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The Jackson 5 were the first family of soul, and over the course of the past two weeks, we've seen a seemingly never-ending stream of vintage film and video clips to prove their claim to that title. But on Wednesday night, as another '60s family band took the stage, the announcer introduced the Cowsills as "the first family of pop."
Of course, there were a few snickers in the crowd -- and considering that the group hasn't had anything close to a hit in 40 years, or even released an album in more than a decade -- that's to be expected. The Cowsills never did get any respect.
But by the end of their 70-minute headlining set at the Empire State Plaza's annual Food Festival, this edition of the Cowsills made believers out of most of the crowd.
The Cowsills were a true family band back when they were racking up hits in the late '60s -- a bunch of brothers, young sister Susan and mom Barbara. The 2009 model Cowsills features only three of the original family members -- lead vocalist-guitarist Bob, guitarist Susan and harmony vocalist Paul -- but it was still a family band, as Bob's son Ryan handled the keyboards, Paul's son Brendon played rhythm guitar and Susan's husband Russ Broussard sat behind the drums. Only bassist Mary Lasseigne wasn't related.
Sure, some of the songs didn't weather the years well, including the hit "We Can Fly" (any song with the word "groovy" in it is merely kitsch these days) and "Poor Baby" (sample lyric: "Don't fret, your daddy's gonna fetch your one-way ticket to happy"). "Indian Lake" is still an incredibly hook-filled pop nugget, but, let's face it, the lyrics are woefully politically incorrect.
Fortunately, thanks to some excellent arrangements and some great vocal harmonizing, the band's vintage sunshine-pop sound remained intact. The hits were solid, including "The Rain, the Park and Other Things" and the show-closing "Hair" (perhaps the last song to originate on Broadway and become a Top 10 pop hit?), but there was more to this band than just the hits. They stretched out toward country twang with a couple of tunes by their late brother Bill: "Deliver Me" and "You in My Mind."
Susan turned out to be the star of the show, and when she took over the lead vocals for "The River of Love" -- penned by eldest brother Barry, who died in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina -- she brought some serious rocking to the stage.
They interspersed several cover songs throughout the show, including the Mamas & the Papas' "Monday, Monday," the Ronettes girl-group gem "Be My Baby" and a sparkling three-voices-and-a-guitar rendition of Crosby, Stills & Nash's "Helplessly Hoping."
The biggest surprise was Paul, who briefly set aside his shameless mugging to step up to the microphone for a letter-perfect version of the Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You." Considering that the Cowsills were the model for the fictitious, made-for-TV Partridge Family, it was like the universe was folding into itself -- a kind of musical Mobius strip.
Yes, it was nostalgia. There's no getting around that. But it was better than expected, better than nostalgia has a right to be and just maybe better than the Cowsills ever were.
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