Customer Reviews

The Very Best Of Orpheus

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

 

 

Wow. I was not expecting to hear so many great songs by a so-called "one-hit wonder". Like many fans, I first became acquainted with Orpheus through their very impressive and influential self-titled album that was released by MGM in 1968. The mega hit "Can't Find The Time", which fended off rock's biggest legends on the Los Angeles airwaves for two months sounded like nothing I had heard before. The vocal arrangements and guitar playing were far more sophisticated than the sunshine pop dribble being performed by groups like The Association, The Lovin' Spoonful and even the Mammas & The Pappas. The lyrics of that first Orpheus hit are timeless as evidenced by the recent Hootie & The Blowfish cover. Although I could not help but notice that Hootie's lead vocalist sings "ba da ba..." instead of the original's "ba da da...". This apparent mistake was explained when I pulled out a very dusty copy of the Orpheus sheet music from my attic and noticed a typo in the lyrics for the first chorus. Hootie must have acquired this same sheet music! Funny the effect a little typo can have on music history. As beautiful as "Can't Find The Time" was and is to this day, this compilation has re-introduced me to many Orpheus songs that are at least as good if not better.

"I've Never Seen Love Like This" was apparently the second Orpheus single released by MGM and why it did not become a bigger hit is baffling. The song bursts into action from the first note and the complex chord progression never fails to amaze me. Pay close attention to the intricate bass and drum parts on this song. Some of the drum fills are so fast and yet so precise that you get the feeling the song was recorded at a slower speed and then sped up. Amazon offers a VHS box set called "Live From Greenwich Village New York", which features the band lip-syncing this song at The Bitter End in '68. I could not help but notice that the drummer performing on stage seemed lost when trying to replicate the recorded performance. Perhaps evidence that a session drummer may have been employed - a common occurrence in the late sixties music industry.

"Walk Away Renee" is a classic example of how this group effortlessly applied their distinctive sound to material by other bands. I enjoyed the original version by The Left Banke but always thought the wimpy vocals could have used some testosterone. The Orpheus version is without fault and again I am puzzled why it failed to eclipse the original.

"To Touch Our Love Again", "Me About You" and "Just A Little Bit" are all fantastic ballads that feature beautiful orchestration and haunting vocals. The Turtles also performed "Me About You" but beware, the always-corny Turtles gave it an entirely different treatment, which did not do the song justice. The Orpheus version is extremely slow and methodical yet you find yourself fascinated by the band's masterful use of "quiet".

"I'll Stay With You", "Big Green Pearl" and "I'll Fly" were obviously written to be showstoppers. The latter two songs are more evidence that Orpheus continued to compose great pop tunes after their debut album.

"Brown Arms In Houston", which was another big hit in Southern California and remained on Fresno's top forty for over four months, was almost as memorable a hit as "Can't Find The Time". I can recall hearing this song "debut" at different radio stations up and down the California coast. The funny thing was that each station debuted the single nearly a month apart, which makes me wonder if MGM failed to supply enough singles or if they shipped the singles to different areas at different times. A mistake which can mean the difference of a song entering the national top forty or failing to enter the charts at all. Whatever the reason, it's at least nice to see that Elvis Costello hasn't forgotten it.

I applaud Varese Sarabande for their attention to detail with the excellent packaging as well as a great track listing. One must also not forget the "Master of Remastering", Dan Hersch. As with his work on The Band Remasters for Capitol, the sonic clarity of these thirty five year old recordings is simply stunning. This is a terrific starting point for those interested in exploring the music of an extremely under rated American pop band.

I purchased this CD a year ago, with the sole purpose of adding Can't Find the Time... to my CD collection. I knew nothing of their other material. This album is filled with excellent tunes. Great vocals, great orchestration... you have to try this CD. Every time I hear it I discover a new favorite. Right now my personal favorites are Never In My Life, Door Knob, Lovin' You, Walk Away Renee, Love Over Here...there is hardly a cut I don't like.
I was so desperate for any additional material by Orpheus that I recently purchased their complete 4 cd compilation. This does not add much value to this collection as most of the additional songs are strictly Bruce Arnold and Steve Martin (nothing against Bruce- but the additional songs are a different flavor).
It's a shame they did not stay together for more than 3 albums!
If you like The Left Banke and The Zombies, you will probably like Orpheus.

Lived thru that time have them already on LP's am glad that they are now available on Cd. Saw tham an now them my group played some of the same spots as they. You really need to hear them live. But that never happened as far as I know on record.THey were from New York I saw them in Buffalo and in Cleveland. Our paths crossed many times.THey were a very tight group of guys.

If you liked the Sixities music magic of the Zoombies She's not there pinned by Rod Argent.The version here is better than his own version of it. They just put more life and energy into what ever they played.Walk Away Renee is another one.Written by the Left Banke originally it lives with new life in the hands of the Orpheus. As the name means gods of music they live up to the title.Not many do. Bruce Arnold is a very capable lead guitar player. HArry Sandler is one of the best drumers so there you go man the rest is history enjoy!

This collection has grown on me. I bought it for "Can't Find the Time", which was a modest regional hit in New York in the spring of 1968, with a few weeks of AM and FM play, after which it vanished from the airwaves and from my childhood memories forever it seemed. Then I heard it featured in a Valentine's Day retrospective of 60s love songs last year and the power and sweetness of this song came flooding back. Logic tells you that pop songs as short and simple as this, with lyrics like "A da da da da da da" sung on a single note should not be deeply affecting, but this song has a musical hook of deceptive simplicity and Orpheus rides it right to the stars. The harmonies build and build, and a trumpet plays a passage that could have been lifted from Penny Lane in one verse and staccato blasts in the next that suggest menacing storm clouds as the song nears its climax.

While "Can't Find the Time" is the highlight, every other song is inventive and nearly all have at least some appeal. My favorites of these are "Congress Alley", an up-tempo praise for a hip neighborhood that contains a smile-inducing xylophone passage, "Joyful", "Brown Arms in Houston", "I Can Make the Sun Rise", "Big Green Pearl" and "Tomorrow Man". In their multi-layered harmonies, there are some striking similarities between Orpheus and the Association, a comparison that has been made by others, but despite the Association's better success at crafting hits, Orpheus seems more consistently interesting.

This is a great compilation with a superb track listing. Although "Can't Find The Time" is a gorgeous song, it is by no means the best track on this CD. My current favorites are "I've Never Seen Love Like This" (what a hit!), "Walk Away Renee" (The Left Banke version pales in comparison) and "Tomorrow Man" (beautiful lyrics).

This is one of those CD's that you can play from start to finish without ever using the "skip" button. Enjoy!

Having been an Orpheus fan since I first heard the harmonies in "Can't Find The Time To Tell You", my only disappointment with this compilation is that they didn't include more. The lush sound of Bruce Arnold and Jack McKenes vocals have never been duplicated by any band. Their music is still fresh and enjoyable, after all these years.

The sound of this group reminds me of early Chicago Transit Authority or Blood, Sweat, and Tears. There are a number of tracks that are down right good.

I purchased this LP in the bookstore of Sacred Heart University (Fairfield, CT) in 1968 and immediately called my lead guitar player to come by to listen to "Can't Find the Time to Tell You". A week later we played it for the first time publicly with our band, "The People of Time". It became a signature song of the group and we often had requests to play it one more time as the last song of the night.

It seemed to only be a region hit out of the Boston area and I could never understand how it never went national. It is truly a timeless song and I still remember all the words and the harmony parts...how could you forget!!!

Easily one of the best bands to come out of the 60's East Coast music scene, Orpheus created a distinctive sound that influenced the likes of Steely Dan, Boston and more recently, Hootie & The Blowfish. This CD contains all their hits including the Bruce Arnold version of "Big Green Pearl" which was released as a single in 1971. (This single was strangely omitted from the 1995 Big Beat compilation).

All tracks on this CD feature Alan Lorber's orchestration which means you are not getting the more acoustic Orpheus tunes like "The Dream", "Of Enlightenment" and their live performance favorite, "Borneo".

But that aside, this compilation contains all the definitive Orpheus hits that no fan should be without. And to all the curious that have been turned on to Orpheus through Hootie & The Blowfish's cover of "Can't Find The Time", rest assured, if you like the Hootie version, you'll love the original.

This is a rather uneven synthesis of the four album career of a cult favorite. Starting the album with "Can't Find the Time.." is like putting the jelly on the outside the doughnut. Not much thought went into th construction of this album unfortunately.