Forgotten Hits Reader (and PR Guru) Bob Merlis recently sent me an advance copy of a new album by a group known as The Explorers Club called “To Sing And Be Born Again,” a collection of cover tunes from the ‘60’s, featuring a nice and unique selection of music that hasn’t been played and redone to death over the years, all lovingly and affectionately performed and exquisitely produced.
Bob runs MFH (Merlis For Hire) PUBLIC RELATIONS, a publicity firm specializing in music projects. Some of the current and past clients he’s rep'd over the years include John Mellencamp, Etta James, ZZ Top, JD Souther, Experience Hendrix, ABKCO Records, Dion, John Fogerty, Percy Sledge, Neil Young and others.
But this time around, he’s raving praises on a relatively new artist … and for good reason. This is a very good album that makes for a very enjoyable listening experience.
The new LP hits the streets on June 12th, along with a second release of all new, original material by the band simply titled “The Explorers Club” … but it’s this collection of remakes that Bob felt our audience might most appreciate … and I’ve got to agree with him. (In the official PR Release for the CD, he describes “To Sing And Be Born Again” as “a ten-part love letter to the group’s influences, consisting entirely of covers that were originally recorded by The Lovin’ Spoonful, Paul Revere & The Raiders, Herb Alpert, The Zombies and more.” Guest musicians include Steven Page, formerly of Barenaked Ladies, and Jay Gonzalez of Drive-By Truckers. The album will first be available digitally, with vinyl and CD versions coming soon thereafter.
The first single release is a remake of the 1968 Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart hit “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight.” More singles are expected to be released prior to the official June 12th launch date.
The Explorers Club is the brainchild of Jason Brewer, who founded the band in his native Charleston, SC, before relocating to Nashville. With several songs featured on such shows as The O.C. and How I Met Your Mother and with three albums already under their belts – Freedom Wind (2008), Grand Hotel (2012) and 2016’s Together – this June’s twin releases are Brewer’s most ambitious undertaking to date. The impetus for this stems from the overwhelmingly positive reaction the band received after releasing several cover songs as free downloads leading up to their sophomore release.
Jason Brewer (credit: Matthew McQueen)
“I still get asked about those songs, so there is obviously a demand for a covers album,” Jason Brewer states. “I had a brand new album just about finished, which I think is one of the strongest things I’ve ever done. I figured I’ve got access to all this studio time and I’ve got some players to pull in to do it, so I’ll do an album of ‘60s covers, too. I just got to work and I finished both albums at the same time. It was an opportunity to give back to our hardcore followers who have loved the band for over ten years now. This time around, I made the record that I wanted to make.”
To Sing And Be Born Again is a potpourri of songs from 1965-68, that presents a mix of top 10 hits (“I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight” by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart, “She’d Rather Be With Me” by The Turtles, “Kicks” by Paul Revere & The Raiders, “This Guy’s In Love With You" by Herb Alpert, “Quinn The Eskimo” by Bob Dylan via Manfred Mann) and obscurities, including “Maybe After He’s Gone” by The Zombies and “Roses And Rainbows” by a pre-Three Dog Night Danny Hutton. Long-time Forgotten Hits Fan Favorite “Can’t Find The Time,” originally by the “Bosstown Sound” band Orpheus as well as a later chart entry by Rose Colored Glass, features former Barenaked Ladies member Steven Page on vocals; the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Didn’t Have To Do It” features Jay Gonzalez of Drive-By Truckers.
How did ‘80s baby Jason Brewer wind up covering songs like “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore),” which just happens to be MY favorite track on the album, originally done by Frankie Valli and then, with much greater success, The Walker Brothers, that came out over a decade before his birth?
“When I was a kid my neighbor had a bunch of cars from the ‘50s in his garage and he was always blasting Elvis, Chuck Berry, The Beatles and The Beach Boys. I liked that music better than the music that was current at the time. I listened to an oldies radio station in my hometown and studied the craft of songwriting. I’ve been a lifelong retrophile.”
Grammy nominated producer Matt Goldman, who engineered the first two albums by The Explorers Club, was brought back into the fold to oversee production on both current projects.
Bob sent us this track-by-track synopsis of the new covers LP, several of which seem to be inter-connected in some fashion …
1) I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight (originally by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart) - lots of arcana associated with these two including the fact that Boyce had a hand in writing “Be My Guest” for Fats Domino and “Pretty Little Angel Eyes” for Curtis Lee. Hart had a hand in writing “Hurt So Bad” for Little Anthony & The Imperials which was the titular point of departure for John Cougar’s “Hurst So Good.” Together, of course, they wrote “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” for Paul Revere & The Raiders and that song was repurposed for the Monkees, for whom they wrote the theme (“Hey, hey, we’re the Monkees..”) and “Last Train To Clarksville,” among others. They also wrote “Come A Little Bit Closer” for Jay & The Americans.
2) She’d Rather Be With Me (originally by The Turtles) - written by Bonner & Gordon who were in the Magicians who took up residence at The Night Owl at the same time as the Spoonful (see #8). They also wrote “Happy Together” for the Turtles, as well as “You Know What I Mean” and “She’s My Girl,” plus “Celebrate” for Three Dog Night (see #3)
3) Roses And Rainbows (originally by Danny Hutton) - speaking of Three Dog Night, this was a solo record by Danny Hutton pre-Dog Night, so to speak, and a west coast hit in 1965. (It was also a Top Ten Hit here in Chicago! – kk) Danny wrote it when he was on HBR (Hanna Barbera Records) and an animated version of Danny is seen singing it in an episode of The Flintstones. Here’s Danny backed by the Brian Wilson's guys performing it at Amoeba in 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hcihk503ii0
4) Kicks (originally by Paul Revere & The Raiders) - written by Mann and Weil for the Animals as the follow up to “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” but Eric chose not to do it so they gave it to Paul & Co. This could take you down a whole Mann and Weill rabbit hole and the songs they wrote for other groups of the era including “Hungry” for PR&TR, "Only In America” for Jay & The Americans (see Boyce & Hart re: “Come A Little Bit Closer”). They wrote “Shape of Things to Come” for Max Frost & The Troopers as used in “Wild In The Streets” and so much more including the most programmed BMI-affiliated song of all time: “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” by the Righteous Brothers via Spector.
5) Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) (written by Bob Dylan, originally released by Manfred Mann). Manfred Mann’s version was titled “The Mighty Quinn” while Dylan’s original was “Quinn The Eskimo.” The Manfreds' was out long before Dylan’s which was part of the Basement Tapes. The Manfred Mann version includes a flute part by Klaus Voormann so our excuse to throw some Beatles lore into the mix.
6) Maybe After He’s Gone (originally by The Zombies) Of course, this is one of the “Odyssey and Oracle” tracks that isn’t “Time of the Season.” It was written by the band’s Chris White who wrote “I Love You” for the band which later was a hit for People! He also wrote “Hold Your Head Up” with Rod Argent for Rod’s post -Zombies group, Argent.
7) Can’t Find The Time* (originally by Orpheus) - They were part of the Bosstown Sound, along with the Beacon Street Union, Earth Opera, etc. The song was written by the band’s Bruce Arnold and it was released as a single in 1969, making it all the way to #80 on Billboard (#63 on Canada’s RPM chart). The band was produced by Alan Lorber and you’ll see that name again in connection with #8. CFTT was covered in 1971 by a Dallas-based folk group called Rose Colored Glass and released on the post-Bert Berns Bang label and it got all the way to #54 on Billboard. (Hootie and the Blowfish also did a killer version of this tune for the “Me, Myself And Irene” movie soundtrack. -kk)
8) Didn’t Want To Have To Do It (originally by The Lovin’ Spoonful) Written by John Sebastian and included on the “Daydream” album. Overtly Bacharach-inspired (see #9), Mama Cass sang on it and knew John through former Mugwump bandmate Zal Yanovsky. Denny Doherty was in the band as was Jim (not Jimi) Hendricks, husband of Cass at the time. The Mugwumps’ one album was exec-produced by Alan Lorber of Orpheus / Bosstown renown.
9) This Guy’s In Love With You (originally by Herb Alpert) Bacharach and David — need we say more? (My daughter walked around the house singing this one all day long after she heard me play it! - kk) Most weren't aware that Herb Alpert could sing before this late career record came out, but he had some vocal releases out in his pre-TJB days. Think about Bacharach and David’s ongoing relationship with rock including “My Little Red Book” (Manfred Mann – again – and/or Love ... and Dusty Springfield and “Baby It’s You” and the later Elvis Costello partnership.)
10) The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore (originally by Frankie Valli, covered by The Walker Brothers) - written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, it was a single for (out of Seasons) Frankie Valli in ’65 but did not chart. The Walker Brothers version was released in ’66 and went to #13 in the US and #1 in the UK. They weren’t actually named Walker nor were they brothers nor British but you knew all that. (GOTTA feature MY favorite track on the album!!! - kk)
For more on the band ... as well as information on how you can pre-order this new release, click here: https://www.theexplorersclub.com/ ...
You'll also find a nice sampling of their work to listen to here ... good stuff!
From Bob ...
*My pick to click is “Can’t Find The Time” with lead vocal by Steven Page (ex-Bare Naked Ladies)
Then we’ll feature that one today, too. Thanks, Bob … this is a fun CD to listen to … and very well done. (kk)
And guess what ...
Their NEW stuff ain't so bad either!
