While browsing through the stacks at my local second-hand record shop, I came across an album by the Grass Roots, a band I had heard of in passing, but whose music I hadn’t really heard before. It looked a bit scuffed up, but nothing too terrible, and it was definitely priced to sell ($99 NT, about $3 USD). Upon closer inspection I knew it would clean up nicely when I got it home, so I figured: what the hell.
I did a quick Google search for reviews, which were generally favorable. I liked what I was reading, so I bought it on impulse, which, if I am completely honest, is my favorite kind of vinyl purchase! There is something awesome and exciting about buying a record that looks interesting and cool without having heard a single note. When I was younger, in the pre-smartphone days, it was impossible to know what you were getting without asking a store clerk to play the album for you. There was a kind of joy in discovering music randomly because the jacket appealed to you. So in this instance, I avoided listening to anything from the Grass Roots on YouTube or Spotify because that would spoil the surprise. I decided to go with my gut and trust the reviews I read.
I am REALLY glad that I did. The album in question is their third, “Feelings”. I have since gone on to purchase six more! (I know, I get obsessed and can’t help myself, hah!) That includes two greatest hits collections. “Golden Grass” and “More Golden Grass”, that bring together some non-album singles, plus their third through seventh studio albums. Their first two are still on my wish list, as they are harder to find and consequently a bit more expensive.
Before I get into it, let me state clearly: I REALLY like these guys. I love their music and their musicianship. The production and mastering across these albums is top notch. That said, they may not have been the most organic of outfits, and I am OK with that. It is exquisite pop. The music speaks for itself, and it deserves a place in your collection.
The Grass Roots are an odd outfit. They are not a typical band in that the members were essentially recruited to BE the Grass Roots, a bit like The Monkees, but without a TV show. The name was created by songwriters P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, who wanted to cash in on the then-current folk-rock scene. Dunhill Records owner and producer Lou Adler got on board, and they produced an album by hiring musicians to be “The Grass Roots.” That first album met with limited success and artistic tension, and a lineup change ensued, the first of many over the band’s lifetime. Things finally solidified when Dunhill Records asked a Los Angeles band called The 13th Floor to change their name and effectively become the newest version of the Grass Roots. This is the band that recorded the second album, 1966’s “Let’s Live For Today”. Most of the core members of The 13th Floor continued on as the Grass Roots throughout the 60s, and some remained involved right up until recently (a version of the band still tours!).
To be bluntly honest, the original idea behind creating this band was never really about artistic expression, it was about making money. The concept was Band-as-a-Brand. But this doesn’t lessen their musical accomplishments one bit. Remember that in the sixties, it was still the norm for most recording artists to record songs chosen for them by their producers. It was still relatively rare for artists to write their own music, let alone all of it. In that regard, the Grass Roots setup was a clever win-win-win: a vehicle for songwriters Sloan and Barri to create music without being in the band; a steady supply of songs for the band without having to search too far; and brilliant music for the record-buying public.
Although Sloan and Barri were responsible for most of the early material, their writing wasn’t the only source. Two of the Grass Roots’ earliest hits were English versions of songs by Italian bands. And let’s be charitable in noting that their songwriters also “channeled” a few contemporaries here and there. Check the Grass Roots’ “Feelings” and you’ll likely find yourself mentally playing the next part of Brian Jones’ phenomenal marimba riff from the Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb.” I constantly mix up the words in “Here’s Where You Belong” because I keep starting to sing Petula Clark’s “You’re the One.” And just listen to “Wait a Million Years”, you can literally substitute the backing vocals from the Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hanging On.” I guess the Supremes must have been playing in the background when they wrote that one, haha. You can sort of see what I’m getting at!
This doesn’t make them bad. On the contrary, it makes them wonderful. By encompassing the familiar and making it work within the confines of their own music, much like modern artists using samples, they make something new feel instantly familiar and exciting at the same time. I had a GREAT time with that first album I bought. Enough of a good time that I immediately went onto Discogs and ordered more. I wasn’t disappointed with any of them except “Alotta Mileage” from the early 70s, which made a U-turn into soft rock I could have lived without, though it still featured a couple of great tracks.
This ability to absorb so many contemporary sounds into their music makes each Grass Roots album a kind of time capsule of late-60s radio. Each one is brilliant in its own way, and the tight playing by the musicians themselves makes the listening experience that much more fun. Add to that the fact that their albums are recorded in wide-open true stereo, with meticulous care taken in placing each instrument, and you have some extremely well-crafted albums with clean bass, punchy horns, crisp guitar, and soulful singing.
It is impossible to nail them down to a single genre. I would say that although it starts out as basic 60s folk-rock, it flows through a lot of changes. Each album features tight production that raises the finished recording a notch above the average folk-rock artist of the day, but that extra polish also leaves it feeling a little too slick to be real rock. There is a distinct lack of grit. The mastering is done with far more care than was usually given to rock bands in the sixties, and there is a Motown-esque R&B sheen to a lot of it.
The arrangements push some of it into sunshine pop, blue-eyed soul, or bubblegum pop, but thankfully without being so saccharine it hurts your teeth. The same high-level production makes some tracks feel like 60s vocal pop (think Lulu or Tom Jones) but without descending into adult contemporary, which is a blessing because a lot of 60s vocal pop suffers from a very high cheese factor. Somehow the Grass Roots manage to avoid making you feel too lactose intolerant. You can tell these guys believed in what they were making. They had the same commercially oriented producers and writers as some contemporary pop acts, but it is a testament to the band members’ own musicianship that they made the recordings seem a lot less pre-fab than they had any right to be.
Here is a quick rundown of the albums I bought and my impressions.
“Feelings” (1968)
By far my favorite of the bunch. I really lucked out, because this was the first one I bought, and I was blown away. It takes you on an amazing sonic trip from start to finish, with a little reprise loop at the end that puts you in the mood to start the whole thing over again. A really strong album that is dangerously easy to enjoy on repeat. I won’t go into too much detail here because I’ve written a full track-by-track breakdown of the whole album in a separate post. The album encompasses the best of Buffalo Springfield, The Box Tops, Duane Eddy, a touch of Donovan, and maybe even the Byrds.
“Lovin’ Things” (1969)
The last album to feature any music from P.F. Sloan, and the band members themselves contributed two songs. Dunhill had by this point decided a more strictly R&B-flavored direction was the right move. The opening title track is a stunner! The band has started picking up more brass and woodwind, and the vibe is really joyful. “The River Is Wide” effectively channels both the Shangri-Las’ “Leader of the Pack” and the Beatles’ “It’s Only Love.” And “(You Gotta) Live For Love” is a wonderful blue-eyed soul track that chugs along like a steam train. These three songs open the album with a bang and let you know exactly what you’re in for. A really solid effort with no fewer than four songs I rated 5 stars. Wait until you hear “Pain”, I could definitely imagine it playing at a Northern Soul all-nighter. Other highlights: “The Days of Pearly Spencer” and “I Get So Excited.” The only dud, in my opinion, is the album closer “Fly Me to Havana.”
“Leaving it All Behind” (1969)
Also rated very highly for me, with two 5-star tracks and four more at 4.5. Easily as strong as “Feelings” and “Lovin’ Things”, and home to two of my all-time favorite Grass Roots songs: “I’m Living For You Girl” and “Wait a Million Years.” Great fun from start to finish.
“Golden Grass” (1968 collection of hits)
An interesting collection because, although it skips the first album entirely, it draws from two very different Grass Roots records: the folk-rock-focused “Let’s Live For Today” and the more R&B-flavored “Feelings”. Four songs from each, plus three non-album tracks. “Bella Linda” is a cheesy but fun sing-along. “Lady Pleasure” is a nice mid-60s pop-folk song. “Midnight Confessions,” though, is a bit of a scorcher and well worth seeking out. Available at very reasonable used prices, so definitely worth adding to the collection.
“More Golden Grass” (1970 collection of hits)
Released only two years after the first, this one collects the so-called best tracks from “Lovin’ Things” and “Leaving It All Behind” (though I’d disagree with a couple of the choices). Another nice addition to your collection, but despite having six non-album tracks, not really essential. Those tracks are: “I Can Turn Off The Rain,” “Heaven Knows,” “Get It Together,” “Come On And Say It,” “Temptation Eyes,” and “Baby Hold On.”
“Move Along” (1972)
The first Grass Roots album of the 70s, and it feels like it. The songs are mostly good, but that sixties shine is starting to fade and they are starting to take themselves a bit more seriously. It’s a good album, but not one I would reach for first. Side A is a great listen, but Side B coasts along without getting too exciting until the final track, “Glory Bound,” which reminds me of a lot of the rock that was to come later in the 70s. Best tracks: “The Runaway,” “Runnin’ Just To Get Her Home Again,” “Anyway The Wind Blows,” “Glory Bound,” and the hit “Two Divided By Love”, which has gotten stuck in my head more times than I can count. Also worth tracking down: non-album track “Sooner or Later,” a fantastic single!
“Alotta Mileage” (1973)
This is where they really started sounding like adult contemporary soft rock. Not a terrible album, but nothing exciting either. You could put it on during dinner without offending anyone or distracting from the conversation, which is not exactly a ringing endorsement. The music has all been done before, and others have done it better. There is a bland sameness to the tracks despite the styles ranging from pop to folk rock to R&B to honky tonk and back. They seem to be channeling Captain and Tennille, Bread, or Neil Diamond, or maybe mid-70s, mid-tempo almost-disco Motown. Whatever it is, the result is the same: a big bag of no. I was genuinely bored by the end. You can safely skip this one.
So, there you have it… my very strange round up and introduction to the Grass Roots. I really enjoyed the time I spent listening to their albums as I wrote this. I highly recommend you check them out, especially if you like 60s flavored pop or blue eyed soul. Not everything has to be high art. Sometimes it just hits all the right buttons and produces a smile and a great feeling!
For a deeper dive into the “Feelings” album, check out my track by track review HERE!
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