a friend and I wandered into a tiny British pub called "The Pickwick" In Woodland Hills California for a cold pint. As we sat sipping the brew, three or four middle aged accountant looking guys were setting up instruments and microphones in the corner, and taking their time doing it. We decided to wait for them to play a tune before we passed judgement, and am I ever glad we stayed! What I did not know is that Bob Cowsill regularly plays this venue (Fridays and Saturdays) and that he was indeed playing this particular night. What was even more amazing was that the entire family (sans Mom---she died a few years back) was in town because one of the younger brothers had just gotten married that day, and they ALL showed up to play, including the bride, Vicki Petersen of the BANGLES!!! Those guys were like living jukeboxes, every good pop/rock tune from 1963 to 1980 must be imprinted in their heads. They were note-perfect, and HOT HOT HOT all night long. I was never so glad to have wandered blindly into a place in my life, and to top it all off, it was free! I went home and looked up their website (yep, they got one too!) and saw photos from the previous night where all of them had shown up and played along with JOHNNY RIVERS!! Well, guess what, I have been back three times now and have never been disappointed, even when it is just Bob on acoustic guitar taking requests. Now, if I can just find my old 45 of "Indian Lake" maybe he will sign it for me!"
The best from the ORIGINAL family of pop
Big Daddy Mick | Philadelphia, PA | 02/05/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Anyone who thinks the most-recognizable Cowsill song "The Rain,The Park, & Other Things" was just a "minor hit" either wasn't there in the day - or hasn't a clue what this family is all about. The Cowsills are an American legend.. The original icons of the period of SUNSHINE POP ( not to be confused with Bubble-gum, thank you) that came onto the scene and laid the standards for those (Osmonds! Pfft!) who came after them.
Their sound is unique and well harmonized - no matter what subject matter they seem to be singing about. TRTP&OT, simple and beautiful about an imaginary lover is probobly the most recongnizable song they did, along with Indian Lake which has a honkey-tonkey kind of keyboard background to it that more than anything I can think of sounds like "1968". Hair - a far-reach in style for the Cowsills is both complex, and unusual for the band - but it shows how versatile they really were. The REAL version of "Love, American Style" is a happy, up-tempo piece that most closely resembles something you might have heard from the Partridge Family, but still it's a groovy song that makes me instantaneously happy, and proud to be both an American AND a Cowsill fan.
And by the way: not many of their songs were put together by other people.. it's all them.
While this genre of music has come and gone in popularity a few times now, this Greatest Hits collection is truly worth a listen if you want to taste a bit of what the "other" sixties was all about. Simply dismissing them as a "Pop" group is doing yourself, and this amazingly talented group a big disservice."
Jubilant
Randy Arco | Atlanta, GA | 12/07/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Boy was I surprised when I popped this gem in my CD player. This is bubbly boyant happy feel-good music at it's finest. And I recognized most of the songs too. Not by title- I bought this CD for "Indian Lake" and "Hair"- but by the music. Five seconds into "Poor Baby" I remembered it.I always thought of the Cowsills as the poor man's "Osmonds" or "Partridge Family"- that sounds funny- but they're not! They are a truly talented family with a gift for power pop! I love the harmonies. I was most impressed to find that they produced, and played all the instruments, on "Hair".This is good jogging music. Pop into your portable CD and go for a run! It makes for even better cruising music. I thought this one of those CD's I'd buy and then have to hide. No way, baby! I proudly play this one and play it loud! No one complains, either. This music is infectious.The Cowsills rock! Who would've thought it? Best part of all is the price. It's a budget price but doesn't skimp on the songs. We get ten Cowsill songs and a solo to boot. I think I play this CD more than any other in my 3000+ collection."