CP/M User
Veteran Member
I got his CD a while back which has two of his 60s albums, Rewind & Realization - which are more or less stunning.
Rewind has a couple of well known tracks The Tracks of my Tears & Baby I Need your Lovin'. The real highlight for this album would have to be the tracks written by Jimmy Webb. From what I believe Rivers was the initial founder of Jimmy Webb, even though Richard Harris did a couple of albums with him & Glenn Campbell had great success from his & The Fifth Dimension with Up, up & away. The Webb songs found on Rewind are Carpet Man, Tunesmith, Sidewalk Song (27th Street), Do what you gotta do, Rosecrans Boulevard, The Eleventh Song (an unusual song which seems to be missing Rivers - more instrumental) & Sweet Smiling Children (it sounds like this track influenced some of the Pink Floyd albums - with illrevelant sound in radio commercials being used in the background).
The second album Realization starts with a physchedelic Rivers interpretation of Hey Joe before moving to a more relaxing album, I think anyone who likes Summer Rain would more or less like this album as with Rewind this album has some fine tracks like Look to your soul, Summer Rain, The Way we Live, an interesting interpretation of Procal Harum's A Whiter Shade of Pale (I think Rivers may have a better version - very well orchestrated - still Brooker/Reid wrote & perform the song it's their own, so it just goes to show how cleverly crafted the song was). Then there's Brother, where are you?, Scott Mckenzie's What's The Difference & Rivers own Going Back to big sur before closing with Positively 4th Street.
IMO it was certainally an interesting period for Rivers, before that he was the clubs performer doing lots of Rock 'n' roll type stuff. Personally I always thought Summer Rain was his best song, though the album which accompanies this was certainally a gem to find & made in 1968 (at a time where Albums were starting to become another thing than just a singles album). For some time I had his Best Of (?!?) album stuff which was good at the time, though his albums tend to be another story to be a must have.
Rewind has a couple of well known tracks The Tracks of my Tears & Baby I Need your Lovin'. The real highlight for this album would have to be the tracks written by Jimmy Webb. From what I believe Rivers was the initial founder of Jimmy Webb, even though Richard Harris did a couple of albums with him & Glenn Campbell had great success from his & The Fifth Dimension with Up, up & away. The Webb songs found on Rewind are Carpet Man, Tunesmith, Sidewalk Song (27th Street), Do what you gotta do, Rosecrans Boulevard, The Eleventh Song (an unusual song which seems to be missing Rivers - more instrumental) & Sweet Smiling Children (it sounds like this track influenced some of the Pink Floyd albums - with illrevelant sound in radio commercials being used in the background).
The second album Realization starts with a physchedelic Rivers interpretation of Hey Joe before moving to a more relaxing album, I think anyone who likes Summer Rain would more or less like this album as with Rewind this album has some fine tracks like Look to your soul, Summer Rain, The Way we Live, an interesting interpretation of Procal Harum's A Whiter Shade of Pale (I think Rivers may have a better version - very well orchestrated - still Brooker/Reid wrote & perform the song it's their own, so it just goes to show how cleverly crafted the song was). Then there's Brother, where are you?, Scott Mckenzie's What's The Difference & Rivers own Going Back to big sur before closing with Positively 4th Street.
IMO it was certainally an interesting period for Rivers, before that he was the clubs performer doing lots of Rock 'n' roll type stuff. Personally I always thought Summer Rain was his best song, though the album which accompanies this was certainally a gem to find & made in 1968 (at a time where Albums were starting to become another thing than just a singles album). For some time I had his Best Of (?!?) album stuff which was good at the time, though his albums tend to be another story to be a must have.