Customer Reviews

I Love You

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hailing from the San Jose, California area, this band was quirky and in many ways far ahead of its time. With their unique brand of psychedlic pop, they were pretty much in a category all their own.

Featuring 2 lead vocalists (One of whom, Larry Norman [the high voice], left the band after the first album and went on to pioneer Christian Rock music with an extensive catalogue of his own and the groundbreaking "Only Visiting This Planet"... a 'must-have' recorded at Abbey Road in the early 70's and produced by George Martin) and on-stage theatrics, they were always a joy to watch.

Having a band of my own in the S.F. bay area during the late 60's, I had the pleasure of attending several of their shows. Especially entertaining was their performance of their mini-opera "The Epic" wherein Larry, portraying the gallant prince Alan Doolangly, would duel with the dragon (strobe lights mounted on top of their P.A. stack on the side of the stage) using a microphone stand as a spear.

Their only commercial success was a wonderful cover of the Zombie song "I Love You" (Which was also recorded by the Zombies, but was never a major hit for them. Their version can be found in their own catalogue).

Sadly, People's first album has only been released by Capitol in CD format once, for about 10 minutes, in the mid 90's. I got my copy, but sure wish I'd grabbed a backup when I briefly had the chance.

The other sad thing is that People went on to record two more very obscure albums ("The Other Side Of People" and ""There Are People And There Are People") which have never seen issuance in the CD format. A reissue of all three albums, complete with full notes and any existing bonus tracks would be a wonderful dream come true.

Their last album "...People and... People", is a 'lost' gem, and I really wish someone would get it out. Containing, among other things, rocked out versions of "We're Off To See The Wizard", "Hall Of The Mountain King", a driving R&B cover of Buffalo Sprigfield's "For What It's Worth", and closing with a great rock instrumental of the William Tell Overture ("The Willy Tell Experience"), this album, as in the case of their first, is a one-of-a-kind that really deserve's to be made available to the public and collectors again.

Let's face it. The main reason to buy this C/D is the "I Love You" track. The rest is worthy of the filing cabinet of obscure tunes that you might remember with a bit of nostalgia.
People's etherial version of the tune is FAR superior to the Zombies cut.
It even sounds great 3 and a half decades later! (can't be, can it?)
Released only for a short time in the mid-nineties, and no one knows if or when it'll be re-released, any version of this hard-to-find (if not impossible) C/D is worth listening to. Maybe not worth $200.00, but once in awhile one comes up for a reasonable price.
Wait for it.
They're out there.
Jump on it when you can find one under $80.00.
You'll thank yourself.

...when I first heard the song, "I Love You". My brother was 14 and my sister, 17. I had been exposed to much of the '60's rock by virtue of thier transistor radios. I had heavy doses of the Beatles, Elvis, and all the British Invasion bands. But this Capitol 45 was different. It had a refreshing sound. And the B-Side titled, "Somebody Tell Me My Name" was good also. Unfortunately it is not on this CD.

I remember seeing this band perform "I Love You" on American Bandstand. They were energetic. I still own the 45 however, it is crackly and worse for wear and tear.

While there may be some sentimentality involved, I genuinely enjoy this CD. It sounds as modern as any of the new stuff that permeates the airwaves today. And this group did it without videos!

THIS CAPITOL REISSUE OF PEOPLE I LOVE YOU IS JUST AS RARE AS THE ORIGINAL 1968 CAPITOL PRESSING. NOT MANY ALBUMS FROM OBSCURE ROCK BANDS IN THE CAPITOL CATALOG IN THE 60's WERE REISSUED ON CD BY CAPITOL WHICH MAKES THIS RARE AND WHY IT COMMANDS HIGH PRICES. PEOPLE - I LOVE YOU (THEIR 1st OF 3 LP's) IS VERY DECENT LATE 60'S PSYCH ROCK AND DESERVES A LISTEN WHETHER LARRY NORMAN WAS IN THE GROUP OR NOT. GREAT PRODUCTION, VOCALS AND ARRANGEMENTS. "NOTHING CAN STOP THE ELEPHANTS", AND "ASHES OF ME" ARE VERY GOOD EXAMPLES OF ACID ZANNINESS! EVERY TIME I HEAR "ASHES OF ME" I HEAR SOMETHING NEW THAT I DIDN'T CATCH BEFORE. VERY TRIPPY. THEIR VERSION OF THE ZOMBIES' "I LOVE YOU" IS A DECENT COVER AND IT'S DONE WELL. AS EXPECTED, THE SOUND QUALITY IS SUPERB TRANSFERRED DIGITALLY FROM THE MASTER TAPES, SO PUT IT ON LOUD! ***NOTE: THE IMPORT VERSION ON NORMAN RECORDS IS A CHEAP BOOTLEG! DON'T BUY IT.***

This is a wonderful psychedelic music from the 60's. Echoes from The Zombies, Iron Butterfly, Vanilla Fudge or Afterglow is heard in this great CD.
I want to say that "I love you", from The Zombies, it wasn't written by Rod Argent. It was by the bassist Chris White, and it was recorded by The Zombies too, in 1965, as b-side of "Whenever you're ready".

ahh i found this gem finely i thought i was the only one besides my dad that loved this album . i was crushed when capitol decided to stop printing this album it's a classic, a pointless move if you ask me. i was going to buy another copy when they deleted from their list . it's well written album with a song they covered from a band you probably heard of the zombies & is the title track & name of the album i love you, this is one cool record to have in your collection along side your iron butterfly album in gaa daa vida my favorites are crying shoes , i love you of course & epic . but this is a complete album so it's hard to choose , if your classic rock nut then this is for you, but if you're into idie , alt music you then probably steer clear , but if you want real music instead of pretend music then i'd try it. you may be surprised it's that good . .... the only thing i would like in the re-release of the cd in the future is photos & liners notes.
yes i love you was recorded by the zombies but it was too fast in the intro in my opinion so that why it was'nt a top 40.
Correction it was chris white of the zombies that wrote that tune i love you. just thought you'd like to know.

I looked this up for fun, and was surprised to find it here.
I have the vinyl of this. I think the album was originally released in 1966 or 67. I discovered this album years ago in that vast repository of musical knowledge the Public Library.

The title track was written by Rod Argent from the Zombies, but I don't think it was ever recorded by the Zombies, rather it was written for People to record (ie A&R goes to established hit-writer and asks "let's give em a hit"). The album is very good, the playing is good, the singing is good. It's a large band (6-piece) and there are several singers with distinctive voices: from low growling Dave-Clayton Thomas to high-pitched falsetto. There's lots of Hammond B3 organ and excellent bass lines plus good bluesy electric guitar playing. The production is first-rate for the time.

The songs range from tongue-in-cheek digs at the establishment like "Ashes of Me", an ode to paranoia "Nothing Can Stop The Elephants". I think this song got some minor attention but this band was before my time (I was born in 61) so I wouldn't recall. There is also the great rouser "Cryin Shoes". The title track features a Rod Argent style electric piano and an organ solo in a similar vein, and although similar in groove it's not exactly "Time and a Season". The tunes are well written and each has a bit of psychedelic experimentation in it. Side one ends with a somewhat out-of-place but humorous and "authentic" rendition of a sprirtual called "We Need a Whole Lot More Of Jesus and a Lot Less Rock and Roll", complete with a congregational choir singing along to a beat-up upright piano, at the end a reverend asking "May we all be seated now", with chair squeaks as people sit down...
Side two is a side-long epic, though it's about 15 minutes long, titled "The Epic". A suite of tunes telling the mediaeval (sic) story of Aaron the dragon-killer and his muse, the damsel Tori Kincade. There are at least 7 or eight sections, all different. One part features the fight with the dragon and has some pretty cool psyche guitar effects a la the Inagaddadavida live version. Again the writing is solid and the playing and singing first-rate.

Overall there are many styles, moods and textures on this album, making it an interesting listen from start to finish. I used to listen to it quite a bit and still have the vinyl.

I think there was only one other People album (their first) but who knows what happened to it...or them. I would guess that besides myself and the other reviewer here there will be no one else reading this. But if you do, I hope this review will help you make your decision. Worth a buy if it's cheap and you enjoy 60's pop or psychedelic music. It was certainly original.

,
For those of you who know of this album because of Larry Norman, you'd better sit down. First of all, this ain't nothing like anything else in the Norman catalogue. Even the solo projects that came out shortly after this release from People! Are substantially different from what you will here in this disc. This was a group effort and Larry was just one voice in a group of young, strong personalities. On side A the only obvious stamp Norman put on the record is his falsetto line in the middle of the radio hit I Love You.

On side B you'll find nothing but 15 minutes worth of The Epic, and depending on who you listen to, you hear People! Perform the first Rock Opera, or you hear People! Perform Larry Norman's Rock Opera which directly influenced later work by Pete Townsend and The Who, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and a string of others. Norman's written history of his own beginnings has made some fairly bold claims about The Epic. Now, more than three decades later, it sounds wonderfully dated, very ambitious, and completely silly.

It is true that Norman departed People! While I Love You was still in the Top 40 Singles Chart and the follow on pair of albums did not have Norman's participation. However, a string of 45s were issued that featured A and B side cuts on which Norman did participate. Organ Grinder, Blow in My Ear, and others were recorded while Norman was still in the band yet often released post departure. The musicians used for Norman's release of many years later, The Israel Tapes, weren't the original members of People! and this has come out only in the past few years. In the mid 80s, The Israel Tapes was promoted as a People! reunion album, but close inspection of the band photo made it fairly obvious that these guys weren't those guys.

This album was topical of the Bay Area's late 60's sound and carries all the trappings and baggage that go with it. Though there was a radio hit that generated a lot of chatter, People! truly were a one hit wonder. For the die hard Norman fan the old LP used to be a prerequisite. This reissued CD is destined to become equally as important for the next generation of Norman collectors to possess. Unfortunately the catalogue at larrynorman.com doesn't currently feature this CD.

People's cover of the Zombies "I Love You" blows the original away. The Zombies did record this track but their version was more like a demo compared to the polished People interpretation. Since the Zombies have reunited, well Argent & Blunstone anyway, they have performed this song live in concert. Those of us familiar with the original "I Love You" 45 also found a real gem if they flipped it over and gave the B side a spin. The track was titled "Somebody Tell Me My Name" and imho was every bit as good as the A side. It is beyond comprehension why this song didn't make the cd re-issue as a bonus track? Fortunately, I still have the 45! Nothing else here stands the test of time compared to "I Love You" but this one hit wonder rates the 4 stars on it's own.

One of my all time favorite tunes is I love you. I am not only a fan of the song but also the artist. I would very much enjoy adding it to my collection of music of my era (born 1952), but I'll be damned if I will pay the outrageous price to own it. What my generation called getting burned!