Without Rhyme Or Reason

Spanky & Our Gang | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 3, 2000)
• ASIN: B00004GJUH
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #867,138 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Leopard Skin Phones

2. But Back Then

3. Mecca Flat Blues

4. Without Rhyme Or Reason

5. 1-3-5-8 (Pedagogical Round #2)

6. Jane

7. Since You've Gone

8. Anything You Choose

9. And She's Mine

10. Yesterday's Rain

11. Hong Kong Blues

12. Nowhere To Go

13. Give A Damn

Editorial Reviews

Japanese reissue/ worldwide CD debut of album by this '60s folk/ pop/ rock group often compared to the Mamas & Papas. Originally released on the Mercury label in 1968, this was the group's second album. 1999 release. Standard jewelcase. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dream Fulfillment - Being There Again..., December 22, 2001

By 

Richard Kelly (SAN FRANCISCO, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Without Rhyme Or Reason (Audio CD)

The chance to Time Travel - to the real heart of 1968, when visionary musicians dared to "Give A Damn" whether it was commercially viable or not. This pristine marvel, which I'd given up hope of ever hearing again, transcends time, place and the repackaged, nostalgic slot most people identify as "The Sixties".

Like "Sergeant Pepper's...", a conceptual trip through a sophisticated landscape unlike anything of its day - or now, for that matter! The first "side" is all of a piece - thematically connected by the musical framework , blending disparate elements into a seamless trip and exemplary of a time when many artists made music just for the pure joy of it.

Stereo was just being discovered - and Elaine, et al, took this new spatial element to its limits, playfully enhancing music that was already lush and full and innovative. Taken with the sublime "Prescription For The Blues" (from the "Like To Get To Know You" album,) "Mecca Flat Blues" seals Elaine MacFarlaine's spot among the all-time great interpreters of traditional Blues.

This is headphone music at its best! Dive in and be enwrapped in a giddy, emotive, multi-colored soundscape that is singular, joyful and informed by a deeply musical wisdom that sounds so spontaneous - but that was crafted with meticulous wisdom.

I was there - it was amazing then; it remains so. Slipping it on the CD player, with no intro, and watching the amazement sparkle - in the eyes of people 30 years my junior - is a connective and wondrous testament to the power of the 'true' that remains forever alive in all timeless music.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lost pop gem now found in stellar digital remaster!, February 2, 2000

By 

gruggy woof (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Without Rhyme Or Reason (Audio CD)

This is one of the greatest (and most under-appreciated) masterpieces of 1968. An eclectic mix of pop/folk/blues/nightclub/humor featuring the sophisticated, innovative production and songwriting talents of Stu Scharf and Bob Dorough, whose arrangements polish the presentation of the Gang's complex vocal harmonies.

Critically deemed, "not earthy enough for '68 hipster values," and quickly lost to the LP cut-out bins, this re-master from VIVID SOUND is a crystalline reproduction of the original that literally scintillates with stunning digital clarity. There is virtually NO evidence of tape hiss! (How did those guys do it in analog '68? Why no one snapped 'em up for their production values when S&OG disbanded remains a mystery to this day.)

This is the S&OG CD to savor! Better than either "Greatest Hits" collection, they blend natural ambient sounds, electronic sonics, and pseudo-"archival" spoken work between the tracks that flow together as no release has done since.

Very much worth the wait for the import to arrive. If you have ever enjoyed lush harmonies over thoughtful and often amusing lyrics in an entirely satifying musical "stew," BUY THIS DISC. You won't be disappointed!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST OF THE 60'S, April 27, 2005

By 

JaredinMarine "Peabody" (Marine on St Croix MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Without Rhyme Or Reason (Audio CD)

Spanky and Our Gang is another of those groups (like Pages, or The Sons of Champlin) that had a brief moment in the sun, then vanished for reasons that defy reason. They never approached the commercial success of the Mamas and the Papas, with whom they were often compared, even though they were far, far better (for one thing, they could sing in tune!)"Without Rhyme or Reason" was their high water mark: high production values, pieces carefully integrated into a seamless whole, interesting song selection (including Hoagy Carmichael's hilarious "Hong Kong Blues"). This recording is a period piece to savor, and it is so EARNEST ... like the era from which it came. One has the feeling that everyone involved with this felt they were creating something important. And they were.