The Goldebriars - The Goldebriars

The Goldebriars

The Goldebriars

Epic Records BN 26087

1964

I first encountered Curt Boettcher as a young teen in the liner notes on the back of my copy of "The Association's Greatest Hits!" where he was listed as one of the producers.  I was obsessed with that album for a little while so the names associated with it stuck with me.  Thus I remembered Boettcher when I encountered him in Sagittarius and the Millennium and became a fan.  This was his first foray into commercial music.  He formed the Goldebriars while in college with Sheri and Dottie Holmberg and Ron Neilson.  Given that his career was largely devoted to extravagantly arranged sunshine pop, I was a little surprised to find Boettcher leading a folk group, but once I spun the record I recognized his style instantly.  The group sings mostly folk songs with folk style accompaniment but the vocals are pure sunshine pop.  They feature elaborate harmonies with multi-tracking to give the music an astonishingly rich and vibrant sound.  This is evident on the opening track "Railroad Boy" which is a traditional song that is often known as "The Butcher's Boy."  Joan Baez recorded it on her second album which I assume is where the group picked it up.  It is one of those wronged maiden type ballads.  The Holmberg sisters' voices blend beautifully and complement Boettcher's delicate voice and the result is a lovely and haunting performance.  "He Was a Friend of Mine" is a well-known traditional song that the Byrds made famous the following year on "Turn! Turn! Turn!" when Roger McGuinn changed the lyrics to be about John F. Kennedy.  Dave Van Ronk recorded it on his "Folksinger" album in 1962 and it was in Bob Dylan's early repertoire.  It is a gloomy song but it sounds practically euphoric with the Goldebriars' enthusiastic vocal arrangement.  "Come Walk Me Out" is listed as a traditional song but it is actually Bonnie Dobson's song "Morning Dew."  That poor woman was always getting screwed out of her royalties - Tim Rose claimed a songwriting credit on it when he recorded it for "Tim Rose."  My favorite version is the Grateful Dead's intense and emotional cover of it on "The Grateful Dead."  In contrast the prettiness of the Goldebriars' version diminishes the song's gravity although I have to admit it sounds fabulous.  I could say the same about "Alabama Bound" which is credited to Leadbelly although the song predates him.  The grittiness of the song does not benefit from Boettcher's pretty vocal and the Holmbergs' captivating harmonies.  They sound condescending and out of touch with the song.  "Pretty Girls and Rolling Stones" is attributed to the Goldebriars themselves but it sounds convincingly like a folk song.  It's a girl chasing I gotta ramble type of song.  They sing it with winning enthusiasm.  "A Mumblin' Word" is an old spiritual about the crucifixion of Jesus that is also known as "He Never Said a Mumblin' Word" and "They Hung Him On a Cross."  This song was also sung by Leadbelly.  Boettcher's vocal is a little more grounded and coarse than usual but I still feel like the song's arrangement trivializes the subject even though I'm not the least bit religious myself.  This is equally true of  "Old Time Religion" which has got to be the slickest version of that old song around.  I don't actually like traditional versions of the song and I find the Goldebriars' performance invigorating and pleasantly brief (a mere 1:37 in length.)  The gospel theme continues with "Long Time Travellin'" which is equally slick but I find it more successful than the other religious songs because of its folk propulsion and more traditional harmonies.  It reminds me of the Seekers' work in this vein.  It is followed by a gorgeous version of the venerable old folk song "Shenandoah" which I consider one of the highlights of the album.  The vocals absolutely send me.  It resoundingly points towards Boettcher's future as a sunshine pop master.  "No More Auction Block" is an old anti-slavery spiritual that had previously been recorded by Odetta.  This is arguably the most ridiculous song on the record.  The contrast between the mesmerizing vocals and the harshness of the lyrics is almost comical.  "Sing Out Terry O'Day" was written by Boettcher in a folk style.  The group sings the song with great vigor and verve and again remind me of the Seekers.  From a folk standpoint it is perhaps the most credible song on the album particularly in Boettcher's urgent vocal.  The album concludes with "Voyager's Lament" which is an English language version of "Un Canadien errant" which was written by Antoine Gérin-Lajoie.  I first heard it on the debut album by Ian and Sylvia where it blew me away however the song dates back to 1842.  The song describes the unhappy exile of a French-Canadian following the Lower Canada Rebellion in 1837-1838.  The Goldebriars strip the Canada references from the song in the English section of their performance and then they sing a verse in the original French which is then crossed with "Plaisir d'amour" (uncredited) which is sung in English.  I find Boettcher's creativity in the song breathtaking and immensely pleasurable.  When I first got this album I played this track over and over savoring the vocal richness and the brilliant splicing of the two songs.  This is my favorite track and its dazzling arrangement again foreshadows Boettcher's future career.  I think that if I were a folk purist I'd probably hate this album or at least have serious problems with it.  The music is almost totally divorced from the foundations of the songs.  However I am far from being a folk purist.  I prefer folk-rock to folk and I like Curt Boettcher a lot more than I like Pete Seeger.  Boettcher basically used these folk songs as a vehicle for his own creative interests and that is fine with me.  There were lots of performers who did these songs the "right way" if I feel like hearing that (and I have to confess I seldom do.)  Hardly anyone arranged music like Boettcher did so this album is more valuable to me.  Recommended to people who think it would have been cool if Brian Wilson had produced a Seekers album.