Sunday Night (9/28) we went to a show at The Arcada Theatre billed as The American Harmony Tour. (According to Susan Cowsill, this was the only stop on The American Harmony Tour!!!)
I had really been looking forward to this one as the acts performing were all '60's giants: The Cowsills, The Vogues and The Association. All three groups will also be performing as part of the 2026 Happy Together Tour ... so we got an "advance peek" at 3/8 (or 37.5%) of the upcoming show.
The Cowsills have always been one of my favorite performing acts ... we have raved about their performances several times before in Forgotten Hits and they always put on a top-notch show ... although I will say that they seemed to be rushing thru their set a bit Sunday night ... some of the playful, fun banter that always accompanies their act was lost along the way by talking on top of each other.
Still, they were in fine voice as they performed their biggest hits: "The Rain, The Park And Other Things," "We Can Fly," "Indian Lake" and "Hair." (They also did their usual performance of the theme to the hit television show "Love, American Style" ... not one of their stronger songs ... as well as a BEAUTIFUL reading of Elton John's "Love Song.") A great way to open the show (although quite honestly I thought they were the strongest act performing that night and really should have been the show closers.)
Next up came The Vogues, a group we have never seen perform live before (although they totally blew us away with their performances on those T.J. Lubinsky PBS shows in the past.)
Unfortunately, this is no longer the same group we saw on tv a decade or two ago as there are no original members of The Vogues still performing today.
That being said, they didn't just grab three schleps off the street and call them The Vogues ... these guys can really sing and they did these songs justice and lived up to the whole "harmony" theme of the evening. Although their set was a bit "loungy," they rattled off stirring and inspirational versions of The Vogues' hits "Five O'Clock World," "Magic Town," "Till" (which was especially moving), "The Land Of Milk And Honey," "My Special Angel," "Turn Around, Look At Me" and "You're The One."
Troy Elich, The Vogues' frontman, also took a moment to introduce Jay Reincke, lead singer of Jay and the Americans, who was in the audience that night. Jay (John) is a Chicagoan who took over the lead role of "Jay" in 2006. (They jokingly teased him about coaxing him to sing "Cara Mia" from his seat ... but unfortunately, that never happened. It would have been a fun bonus!)
We were glad to finally have had the chance to see them but if I may offer up one suggestion ...
Open your set with "You're The One" and close it with "Five O'Clock World" ... it makes for a much stronger performance and closer.
Finally, after a brief intermission, out came The Association.
Now, I have to tell you that my experience with The Association over the years has really been a hit or miss venture. They've either been really good ... or really bad ... and this time out, they were really, REALLY bad. The vocals weren't even close to being in tune, a major flaw in a tour promoting harmony. (To be honest with you, there were a couple of times I wasn't even sure they were all singing in the same key!) and the musicianship (they all played their own instruments rather than using a back-up band) was mediocre at best.
It's a shame because their hit list is amongst the most impressive of all the '60's artists.
I have seen them countless times over the years (at least a dozen) including a performance at my high school back in 1967 when they were at the prime, peak of their career, having already scored four Top Ten Hits. However, I will also admit to seeing them at their very worst ... and Sunday night was the THIRD time I have actually walked out of their show before it was over. It was painfully excruciating ... and I say this NOT to tear the band down ... their legacy is top notch ... but more as a "Buyer Beware" warning that you just don't know what you're going to get when you see these guys perform live. You need to be aware that there is some element of risk involved. (Please understand that during the course of the past 26+ years of publishing Forgotten Hits, I have always maintained a strong sense of obligation to report truthfully and accurately what we see and hear at these live events ... and that this is a responsibility I take very seriously. As mentioned, we have seen The Association perform a number of really good shows during that time ... this just wasn't one of them.)
How bad was it?
Original member Jim Yester blew the introduction to the group's biggest hit!
He started by explaining how, at the turn of the century, BMI put out a list of the most played songs on the radio. Jim went on to explain that The Association were "very proud to have three songs on this list."
"At #1," he said, is 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling' by The Righteous Brothers." He continued to explain that "'Yesterday' has long been the #2 song but at this point we overtook The Brits with our song, 'No Fair At All.'" Of course this is 100% completely untrue. The #2 song is now "Never My Love" ... which they then proceeded to play after the false announcement and introduction. (I'm sure "Cherish" and "Windy" are likely to be the other two hits he was referring to ... and as much as I love their song "No Fair At All," that one didn't even crack The Top 40 when it was released in 1967 ... and receives virtually no airplay at all anymore these days ... which is a shame, because it really is a very, very good song ... but most definitely NOT one of "the most played songs on radio.")
While they did ultimately perform seven of their legitimate hits, they also filled in their set with album tracks and covers of the tunes "Walk Away Renee" and "California Dreamin'," which were big hits for other artists. I can only tell you that we found them to be disappointing as headliners.
Without question, their catalog is a very demanding list of songs to perform on stage ... everybody has to be right on the money or it just sounds flat. Hopefully, they can tighten things up before they hit the road again as part of The Happy Together Tour in May, as I am really looking forward to seeing this new lineup, which also includes Ron Dante, Jason Scheff (formerly of Chicago), Gary Puckett, The Troggs and The Fortunes (who collectively represent the other 62.5% of the show. (kk)
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
12/31/65 – Piccadilly Records releases a song called “That's My Life (My Love and My Home) by sixty three year-old Alfred "Freddie" Lennon, father of Beatle John Lennon. The record would just start to gain some traction when it suddenly disappeared from the UK chart. It was often rumored, but never proven, that John had something to do with the song's short life. Discouraged by the failure, the senior Lennon would stop pursuing a career in music.
