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The Cowsills main claim to fame is they were the real-life family musical group (six siblings and their mother) that inspired the TV show "The Partridge Family." Now, while growing up I was not aware of The Cowsills and only discovered them by watching the 2011 documentary "Family Band: The Cowsills Story." According to the documentary, their father was their manager and was a cruel, vindictive, abusive alcoholic.
The Cowsills had hits like "The Rain, the Park and Other Things," a psychedelic pop take on the title song from the musical "Hair," and a version of the theme from the TV show "Love, American Style," among others. The Cowsills also can claim a sport in sports history as they sang the national anthem at Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series where the Boston Red Sox began their unprecedented comeback from being 0-3 to beat the New York Yankees.
Honestly, I only listened to their new album on a whim and I was surprised to find I kinda enjoyed most of it. It's strummy, has wonderful harmonies that often only siblings can pull off and some strong tunes like "You Gotta Get Up!," "Lend a Hand" and "Every Little Secret." What would have been the A side of the album back in the day is the better part and it kind of peters out near the end, but overall, not bad stuff from the former bubble-gum popsters. Two stars out of four.
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