Boston Does The Beatles
FT-100 1988 Fast Track Records
Barry Cowsill does "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey"





Cowsills
Album Front
Cowsills
Album Back


This a gatefold LP. The inside has a short description of each artist. Barry's is listed below.

BARRY COWSILL
"Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey"
Produced by Barry Cowsill
Hailing from Newport, Rhode Island, Barry's family was the first and the best of the "family groups.' The Cowsills made rock history with their national hits "Hair," "The Rain, The Park, and Other Things" and "Indian Lake" in the late sixties and early seventies.

LINER NOTES:

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Mickey O'Halloran & Michail Glassman A & R: A. J. Wachtel
MASTERED AT: Sound Techniques, New York, NY
FAST TRACK ENGINEERING: Steve "Mr. Beautiful" Barry
CONCEPT BY: A. J. Wachtel & Mickey O'Halloran
DESIGN BY: Michail Glassman
COORDINATED BY: The Music Connection, New York, NY
MARKETING CONSULTANT: Rock Shots / Eric Boyer

Boston has done The Beatles for years. In 1964, Boston "did The Beatles" when the Fab Four invaded Boston Garden. In 1966, as paRT of their final American concert tour. The Beatles played before 25,000 at Suffolk Downs. In 1974, the first ever Beatles convention was held at The Bradford Hotel, and through the '80s Boston has continued to be the home to major Beatles fan festivals. Yet when I heard that there were plans for a recorded collection of Beatles songs covered by Boston (and area) artists, I greeted the project with tentative excitement. The reason for the reluctance was simple: who needed more new versions of old Beatle hits? Why would Boston doing The Beatles be anything special? After all, haven't we heard at least a gaztllton versions of "Yesterday," "Something" and "Michelle?" Haven't we had such collections as The Bee Gees (and friends) "Sgt. Pepper" fiasco, and ill-fated "All This And World War Two" soundtrack and, more recently, Britain's New Musical Express-endorsed project, "Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father?" None of these became significant historical contributions to the world of music, so I repeat, Why should Boston doing The Beatles be anything special?

Many reasons.
First of all, this project isn't meant to be a significant contribution to the world of music (though it's a far superior entry than the aforementioned examples). Secondly, it didn't set out to be "anything special," but father a showcase of talents within a certain forum of material. There is no doubt that Boston is one of the most important, vibrant and creative mcccas of music in the world today. A few years ago, A.J. Wachtel wrote in to Good Day Sunshine, relating that regional acts were covering Beatles tunes live in their club sets. So with all the talent waiting to pour out of area basements, lofts, garages, studios, home decks, clubs, etc., there had to be some musical chunks of excellence capiurable.

Then, upon looking at the actual selections, hope continued to abound .. .not a "Yesterday," "Something" or "Michelle" in sight! For that matter, thankfully, no early classic such as "Twist and Shout," "She Loves You," "I Want To Hold Your Hand," or, on the other side of the spectrum, no later opus such as "Hey Jude," "Let It Be" or even "Helter Skelter." Why dwell on what's not there? Because it leads to appreciating the choices present; gems that haven't been over-recorded, over-played, over-used. One looks at the titles and can hardly wait to hear the new renditions. Once heard, purists as well as virgins (those hearing these songs for the first time, if that's possible) will be pleased to experience fresh versions of old musical friends who have entertained, stimulated and inspired millions for two decades.

I won't give you my track-by-track assessment of these songs. That would take away too much fun and surprises from your discovery of each version's own attributes. What will I say, and it's rare in such a large volume of material, is that there isn't a single clunker among the batch. You'll have reggae, straight forward rock & roll, blues folk, ska, pop interpretations. You'll have your own favorites, and there may be one or two that you may not love, but I'm sure you'll agree none are fillers. In fact, don't be surprised if some of these names surface with original music on the national charts in years to come. That says a great deal not only about Boston and its artists represented here-in, but also about the Fab compositions will live on forever.

— Charles F. Rosenay!!!
Liverpool Productions
1 May 1855

Charles F. Rosenay!!! is the Publisher/Editor of GOOD DAY SUNSHINE (397 Edgewood Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511 U.S.A.), an international Beatles Fan Club Magazine. His company, Liverpool Productions, presents Beatles conventions across the country and package annual summer tours to London and Liverpool. He also hosts The Boston Beatles convention, and is a disc jockey in true life.


Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey



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