The Cowsills The Cowsills Plus the Lincoln Park Zoo (Vinyl, Fontana Records, 1968) **
The Cowsills We Can Fly (Vinyl, MGM Records, 1968) ***
The Cowsills Captain Sad and His Ship of Fools (Vinyl, MGM Records, 1968) ***
The Cowsills The Cowsills in Concert (Vinyl, MGM Records, 1969) ***
The Cowsills II x II (Vinyl, MGM Records, 1970) ***
The Cowsills Global (Vinyl, Omnivore Records, 1998) ***
The Cowsills Rhythm of the World (Vinyl, Omnivore Records, 2023) ****
The Cowsills The Cowsills All Time Hits (Vinyl, MGM Records, 1971) ****
The Cowsills The Best of The Cowsills (Vinyl, MGM Records, 1969) ****
Their second album is a weird one - it includes two songs tacked onto the end of side 2 by another group called The Lincoln Park Zoo.
So, We Can Fly is really their second studio album and it builds on the debut well. This was Susan Cowsill's debut. Her youthful energy complements her mom and brothers' sound superbly.
Captain Sad and His Ship of Fools (the one with Indian Lake on it) continued the cover theme of the family enjoying each other's company and mouths wide open were clearly instructions from the MGM art department.
The live album which has a permanent sicker on it saying 'All songs recorded live' (except for the smash hit Hair that is) is a bit of a smorgasbord. All the Cowsills get a turn which is fine and it doubles as a cover song album - Cream, The Beatles, The Mamas & The Papas, The Beach Boys, The Four Tops and others get The Cowsills treatment.
I don't have their final effort of the seventies before they split (On My Side) and put the band in cold storage. So, my next album is their return in the late nineties.
Rhythm of the World is great! The songs are terrific and the performances are amazing. I love this record. The Cowsills are now essentially a trio - Paul, Bob and Susan. The next generation of Cowsills are also part of this album: Brendan and Ryan Cowsill are part of the band.
Of course, The Best of The Cowsills and All Time Hits share a few songs: The Rain, The Park & Other Things; We Can Fly; Indian Lake; In Need of a Friend; Poor Baby. But amazingly Hair is only on All Time Hits.
Where do they all belong? My search continues for two missing albums - 1971's On My Side, and Cocaine Drain - recorded around 1978 and released 2008. It's been re-released recently so I'm hopeful of finding a copy.
Genre: Harmony pop, Sunshine pop
Places I remember: Real Groovy Records, Amoeba Music, Denver music shop
Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: The Rain, The Park & Other Things (The Cowsills)
Gear costume: Goodbye's Not Forever (Rhythm of the World)
Gear costume: Goodbye's Not Forever (Rhythm of the World)
They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7
Active compensatory factors: One of my first records was The Cowsills All Time Hits compilation in 1971. I fell for it big time. Over time the collection of their records has become an obsession.
Active compensatory factors: One of my first records was The Cowsills All Time Hits compilation in 1971. I fell for it big time. Over time the collection of their records has become an obsession.
Although the band began in 1965 (around guitarists Bill and Bob Cowsill), by the time they recorded their debut in 1967 they'd been joined by their mother Barbara and brothers Barry (bass), and John (drums).
Artie Kornfield does a great job as producer, and writer - their very first track is his The Rain, The Park & Other Things. Clearly The Beatles, The Mamas & The Papas and The Monkees are reference points for their sound throughout their debut.
Only four brothers are on the cover and the liner notes say that 'this recording features the original Cowsills performing their first big hits'. Sure enough, this attempt by Fontana to cash in on the early success of The Rain, The Park & Other Things features some singles (they weren't hits) released in 1966 prior to their debut 'plus a collection of other distinctive Cowsill songs'. Cynical.
The sunshine pop is at its most lush on this album - all those sweeping string arrangements anchor it in the sixties all round entertainment category. Although their clean-cut image was out of step with the times, the title track is a brilliant lead off song and the rest is impressive pop music despite the strings. Yesterday's Girl is another highlight - it features some superb group harmonies.
The band is expanded with Paul Cowsill added to the core of Bill, Bob, Susan, John, Barry and mom (Barbara). Phew - you can certainly see where The Partridge Family got their idea from (that band is coming up in the collection too - just warning you).
II x II (i.e. 2x2) came out in 1970 and goes for a rockier sound (aside from a cover of Silver Threads and Golden Needles). It's a signal that they had moved on from their signature sunshine pop sound. Only problem is the songs aren't that memorable.
Global was recorded in the early nineties and released in 1998. It's good but not great - the music is fab but the songs are not quite. The Cowsills at this point were Bob, John, Paul, Susan (and Robby Scharf on bass). The highlight for me is Susan's vocals - they are superb! She has matured into a very distinctive singer. Her warmth is conveyed with real depth.
That's it, apart for two compilations: the aforementioned All Time Hits (a budget album - this is the one I bought in 1971) and an earlier compilation from 1969 - The Best of The Cowsills (the NZ version has 12 tracks and a wrong listing of the songs on the back cover).
That was the song that froze me in my seat in 1971, so I'm glad I got this compilation. It also has their TV theme for Love-American Style and The Candy Kid (apparently used for some film or TV show that I can't trace on the interweb called The Mission on the Bowery).
Where do they all belong? My search continues for two missing albums - 1971's On My Side, and Cocaine Drain - recorded around 1978 and released 2008. It's been re-released recently so I'm hopeful of finding a copy.
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