Search - Every Mother's Son :: Very B.O.-Come on Down to My Boat

Super fine mid-60s bubblegum sunshine pop

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 10/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This quintet is typically dismissed as a prototypical one-hit wonder, with "Come on Down to My Boat" being their sole top-10 chart entry. Formed in the waning shadows of New York City's folk scene, the group quickly found direction from writer-producer Wes Farrell. Farrell had previously found success with Jay and The Americans ("Come a Little Bit Closer") and The McCoys ("Hang on Sloopy"), as well as having recorded a garage-styled version of "Boat" with Rare Breed (not The American Breed, as this collection's liner notes suggest). The band's remake of this latter tune, with tidy harmonies, a rolling drum line and a cleaner organ riff turned the frat rocker into an indelible bubblegum hit.



The follow-up debut LP for MGM found the group forsaking the songsmithing of Farrell for their own work. Unusually, their songs are nearly as catchy as the hit. The band's lead singing brothers, Dennis and Lary Larden, turned out to have considerable talent for writing melodic bubblegum songs in the Boyce & Hart vein (particularly the should've-been-a-hit "Allison Dozer"), and Farrell arranged the tracks well, playing the brothers voices against each other in both harmony and counterpoint. The influence of The Lovin' Spoonful is evident in the jug-band tune "Sittin' Here (Peter's Tune)," and the intertwined vocal arrangements often bring to mind The Left Banke.



Collectables' CD includes the eleven tracks of the group's debut album, plus three post-"Boat" follow-up singles. What's missing is the bulk of the group's second album ("Every Mother's Sons' Back"), which would easily fit on here as a two-fer. The transfer is clean, but the drums (perhaps due to the original production) aren't as distinct as other pop hits of the era. True stereo tapes were used throughout, with the exception of "No One Knows." Packaging is the typical Collectables' two-panel liner notes with no additional photos; a particular shame here, since the original LP had Sixteen Magazine styled biographies of each band member and a wonderful color band photo on the inside of the gatefold cover. [©2005 hyperbolium dot com]"

Good Reissue

Somewhere in Texas | Planet Texas | 10/06/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is a nice Re-Release of thier first MGM album, glad to have it now on CD! The original stereo album was mastered "flat" with no bass at all, this CD was a big improvement in sound quality.My only gripe is there was plenty of room on the CD to add the band's second (and better IMO) album, "EVERY MOTHERS SON-BACK". Instead we get two of the weaker songs from that album plus a OK non-album cut."

At Last!

Budrocket | 12/09/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"These boys had it all -- great vocals, interesting guitar parts, some impressive original songs...everything, that is, except timing & a good producer (Wes Farrell always made the drums sound like cardboard boxes). If only they 'd made the scene a year or two earlier it might have been a whole different deal -- I'd even rate 'em over fellow New Yorkers the Lovin' Spoonful -- but alas, 1967-68 was not the time for nice clean cut boys wearing cable-knit sweaters playing pop songs.



I agree that cherry picking the best from their two Lp's would have been preferable, i.e.:



Rain Flowers

I Won't

Put Your Mind at Ease (killer late era Beach Boys-ish tune, if you can get past the out of tune guitar intro)

For Brandy

Didn't She Lie

Sally

Another Day Another Song

What Became of Mary

I'd Rather Be Right Than Wrong

I May Be Right

Proper Four Leaf Clover (another undiscovered gem, from Bruce Milner, with a great punch line...I intend to cover this one day)

Ain't It A Drag

Only Child

Allison Dozer (does Ray Davies know about this one? )

Ain't No Use

& of course the ubiquitous Come & Take A Ride in My Boat



...but it's good to have anything available by these guys on CD, so I suppose we shouldn't complain.



If anyone knows what happened to these guys (I do know Dennis Larden later joined Rick Nelson's Stone Canyon Band, & has the dubious honor of having contributed to Keith Moon's solo album; & Bruce Milner is a NYC dentist!), including any of the guys from the band, please feel free to contact me through my website: http://www.buddywoodward.net.



Meanwhile, see if you can dig up a copy of "Every Mothers Son's Back," & happy listening!

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