Earth Music
Encyclopedia
Earth Music is an album by the American
folk rock
band The Youngbloods
, released in 1968. The album did not reach the charts.
Jackie Lomax
, "Sugar Babe", another uptempo number about gambling and drinking. Jerry Corbitt contributed the ballad "Don't Play Games" which features a string section, and cowrote "Dreamer's Dream" with Banana. "Fool Me", written by Banana, is a bass-heavy song more similar to "garage rock
" of the middle 1960s than the folkier material normally associated with the Youngbloods.
Cover songs
on the album include "Euphoria", a song originally done by the Holy Modal Rounders
and written by George "Robin" Remailly (who later became a member of the Rounders). Other covers included two fifties classics, Chuck Berry
's "Too Much Monkey Business" and Chuck Willis
's "I Can Tell". A final cover, Tim Hardin
's "Reason To Believe
" was one of the earliest cover versions of the popular ballad.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
band The Youngbloods
The Youngbloods
The Youngbloods was an American folk rock band consisting of Jesse Colin Young , Jerry Corbitt , Lowell Levinger, nicknamed "Banana," , and Joe Bauer . Despite receiving critical acclaim, they never achieved widespread popularity. Their only U.S. Top 40 entry was "Get Together".-Background and...
, released in 1968. The album did not reach the charts.
History
Similar to their first album, the songs were a mix of originals and covers, ballads and rockers. Jesse Colin Young wrote three of the songs alone, the ballad "All My Dreams Blue", the hard rocking "Long and Tall", and the humorous "The Wine Song". Young cowrote a fourth with British guitarist and singer-songwriterSinger-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Jackie Lomax
Jackie Lomax
John Richard 'Jackie' Lomax is a British guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his association with George Harrison and Eric Clapton...
, "Sugar Babe", another uptempo number about gambling and drinking. Jerry Corbitt contributed the ballad "Don't Play Games" which features a string section, and cowrote "Dreamer's Dream" with Banana. "Fool Me", written by Banana, is a bass-heavy song more similar to "garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
" of the middle 1960s than the folkier material normally associated with the Youngbloods.
Cover songs
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
on the album include "Euphoria", a song originally done by the Holy Modal Rounders
Holy Modal Rounders
The Holy Modal Rounders were an American folk music duo from the Lower East Side of New York City which started in the early 1960s, consisting of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber. Their unique blend of folk music revival and psychedelia gave them a cult-like following from the late 1960s into the 1970s...
and written by George "Robin" Remailly (who later became a member of the Rounders). Other covers included two fifties classics, Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
's "Too Much Monkey Business" and Chuck Willis
Chuck Willis
Harold "Chuck" Willis was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. His biggest hits, "C. C. Rider" and "What Am I Living For" , both reached no. 1 in the Billboard R&B chart...
's "I Can Tell". A final cover, Tim Hardin
Tim Hardin
James Timothy "Tim" Hardin was an American folk musician and composer. He wrote the Top 40 hits "If I Were a Carpenter", covered by, among others, Joan Baez, Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, and Robert Plant, and "Reason to Believe", covered by many, including Rod Stewart, as well...
's "Reason To Believe
Reason to Believe
"Reason to Believe" is a song written and first recorded by American folk singer Tim Hardin in 1965, which has since been recorded by a number of other artists, the most known of which is by Rod Stewart in 1971 and 1993...
" was one of the earliest cover versions of the popular ballad.
Reception
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Lindsay Planer called the album "a blend of captivating songwriting with an infectiously fun delivery" and wrote; "...there are a handful of equally definitive sides scattered throughout Earth Music."Side one
- "Euphoria" (George Remailly) – 2:15 (vocals by Jerry with Jesse)
- "All My Dreams Blue" (Jesse Colin Young) – 3:17 (vocals by Jesse with Jerry and Banana)
- "Monkey Business" (Chuck BerryChuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
) – 2:49 (vocals by Banana) - "Dreamer's Dream" (Jerry Corbitt, Lowell Levinger) – 3:35
- "Sugar Babe" (Young, Jackie LomaxJackie LomaxJohn Richard 'Jackie' Lomax is a British guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his association with George Harrison and Eric Clapton...
) – 2:08 (vocals by Jesse with Jerry) - "Long and Tall" (Young) 4:05 (vocals by Jesse)
Side two
- "I Can Tell" (Chuck WillisChuck WillisHarold "Chuck" Willis was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. His biggest hits, "C. C. Rider" and "What Am I Living For" , both reached no. 1 in the Billboard R&B chart...
) – 4:29 (vocals by Jesse) - "Don't Play Games" (Corbitt) – 2:12 (vocals by Jerry with Jesse)
- "The Wine Song" (Young) – 2:24 (vocals by Jesse with Jerry and Banana)
- "Fool Me" (Levinger) – 2:57 (vocals by Banana with Jesse)
- "Reason To Believe" (Tim HardinTim HardinJames Timothy "Tim" Hardin was an American folk musician and composer. He wrote the Top 40 hits "If I Were a Carpenter", covered by, among others, Joan Baez, Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, and Robert Plant, and "Reason to Believe", covered by many, including Rod Stewart, as well...
) – 2:25
Personnel
- Jesse Colin YoungJesse Colin YoungJesse Colin Young is an American singer / songwriter / folksinger and a founding member of the group The Youngbloods.-Early life:...
– bass, vocals - Jerry Corbitt – guitar (lead on ""Fool Me"), harmonica, vocals
- Lowell "Banana" Levinger – guitar, piano, finger cymbals on "Euphoria", pedal steel guitar on "Sugar Babe" and "Reason To Believe"
- Joe Bauer – drums
Additional Personnel
- Tracks 2, 3, 5, and 6 on Side 1, and track 5 on Side 2 were produced by The Youngbloods
- Tracks 1-4 on Side 2 were produced by Felix PappalardiFelix PappalardiFelix A. Pappalardi Jr. was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bass guitarist.- Early life :Pappalardi was born in the Bronx, New York...
- Tracks 1 and 4 on Side 1 were produced by Felix Pappalardi and the Youngbloods
- Bob Cullen – production supervisor
- Mike Moran – engineer
- Mickey Crofford – engineer