Customer Reviews

There's Gonna Be a Storm: Complete Recordings

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The sixties pop landscape is littered with one-hit wonders and artists who didn't fit the narrowly defined niche of what a rock band should be. The Left Banke falls into the latter category.

Their two hit singles combined rock with classical elements (string-laden arrangements and graceful harpsichord accents) and assured them a permanent place on Classic Rock radio playlists. Both "Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina" were composed by classically-trained musician Michael Brown, who was all of 17 when "Walk Away Renee" hit #5 in 1966.

In addition to their only two hits, the Left Banke's debut album Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina contained equally gorgeous music. "She May Call You Up Tonight" and "I've Got Something on My Mind" feature their trademark choir-boy harmonies.

"Ivy, Ivy" with its delicate horns and accoustic guitar was released as a single, but failed to chart. [The flipside, "And Suddenly," however, was a sappy pop song that would have been better suited to Davey Jones of the Monkees.] A fourth single, "Desiree," features a string section but would peak at only #98 in October of 1967. At this point the creative force of the band Michael Brown left the band. [Footnote: Brown would go on to co-found Stories, but leave that band before its international No. 1 "Brother Louie" was recorded.]

The Left Banke would record a second album, The Left Bank, Too in 1968, but attracted little attention. That's too bad. Songs like "Goodbye Holly," which was released as a single, is very reminiscent of the kind of pop music that Badfinger would make.

The band returned to the studio to record the single "Myrah," in 1969, but by then musical styles had changed. The Left Banke's baroque-rock sound had lost its audience.

This CD re-issue contains all of the Left Banke's debut (tracks 1-11) and is essential listening. In addition, there are enough other good tracks on this compilation to make it a must-have for fans. RECOMMENDED

A "complete" collection of the Left Banke's recordings, totalling over 75 minutes of incredible music. A great buy for both the casual fan of the band's two hits ("Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina"), as well as the avid collector. The collector, though, will be a bit frustrated by the package's organization.

While this disc features a version of each song issued by the Left Banke, the takes, mixes and ordering are maddeningly inconsistent. For example, the first 11 tracks of the CD comprise the same 11 tracks as found on the debut LP. However, the CD changes the ordering by pulling the B-side of the first pre-LP single up to track #2. This might make sense to those who followed the releases when they were originally issued, but the compilation inconsistently doesn't pull the other pre-LP single sides ("Pretty Ballerina" and "Lazy Day") in a similar way. Also, is it my imagination, or are these single mixes slightly different from the ones that turned up on the LP? Other singles are handled in a similarly inconsistent way: non-LP sides such as "Ivy Ivy" and "And Suddenly" are intermixed with tracks from the second album, "Left Banke Too." I really can't guess what was going through Bill Inglot's mind as he sequenced this disc. Ah well, I suppose that's what programmable CD players are for. After so many years of listening to the original LP sequence, it's really disconcerting to have the songs pop up in a different order!

That complaint aside, let me say that this is an *exceptional* disc. Inglot's mastering sounds crisp, and about as full as the original vinyl (which wasn't all that full a sound to begin with). This is one of very few CD's I've bought for which I own almost all of the original vinyl. There are a few bonus tracks here, but mostly it's nice to hear all of this music without the surface noise of my worn originals. I was especially happy to gain a new appreciation for the second LP. Although Michael Brown had left by the time the sophomore effort was recorded, there are a lot of outstanding tracks to be found here.

I usually reserve 5 star ratings for truly classic albums that are very strong from start to finish, but the best here is so good it is essential for the 60s enthusiast. Besides, who can complain about an attempt to be totally inclusive of all projects that involved original Left Banke members? This could have been a killer 18 song collection, and that is why it merits 5 stars.

Walk Away Renee, Pretty Ballerina and Desiree all deserved to be monster hits; only Walk Away Renee made it. All the songs on their 1st album are included, and pretty much all are great, particularly She May Call You Up Tonight, Shadows Breaking Over My Head and I've Got Something On My Mind.

If you really liked Walk Away Renee, you should give this a listen. Michael Brown was truly a talented keyboardist and composer, and Steve Martin's voice was the perfect compliment to Brown's compositions. To bad they couldn't work together!

One note. I've lost the copy of their 1st album I had, but I compared it to the CD when I first purchased the CD, and the vinyl, in this case superior to the CD.

But that's nitpicking. As the review says, no real collection of 60s music is complete without this collection.

At this point I cannot even remember why I decided to purchase this disc though it was probably related to 'just walk away renee' and my infatuation with 60's pop. All I do know is that this band created some very affecting and lovely music. When you listen to this music late at night with headphones and really concentrate on all of its facets you realize that they have that certain something that the great bands have that you can't put your finger on, its just THERE. You can feel it in the seams of the music. What I find interesting is how frequently the 2nd half of the disc is bashed. How out-of-it do you have to be to not notice how brilliant songs like 'my friend today', 'sing little bird sing', 'nice to see you', and even 'Bryant hotel' actually are? and those were written post-m. brown. I think this was just one of those bands that was ridiculously gifted and had many ways to prove it (this is not to say that there are no clunkers at all on that second album.) Buy this album today and give it a few careful listens and let it works its magic.

I love the stuff on this album...but this is not exactly what I used to have on vinyl. Somewhere, the remastering went awry.

I still have an old vinyl copy of Pretty Ballerina. After listening to the CD and thinking "something's missing here," I plopped the old vinyl record on my turntable, and sure enough, there was the droning organ that got lost waaaayyy back in the mix on the CD. And the whole song sounds a lot more FULL on the vinyl copy.

Some CD reissues are great -- revealing things in the songs that were difficult to hear before. This one actually manages to OBSCURE some sounds that were there before. Ack!

"Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina" are enduring classics. This compilation CD conclusively proves two things: 1) the Left Banke recorded a lot more than two great songs, and 2) the three singers (Steve Martin, George Cameron and Tom Finn) in the Left Banke needed their fourth member, keyboardist-songwriter-producer Michael Brown, much more than he needed them.

This CD includes all of the Left Banke's recorded output for Smash Records: two LPs plus a few 45s. It kicks off with a bang, as 3 of the first 4 songs are the two classics and the amazing "She May Call You Up Tonight." But, with only a couple of exceptions, the rest of the 11-song first album is at the same exalted level, and "Shadows Breaking Over My Head", "Lazy Day", and "I've Got Something On My Mind" could easily have been hits on their own.

The subject that inspired many of these songs was Michael Brown's infatuation with Tom Finn's girfriend Renee. The level of tension inside the group must have been incredible, and Brown hated touring ... So, without telling the others, Brown recorded a brilliant new Left Banke 45, "Ivy, Ivy"/"And Suddenly", plus another great but unreleased song, "Men Are Building Sand" (which Brown later re-recorded with Montage) using singer Bert Sommer of "We're All Playing in the Same Band" fame (NOTE: for an unknown reason, "And Suddenly" is sequenced out-of-order on this CD). Even though Sommer couldn't sing nearly as well as Steve Martin (the main lead voice, and no relation to the comedian-actor), Brown's arrangement and production skills more than make up for it. But, just as Brown seemed to be making his way to the pinnacle of writer-arranger-producer fame occupied by Brian Wilson, things went sour for the Left Banke.

Due to protests from the rest of the group, who apparently were better corporate politicians than musicians, Smash dropped all promotion of the rapidly-rising 45 (which gave the Cherry People the opportunity to record their only hit, a cover of "And Suddenly"). Smash's rash action tarred the Left Banke with a stigma that lingered through their next record, the wonderful "Desiree." Brown and the singers had reunited, but despite a great arrangement-production and a spirited lead vocal, "Desiree" never made a dent on the charts, and Brown left the group for good (well, almost).

Smash, which had backed the singers in the dispute, was now stuck with them, and they churned out a second album ("Left Banke Too"), which accounts for almost all of the rest of the songs on this CD. Frankly, these songs are mediocre at best and continually derivative, though the liner notes to the CD try desperately to convince you otherwise. The poor quality of these songs could be the real reason that "And Suddenly" was stuck among them -- to prevent you from ejecting the CD after "Desiree"! Just before the band's contract with Smash expired, Brown returned for a session that was intended to produce a Steve Martin solo single; the result was the last Left Banke single, "Myrah." Unfortunately, the band's magic had gone by that point.

Despite the fact that only about half of this CD is worth owning, that half is EXCEPTIONALLY good and seems even better with repeated listenings. It's almost enough to convert you into one of the Michael Brown fanatics who try to collect his scattered output, littered across several broken groups (my understanding is that Montage and Stories (pre-"Brother Louie") have been available on CD; the Beckies and the soundtrack to an X-rated movie entitled "Hot Parts" -- which included two songs sung by Steve Martin -- have not). Other notes: Bill Inglot did a great job in mastering this disk, including maintaining the original balances between the surfeit of instruments on the songs. And, while there are no lyrics included with the CD, most of the words can be found on the Web with relatively little effort.

Someday, someone will work through all of the licensing nightmares and put together a complete compilation of Michael Brown's work. Until then, this is the one CD of his (and the Left Banke's) music that you should own.

The Left Banke really made some gorgeous music. The melodies and orchestration are fabulous. Too bad they don't seem to make stuff of this quality anymore. We're in a low point in music right now. You can take a couple dozen alternative bands, lump them together, and they will be pretty much indistinguishable from one another. Listening to something like this album proves that it was not always this way. Here's hoping for another period of musical rejuvenation.

Rock bands are often more than just the amplified cacophony of blaring guitars, bass and drums. Take the Moody Blues, for example; with the aid of a Mellotron and a band likened to a miniature orchestra, they developed classical-rock; or the Byrds, through the signature sound of a 12-string Rickenbacker and/or Moog synthesizer, they mixed folk, country, psychedelic and space elements with rock to fashion a totally new direction in Pop. Then there was the criminally unheralded Left Banke, who utilized string quartets and harpsichords to incorporate the fancifully contrapuntal style of Baroque music into rock, thereby designing yet another unique phraseology.

The Left Banke's 1992 CD release, "There's Gonna Be A Storm The Complete Recordings 1966-1969" features twenty-six tracks, gathered from their first two 1960s albums and elsewhere. (They did record another album, "Voices Calling," in 1978, but not released until 1986, and a few other songs, not included in this collection, probably because of space limitations and the fact said were recorded on a different label.)

All of the beautiful pieces contained in this compilation have mellowed over the last thirty years. This is because much of the Left Banke's music, with its romantically defeatist, though cathartic lyrics--combined with ever so taut vocal and instrumental harmonies and majestically liquid melodies--still conjures a special awe in me, to this day.

For the Left Banke, music was always more than just a delicate melody. It was, indeed, a sonic excursion into a mystical wonderland that perhaps only artists, poets and other visionists fully realized in dreams. All of the flawlessly arranged and performed tunes on "There's Gonna Be A Storm" (the title is so apt because rain is alluded to in several of the songs) showcase vocals that ache with the call of a nightingale (though a few of the numbers offer a playfully raucous diversion in the singing style). There are, however, many other strands in the Left Banke's musical and thematic tapestry. For instance, social issues, jazz, electronic wizardry and even a dose of country are welcome components in the group's oeuvre. Therefore, the Baroque-rock genre they created is scintillatingly eclectic, its integrity now preserved in the Modern Age of diversity.

The works that touched me most on "There's Gonna Be A Storm" are: "Shadows Breaking Over My Head," "Desiree," "Dark As The Bark," "Sing Little Bird Sing" and the title track.

What else can be said about the most underrated band in Rock'n'Roll history? Well, Leonard Bernstein, in one of his 1960s TV programs "singled out the Banke as the perfect example of what rock music could be." Ironically, to this day, there has yet to be another baroque-rock ensemble who could even approach the magic that was the Left Banke. Hopefully today's cognoscenti will recognize "There's Gonna Be A Storm" as a most infuential masterwork of heavenly standards and help get the Left Banke enshrined in the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame.

This is a rare CD i've been waiting for in the last few years. It includes the left Banke's most well known songs Such as: Walk away Renee, Pretty Ballerina, Desiree, Myrah. It is unique, and once you listen to it, you can't stop. You will want to listen to it again and again. The cd includes many songs that we never heard on the radio,(She may call you up tonight, I've got something on my mind, Evening Gown, but are all extremely good. Also, there is a good biography in the cover.I definitly recommand this music, it is an excellent investment, but unfortunatly, it is a rare cd to be found. I hope it will be re-edited soon. Enjoy it!...

Isabelle Theoret, Longueuil, Quebec

A 60's fan music

As a genuine baby boomer who heard The Left Banke's 1st album in 1967, I'm pleased as punch that their music has stood the test of time. I could wax nostalgic forever here, but, instead I'll point you younger folks to the original "emo" band, if there ever was one. I still love "Pretty Ballerina" after all these years.

Back in '67, there were no websites, of course, only fan clubs and albums. So, while you listened to great music, you had no idea that the band behind it was self-destructing because of drugs, alcohol, egos, and just plain weirdness.

Bass player Tom Finn introduced each of the members of the Banke in the beginning, and off they went, recording in Mike Brown's father's studio, what would be "Pretty Ballerina", "Walk Away Renee" and other songs from the 1st album in 1965-66. Michael's infatuation with Renee, a friend of the band, led to his composing the two hits, plus "She May Call You Up Tonight". The harpsichord, strings and Baroque arrangements became the band's musical trademark, but unfortunately, musical trends can only last so long.

After Michael left the band, having "pulled a Brian Wilson", (in his words), he went through a few band changes, only to find they did not fit his musical style, until he came to Montage. Only then, was he able to continue in the style of the Left Banke (well, think of Montage as the "second" Left Banke).

Meanwhile, the other original members of the Banke tried to oontinue, with "Left Banke, Too". This album pointed the way to bands such as Yes, and ELP, but they were more influenced by the Kinks ("Bryant Hotel", "Goodbye, Holly").

So, both Michael and the original band, left without each other, floundered, occasionally getting back together for experiments like "Desiree".

There's more that you can find out about this group, if you search the web. I've found a great site which has EVERYTHING you could want about them, you'll find it, I'm sure.

I'm so glad that Amazon has decided to make mp3's of their music available. The prices of the used CDs (and I already own "And Finally..") are shocking.