Add those last two Beach Boys/Brian Wilson docs to the list of “potentially great”. They really could’ve been something had the filmmakers focused on the music.
I didn’t know about this documentary, so thanks for featuring it. I’m looking forward to watching it. I grew up in Southern California, and the LA garage bands, the Beach Boys, the Sandals, Dick Dale and the Deltones, and the Turtles played dances at my high school in Riverside and at UC Riverside before they hit the big time. I remember the Turtles especially because my boyfriend at the time loved them and pretty much wore out that Happy Together album. That was during that brief window of time before Vietnam became the sword of Damocles hanging over our lives. Such great happy memories!
Excellent post on this underrated group and the utterly enjoyable documentary on them that I bought as a video cassette in the early 2000s. Back in the '80s, I had also neglected to dive deep into the Turtles and only had their Golden Hits album. By the mid-90s, I had finally fallen in love with their first two LPs, eventually exploring the rest of their discography. I find the Turtles' last album on White Whale to be their masterpiece: 1969's Turtle Soup. With the Kinks' Ray Davies on board as producer, some of its songs even have a late Sixties Kinks-y feel to them.
I do love Turtle Soup, but find them trying a little TOO hard to sound like The Kinks at times. My favorite tracks on there are “Love in the City” and “Somewhere Friday Night,” which feel a lot more like natural progressions of the Turtles sound.
I hear you, but I can't help but love their attempts at making Kinks pastiches. "Love in the City" and "Somewhere Friday Night" are also among my top three tunes from Turtle Soup, the third being "She Always Leaves Me Laughing." Killer opening riff, melody, and refrain!
Went on a wicked Turtles kick last year! Turtle Soup is a lost Kinks album!!! And Volman and Kaylan are virtually everywhere-T-Rex, The Boss AND Strawberry Shortcake! (Oh, and don’t you love how Andrew Hickey says “SaxOFFonist!!!?!? 😂)
I am always so glad to read your reprise of musical groups that spanned an era in which I belong and remember oh so well. ahhhh memories before the politics and horror of Vietnam and then Watergate changed our world.......oh and age happened also.
I love The Turtles, esp the humor of Howie and Mark. I'm sure the album cover of "Battle of the Bands" was the inspiration for Nick Lowe's "Jesus of Cool" album.
For those of you unfamiliar with the podcast, please allow me to echo how great Andrew Hickey is. I encourage everyone to check out The History of Rock in 500 Songs and, if you like it, throw the guy a couple of bucks (I am not related to him and don't know him personally), especially because doing so gets you his additional Patreon backers-only podcasts, which help fill the time between episodes of the main.
Thank you so much for this recommendation! Can't wait to check it out.
Thanks! I can't wait to listen to it today while I walk my dogs .
Add those last two Beach Boys/Brian Wilson docs to the list of “potentially great”. They really could’ve been something had the filmmakers focused on the music.
I skipped both, suspecting that I would be more aggravated than educated by them.
I didn’t know about this documentary, so thanks for featuring it. I’m looking forward to watching it. I grew up in Southern California, and the LA garage bands, the Beach Boys, the Sandals, Dick Dale and the Deltones, and the Turtles played dances at my high school in Riverside and at UC Riverside before they hit the big time. I remember the Turtles especially because my boyfriend at the time loved them and pretty much wore out that Happy Together album. That was during that brief window of time before Vietnam became the sword of Damocles hanging over our lives. Such great happy memories!
And PS: I still have my vinyl copy of Happy Together, album and 45. I didn’t play them quite as much as my boyfriend did. 😊
As a Turtles/Flo & Eddie fan, I need to have a look at this someday...
I blame the Los Angeles Independent School District...
Excellent post on this underrated group and the utterly enjoyable documentary on them that I bought as a video cassette in the early 2000s. Back in the '80s, I had also neglected to dive deep into the Turtles and only had their Golden Hits album. By the mid-90s, I had finally fallen in love with their first two LPs, eventually exploring the rest of their discography. I find the Turtles' last album on White Whale to be their masterpiece: 1969's Turtle Soup. With the Kinks' Ray Davies on board as producer, some of its songs even have a late Sixties Kinks-y feel to them.
I do love Turtle Soup, but find them trying a little TOO hard to sound like The Kinks at times. My favorite tracks on there are “Love in the City” and “Somewhere Friday Night,” which feel a lot more like natural progressions of the Turtles sound.
I hear you, but I can't help but love their attempts at making Kinks pastiches. "Love in the City" and "Somewhere Friday Night" are also among my top three tunes from Turtle Soup, the third being "She Always Leaves Me Laughing." Killer opening riff, melody, and refrain!
"Now we got a manager!"
Went on a wicked Turtles kick last year! Turtle Soup is a lost Kinks album!!! And Volman and Kaylan are virtually everywhere-T-Rex, The Boss AND Strawberry Shortcake! (Oh, and don’t you love how Andrew Hickey says “SaxOFFonist!!!?!? 😂)
Hahaha, yes I do love that! And I'd forgotten all about Flo and Eddie's Strawberry Shortcake connection!
I am always so glad to read your reprise of musical groups that spanned an era in which I belong and remember oh so well. ahhhh memories before the politics and horror of Vietnam and then Watergate changed our world.......oh and age happened also.
Good one. Thanks for the heads up on the doc.
The white board scene is one of the funniest (and at the same time sad) things I have seen in a while. Thanks again Dan, so fun!
Right on - so glad you dug it!
I love The Turtles, esp the humor of Howie and Mark. I'm sure the album cover of "Battle of the Bands" was the inspiration for Nick Lowe's "Jesus of Cool" album.
Interesting — I'd never made that connection, but I'm sure Nick was paying attention to what they were doing...
Look forward to watching. I’m a fan of any music doc that is Dave Grohl-free.
No Grohl, No Bono, no SNL cast members…
Just watched it on your recommendation. It's a lot of fun.
Now if only there was a follow-up Flo and Eddie doc that had the same tone!
That would indeed be awesome!
For those of you unfamiliar with the podcast, please allow me to echo how great Andrew Hickey is. I encourage everyone to check out The History of Rock in 500 Songs and, if you like it, throw the guy a couple of bucks (I am not related to him and don't know him personally), especially because doing so gets you his additional Patreon backers-only podcasts, which help fill the time between episodes of the main.
Thanks for the heads up on this! I'm only familiar with their hits, but this sounds fantastic.