Singing my song (The Partridge Family) (LP 4480 - 4484)

The Partridge Family  The Partridge Family Album (Vinyl, Bell Records, 1970) *** 

The Partridge Family  Up to Date (Vinyl, Bell Records, 1971) ***  

The Partridge Family  Sound Magazine (Vinyl, Bell Records, 1971) ****  

The Partridge Family  A Partridge Family Christmas Card (Vinyl, Bell Records, 1971) **  

The Partridge Family  The Partridge Family Notebook (Vinyl, Bell Records, 1972) ***  

Genre: Pop, Bubblegum

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records, Slowboat Records, Viking Haul

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: I Woke Up in Love this Morning (Sound Magazine), I Think I Love You (The Partridge Family Album)

Gear costume: I Can Hear Your Heartbeat (The Partridge Family Album)

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: Scoffers and haters beware - The Partridge Family albums are quality products. The 'band' produced some great pop albums that were hugely popular.

Based on the real-life family group The Cowsills, and like The Monkees, this was a manufactured pop group for a TV show, and like The Monkees - I loved the show. I knew at the time that there wasn't an actual band. Even I wasn't naive enough to think that six-year-old Chris Partridge was a real drummer.

The actual music is superb thanks to the iconic Los Angeles–based session players popularly known as the Wrecking Crew. This group of musicians included Dennis Budimir, Louie Shelton, Tommy Tedesco, Joe Osborn, Max Bennett, Larry Knechtel, Mike Melvoin and Hal Blaine.

The background singers featuring members of two bands - the Ron Hicklin Singers and the Love Generation provide the so so harmonies and they have two very ho-hum solo moments on two tracks.

That leaves Shirley Jones and David Cassidy representing the actors on the TV show. And whaddaya know! David Cassidy not only looked great, but he could sing great too. 

The huge hit was I Think I Love You, but there are some excellent songs elsewhere on the debut, like I Can Hear Your Heartbeat.

The second album, Up to Date, repeated the successful formula from the previous year with the Wrecking Crew, but this time they doubled the hits: I'll Meet You Halfway and Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted. The whole album was more consistent than the debut and it emerged only four months after it.

Album number three, also in 1971, is Sound Magazine. All the same session musicians appear again, so the high quality is maintained. The songs are terrific and David Cassidy's vocals had grown in confidence and were more nuanced. The big hit from the album was I Woke Up in Love this Morning.

Their third album of 1971 was A Partridge Family Christmas Card. The majority of songs on the album were Christmas standards like The Christmas Song (with Shirley Jones on lead vocals). The Wrecking Crew were again on board. As with the other three albums, it was hugely successful commercially.

Notebook is the last one on my list (so far). The album is the first indication that their time was up. No hits came from it, but the same musicians didn't suddenly forget how to play, so this album is an under-rated PF offering, I feel. We Gotta Get Out of this Place is a fun version of the Animals' hit.

By this stage in their career David Cassidy is the only real participant on the records. It wouldn't be long before that sham had run its course and he continued with a successful 'solo' career (begun in 1972 while he was also performing on The Partridge Family albums).

Where do they all belong? I'm missing a couple of albums that are on my wants list: Shopping Bag (1972); Crossword Puzzle (1973); Bulletin Board (also 1973). I have no Cassidy solo albums, nor any plans to collect them.