Monday, January 17, 2011

Golden Grass - The Grassroots


Golden Grass
The Grassroots
Dunhill DS 50047
1968

The Grassroots had been making records for 3 years when this premature comp was released.  Sometimes record company greed is a good thing though.  I count 5 top 40 singles in this greatest hits package: "Bella Linda", "Midnight Confessions", "Things I Should Have Said", "Where Were You When I Needed You" and "Let's Live For Today."  Those happen to be the only Grassroots hit singles that I like very much.  This comp focuses on the years when the band was part of the Sloan/Barri folk-rock hit factory.  They'd move in a even more crassly commercial, bubblegum direction in the following 4 years of their hit-making existence and have lots more top 40 singles.  A friend once gave me a CD comp of these guys with all their hits which I hated and quickly got rid of.  This record is perfect for me.  I love the 5 hit singles, fine examples of quality 1960s commercial pop music rivaling the Monkees, the Turtles, the Association or Paul Revere and the Raiders.  Even the filler on this record is well-crafted, catchy and enjoyable.  Many sound like they should have been hits too.  On a weird trivia note Creed Bratton, the guitarist of the band, went on to become an actor and was a regular on the TV series "The Office" playing a character named "Creed Bratton."  Recommended for Association fans who prefer "Along Comes Mary" to "Never My Love."

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