The Fraternal Order Of The All
Greetings From Planet Love
Notes
Artist: The Fraternal Order Of The All
Title: Greetings From Planet Love
Label: J-Bird Records
Catalog: 80146
UPC: 617468014625
Release: March 3, 1998
Line-up/Musicians
Produced and Engineered by Andrew Gold
Andrew Gold- vocals, various instruments
Additional personnel:
Jim Caprio- bass, vocals
Jimmy Herter- keyboards, vocals
Graham Gouldman- bass, guitar (rhythm), vocals (bckgr), producer[/size]
From the horse's mouth- Andrew Gold (on AndrewGold.com) says-
This is my "phony" sixties group, which is basically me, with some help by my friends Jimmy Caprio and Jimmy Herter. It's all songs in the style of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, The Doors and whoever I could steal styles from, but is also very musical. The group name was conceived (in an altered state) by an old friend of mine, David Kemper, and I thank him for the "vision". I've worked on this in my spare time over the last 6 years, and heartily suggest earphones while listening. This album is made exclusively by me for sale at this site, so this is the only place to buy it! Peace,Love, Flowers,Insence and Beads, man. A Trip.
See http://www.andrewgold.com/photo48.htm for fake band biography
Tracklist
1. Greetings From Planet Love
2. Rainbow People
3. Love Tonight
4. Chasing My Tail
5. Swirl
6. Tuba Rye & Will's Son
7. King Of Showbiz
8. Whirl
9. Freelove Baby
10. Groovy Party At Jimmy's Magic Pad
11. It's Beautiful
12. Wink Of The Third Eye
13. It Has No Eyes But Sight
14. Space & Time
15. Time Is Standing Still
16. Ride The Snake
17. Mr Plastic Businessman
18. Ccosmicc Ccarnivall
19. Tomorrow Drop Dead[/size]
"Tom from the UK" on Amazon says -
Having read the one 2 star review...out of the other 4 or 5 star reviews, I think that guy has missed the point so completely it's really quite shocking.... Even though some orchestral sounds are obviously not as realistic as real instruments can be, the songs themselves are SO much better musically, for the most part, than the great Dukes, and have another take completely...for instance, the Byrds style song is far superior in recording, colour, style and song than the similar attempt by the XTC guys as the Dukes...it's not even close. Here Andrew actually sounds like the Byrds, who even Roger nee Jim Mcguinn pronounced as "perfect", unlike the Dukes attempt at the "Younger Than yesterday" style Byrds, which was somewhat boring. The Dylan Meets Beatles Abbey Road period song, "Mr Plastic Business Man", or "Tomorrow Drop Dead" (an homage to "Tomorrow Never Knows") is far superior to anything than maybe a few Dukes songs (I am keen on 25 'o clock, of course) that it just seems strange this guy even compares the two. Yes, the sounds aren't as believable as the Dukes,in some way, especially orchestraly,in places, (but not guitar wise, certainly! Those are magnificent recreations...listen to "chasing My Tail" or "Somewhere In Time And Space") but the more important aspect - the MUSICAL content and STYLE impressions of the Beatles, Dylan, The Byrds, The Doors (with remarkable Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Jim Mcguinn et all vocal impressions) is much more enjoyable and musically sound than any of the similar projects out there, notably the Dukes Of Stratosphere, who Mr. Gold admitted, in interviews, gave him the idea to attempt this) and musicality is where the real fun in this is. It stands on it's own...unlike the Dukes, who mainly just imitate (to good affect, no fear) the sounds of, not really the writing. The ALL songs while sometimes funny but not just comedy like the Rutles, who do a far less realistic, and stylistically much earlier years take on the Beatles, are funny in places, and use old phrases of course, like talking about beads, flower power, sitars, drugs and so on, are more like real songs these groups may have actually written, not just sound alikes from a purely instrumental point of view. Even in that, some songs are wonderfully exact, in the playing especially. Your swear that's Paul playing bass on "Rainbow People" or "Plastic Business Man", or Ringo on same. Even the mixing style (very stereo, drums one side, vocals, guitars..all right and left often) is the same. Or the incredible Byrds impression on "Space and Time", down to the usual right side 12 string, left side Crosby parts or the subtle and exactly copied stylings and choices of the Doors style song, replete with similar echo, mixing style, drum fills, guitar sound, and again the amazing Morrison impression, down to the way robby krieger or jogn densmore played, fills and all.and So, over all, the feeling and enjoyability of the musical invention and sometimes funny lyrics (lines like "your hair is getting good at the back" from Plastic Business man, and "so anyway, since death's so f***in scary, in your will make me benificiary, when you drop dead, I'll be well fed' from Tomorrow drop dead; or just trippy ("it has no eyes but sight"; "wink of the third eye" etc) or just a list of 60's memorabilia, The rainbow people are here to freak you out...bells and beads on...flower power etc etc"), the main power here is not the sounds (which are great, but yes, not neccasarily authentic to the core) but the music itself, which is just amazingly beautiful, interesting, inventive, and plain old just good! Yes the dukes SOUNDED a bit more authentic, but the music suffered a bit...Here the opposite is true. Except the sound doesn't REALLY suffer, it's just not trying to be letter perfect....and in some case it IS perfect: listen to "chasing my tail" which sounds like Here There and Everywhere, instrument wise, or the aformentioned "Mr Plastic Business Man", which sounds like a combination of She's So Heavy, Mr Jones, and something from the White album or Abbey road...listen to the Lennon piano (the tag...complete with "I swear that's Ringo playing" drums, and hofner/ rickenbacker "I swear thats Paul" bass; or the beautiful "twirl" Eleanor Rigby type piece (instrumental only), which is a perfect example of why I think this other fellow is dead wrong- Yes, the strings are fake, and even though they aren't bad, would've sounded better with a real quartet...but the crucial part, the composition, musically is up there with some extremely famous classical composers, compositionally speaking. Perhaps that aspect is not the other reviewers forte, hence the odd fixation on string sounds instead of songwriting. Make no mistake: This CD is just fantastic, and, if you are interested in only how realistic the strings sound,Liusten to the guitars, the drums and bass, the vocals the Electric guitars and bass etc, are dead on, and nobody could anyone argue that. Mr Gold is one of those treasures that sadly somehow has always been a very unsung musical genius, as anyone who has heard his last 5 albums. I never really liked his music that much during the corny Thank You For Being A Friend period, though the production on that song was quite impressive...tho I did love Lonely Boy and Never Let Her Slip Away, (he had many more hits in the UK and worldwide, with himself or with WAX, than the two in his own country)...he's even been called a one hit wonder, which is just plain factually wrong. One other complaint- this other reviewer mentions Graham Gouldman, who wasn't really involved in this album, other than a co-write maybe 2 or 3 songs out of 16 or so...So, it's hard to understand why he is mentioned so prominently in that review. Most of the songs are completely by Mr. Gold, who's ears, I am happy to say, seem to be very much in place, thank you very much. I give this album a 5 out of 5 and wish i could go to 11, as it were. I keep hearing more and more things in it, and get more enamored of the ALL album everyday. BUY this album. It's crucial listening. And don't be fooled by the fame of Andrew Gold's early hits. His later stuff is much better, both musically and lyrically (have you heard CRAWL INTO THE LIGHT on both Bryndle's House Of Silence and a slightly superior remixed version on Gold's recent Intermission CD. Or the amazingly strong Spence Manor Suite CD which is SO strong, even if you don't like country style music, or his album, which does have a lot of graham Gouldman in it, SINCE 1951, which is my personal favourite of all his albums. Listen to Ready To Go Home if you want serious depth, or Teardrops, or That Belongs to You. It's superior than most things floating around the top ten these days (My Humps, anyone?) He is one of you yanks's best CURRENT exports (except maybe Imogen Heap, who I currently am besotted with musically) How this man is not recognized as one of America's foremost singer/songwriters is as inexplicable it is inexusable, and almost a tragedy, much like the late Kevin Gilbert, who inexplixably never got his due, and also died young. Do explore Mr Gold's CD's. Even his childrens CD, Halloween Howls, is marvelous.
]AMG Review by Cub Koda
The Fraternal Order of the All is guitarist Andrew Gold in a home studio overdubbing mode, making the record he always wanted to make back in 1967 and 1968. To call this album retro-flavored would be putting it mildly, as Gold's tongue is firmly planted in his cheek all throughout the record and attendant booklet, right down to the fake names for all the musicians. With the exception of guest turns from Jimmy Caprio, Jimmy Herter and Graham Gouldman (who also produced one track and like Caprio and Herter, wrote one other), this is pretty much Andrew's ballgame here, with him playing and singing all the parts. The British rock, Beatles-styled psychedelic sounds truly abound on this disc, in the production values, instrumental work, and songwriting style. Highlights include "Tuba Rye and Will's Son/Balloon in the Sky" (with its Beach Boys-like vocal intro), "Rainbow People," "Freelove Baby," the three instrumentals that help the mood along ("Swirl," "Twirl," and "Whirl" and don't forget the "Groovy Party at Jimmy's Magic Pad"), and the trippy title track. Gold successfully nails all the sounds and cosmic junk that came with these kind of albums back during those heady times, and if the music wasn't so darn good on here, you'd declare this record just a nostalgic joke that works, but it is so much more than merely that; it's a tucked-away little gem that deserves a much wider audience.
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