Customer Reviews

Daydream

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Released a mere four months after their debut, the Spoonful's sophomore effort featured almost exclusively original material. [The lone cover is "Bald Headed Lena" featuring Zal on lead vocal and electric gorgle--which is actually Zal gargling!!!] Other than The Best of the Lovin' Spoonful, this was their highest-charting album at No. 10. It's filled with the kind of good time music that the Spoonful were known for. And not just the pair of Top Ten hits: "Daydream" and "You Didn't Have To Be So Nice." There are lovely ballads like "Warm Baby," rockers like "Let the Boy Rock and Roll," the very country-sounding "Butchie's Tune" and the instrumental "Big Noise From Speonk."

The bonus tracks include a couple of tracks from the Do You Believe In Magic sessions: an alternate instrumental version of "Fishin' Blues" in mono and the complete 4:40-version of the instrumental "Night Owl Blues." The other bonus tracks are a demo version of "Didn't Want To Have To Do It" in mono, an alternate instrumental version of "Jug Band Music" and a wonderful demo version of "Daydream."

It's great to have these classic Spoonful albums finally available on CD. The numerous anthologies released over the last three decades never told the entire story of this talented band like these remastered CDs do. Kudos to Bob Irwin at Sundazed Studios--this music has never sounded better. Now, when is Buddha Records going to reissue Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful and Everything Playing? HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

People. My spirit guides have now transported yours truly to the year 1966! Wow! It's different here! No downsizing, people are appreciated, new and different creative music abounds. The Beatles are changing the music scene. Ahh.The Animals.....The Yardbirds.....The Byrds! Yes. Now that I'm here, I do not want to go back to 2006. Music is overly polished and too technical there. Give me good production with real instruments.
Forgive me people.....Metamorpho can be a chatterbox at times. But, the point is, that this is a review about a wonderful group by the name of Lovin' Spoonful who gave credibility back to America after the British Invasion.
Daydream is a lush, wonderous pop-rock-jug band offering from this incredible 60's group. What type of music is it exactly, you may ask? Well, they stirred up a number of genres with this (with a spoon, of course) and gave us all a beautiful blend of tunes. I hear folk music,Nashville influences, blues and rock mixed with, of all things, a hapsichord. John Sebastian created music with a new and interesting instrument heretofore unknown to the general public.
This music will make you happy, and it accomplishes this in a unique and experimental way. The themes are pretty straight forward. John's love is making him mellow in "Daydream". "There She Is" and "Warm Baby" are about other beauties. "It's Not Time Now" is a rare and interesting song lyrically because it deals so cleverly with disagreement. Not a topic that had been written much about before this. Some of the tunes are sweet or sentimental ie; "Didn't Want to Have to Do It" and "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice." Or straight ahead rockers ie; "Let the Boy Rock and Roll" and "Bald Headed Lena." And then, The Spoonful spoof themselves with the humourous "Jug Band Music".
This album is a rare and exceptional gem for it's time. It would make anyone who travelled back in time (like your Metamorpho) want to stay. The music is infectious,happy, a very good time. It is a rare moment of innocence in rock, before we moved to more curious and psychedelic themes. Before the War in Vietnam really started having dire consequences at home. So, be thankful for The Spoonful. They didn't stress your mind, they were fun to listen to, they were creative and talented musicians, and, most important of all, they were from the good ol' USA. I miss them. And it saddens me that their career was so short. So, I hope you people don't mind if I stay in 1966 awhile longer. LBJ is President, the summer of love is about a year away, and Metamorpho hasn't looked this young in ages! So, do yourselves a favor and get this happy gem. If not, then have your guides take you to meet me in 1966. - Signing off - from 40 years ago - happiness, light, and Love - your own Metamorpho.

The Spoonful were unique in that no other band in history has been so often credited as initiating a "good time." The band sounds like how they look--a bit cartoonish. But this is neither overly sweet (the band, beyond their humor, were actually diverse and capable musicians) nor brittle (styles vary, including jub band[!] in the mix). Rather, it's well-baked and never grows stale. The extended "Night Owl Jam" cooks! Influential in its day, and comparable in quality to contemporaries such as the Beatles. On this release (which hit #2 on the charts in 1966), "Daydream" and "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" were top ten hits.

Daydream stands as one of the band's finest early efforts. John, Steve & Zal (what you were expecting John, Paul, George & Ringo?) pulled off an album filled with strong originals and a couple of covers. Daydream, You Didn't Have To Be So Nice and Didn't Want To Have To Do It are all among the best songs that the band wrote and performed. Although not their finest effort, Daydream demonstrated that the band had more than a handful of hit singles in them.

This deluxe reissue finally does the band proud; the booklet is filled with trivia and interviews with band members. The bonus tracks are illuminating as well. The demo of Daydream is particularly interesting as it demonstrated that Sebastian and the band had most of the kinks worked out fairly early. But the melody and performance of the alternate tracks are just different enough to justify their inclusion.

Kudos to BMG for doing an outstanding job and reissuing this great album. The big plus is the fact that this is remastered from the original mastertapes. Most of the Spoonful mastertapes were thought lost or destroyed but have turned up recently. The latest greatest hits reissue by BMG to commenerate the band's induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame also sounds great (for the same reason). BMG also did a terrific job on the Harry Nilsson reissues (although we're still waiting for a domestic reissue of some of Harry's finest albums).

Get this fine album and you won't regret it!

Daydream was a Top 10 Kama Sutra LP in 1966 and in this digitally remastered compilation you get all 12 tracks plus three pages of liner notes by Bruce Pollock.

With two more of their hit singles included [You Didn't Have To Be So Nice - # 10 in early 1966 - and Daydream [# 2 that April], this makes a perfect companion to the Lovin' Spoonful CD at ASIN B000006KML, and which itself brings together TWO early albums of theirs - Do You Believe In Magic? and Hums Of The Lovin' Spoonful.

Also included here are the later flipsides to Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind? and Summer In The City - Didn't Want To Have To Do It and Butchie's Tune.

Together, these CDs will give you not all - but certainly a good chunk of - the hits of this group which was inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in 2000. Note, too, that this CD has since been re-released with added tracks. Same cover.