| Reissue, originally released in 1970. Fuzz guitars, organ, celestial vocal harmonies, a single effort and then -- eternity (or obscurity if you look at the other side of the coin). In 1968, leader Richard Atkins -- Richard Manning his artistic partner and co-writer, hence the name -- was building toward success, his musical adventures and philosophy not that far from the likes of The Byrds or the more eccentric Simon & Garfunkel. He'd won a contract with Mercury Records, and recorded with the Wrecking Crew members, a group of Los Angeles session musicians famous for their work with the Beach Boys, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, and hundreds more. But stage fright triggered a disastrous make-or-break performance in a small Hollywood nightclub, and everything abruptly fell apart. Atkins gave up music in the prime, and for 50 years he refused even to listen to a radio, so painful were his memories of a career he was convinced could have been. Featuring top-notch backing from musicians such as Drake Levin (Paul Revere & the Raiders), Larry Knechtel (Bread), Mark Tulin (the Electric Prunes), and Rusty Young (Poco), the album -- nonetheless -- it's bound to appeal to all fans of high-quality early '70s US pop-rock. In 2017, the short history of this unlucky but brilliant combo was featured in a short, animated movie of ten minutes. |
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