The Human Beinz
Nobody But Me
Originally released in 1968
This CD released: 1998
Label: See For Miles / Capitol
Catalog #: SEECD 327
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AMG bio by Heather Phares:
Best-known for its version of "Nobody but Me," Youngstown, OH's frat rock quartet the Human Beinz featured rhythm guitarist Ting Markulin, lead guitarist Richard Belley, bassist Mel Pachuta, and drummer Mike Tatman. Originally known as the Human Beings, the group was a local favorite and was discovered playing at a Youngstown bar. Their early releases include covers of Bob Dylan's "Times They Are A-Changin'" and Them's "Gloria," as well as renditions of the Who and Yardbirds songs; they released their first singles on the local Gateway imprint. In 1967, the group signed to Capitol Records and scored a Top Ten hit with their cover of the Isley Brothers' "Nobody but Me." On their debut album, which was also named Nobody but Me, the band found their name changed to the Human Beinz, a play on the hippie phrase "be-in." The following year, the group issued Evolutions, which showcased a more original side to the Human Beinz' music, but the album did little and the band ultimately broke up.
AMG review by Mark Deming:
It's hard to imagine what the kids must have made of the Human Beinz' first album when it was released back in 1968. The band was riding high on the charts with their feedback-enhanced cover of the Isley Brothers' bold statement of dance prowess, "Nobody But Me", and folks who bought their subsequent LP must have been expecting thirty minutes of similar high-swagger garage rock. However, the band and their producer, Lex De Azevdo, had more ambitious stuff in mind, and the closest things on Nobody But Me to the hit single were a clunky cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" and a guitar-heavy tribute to a voodoo priest, "The Shaman", neither of which are likely to fill any dance floors. Instead, there's the tongue-in-cheek, pseudo-Left Banke pop of "It's Fun To Be Clean", a droning, string-laden interpretation of "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair", a rootsy take on "Turn On Your Love Light" which suggests the Grateful Dead's version without the jamming, and a couple exercises in moody introspection written by the band, "Sueno" and "Flower Grave". Nobody But Me is more than a bit pretentious, but it's also better than you might expect, and it builds on its psychedelic ambitions with greater success than the majority of Nehru-clad Midwesterners of the era. Still, one can't help but wish someone had persuaded the Human Beinz to cut a few more R&B covers while they were in the studio, since that's clearly where their greatest strength lay.
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01. Nobody But Me
02. Foxey Lady
03. The Shamen
04. Flower Grave
05. Dance On Through
06. Turn On Your Light
07. It's Fun To Be Clean
08. Black Is The Colour Of My True Love's Hair
09. This Lonely Town
10. Sueno
11. Serenade To Sarah
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