The American Dream
By Emitt Rhodes
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Track listing
- A1 Mother Earth 2:29
- A2 Pardon Me 2:46
- A3 Textile Factory 3:04
- A4 Someone Died 2:04
- A5 Come Ride, Come Ride 2:53
- A6 Let's All Sing 2:41
- B1 Holly Park 2:59
- B2 You're a Very Lovely Woman 2:52
- B3 Mary Will You Take My Hand 2:21
- B4 The Man He Was 2:57
- B5 In the Days of the Old 2:13
- B6 'Til the Day After 2:46
- Total length: 32:05
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Review
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5 Issues
10 Reviews
This is all very cute.
The cover should suggest the tunes herein are exactly how you would imagine them.
I understand the market was huge for singer/songwriters, but some have that juggernaut appeal that cross all demographics, and others who settle in the niche.
I thought of the influence The Beatles, (particularly McCartney) must have had on cute little songs that followed such as these here.
Vanilla tunes that have some musicality to them, and lovers of the genre I’m sure would accept it.
This is on nobody’s top ten all time however, like a Tapestry might be, but it serves its purpose for your Aunt Mildred.
D/D+
The cover should suggest the tunes herein are exactly how you would imagine them.
I understand the market was huge for singer/songwriters, but some have that juggernaut appeal that cross all demographics, and others who settle in the niche.
I thought of the influence The Beatles, (particularly McCartney) must have had on cute little songs that followed such as these here.
Vanilla tunes that have some musicality to them, and lovers of the genre I’m sure would accept it.
This is on nobody’s top ten all time however, like a Tapestry might be, but it serves its purpose for your Aunt Mildred.
D/D+
Published
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My best musical discovery in years. I used up some old Apple Music gift-card credit to buy the Emitt Rhodes anthology some years ago mainly based on reviews comparing his work to the McCartney-axis of The Beatles, which was enough motivation for me. Then I just left it sitting on my virtual shelf until the other day when I accidentally played one of the tracks...and with that I was off!
I’ve been playing the whole set for days and will just continue to indulge myself with this terrific pop music even as, having familiarised myself with Emitt’s life story, I can’t help but feel sad for him the way his career panned out. Of course, he unfortunately died this year, almost a forgotten man and certainly hadn’t gone on to live the life of ease and even luxury these songs should have guaranteed him.
At least his wonderful early albums from 1970 to 1973 are available and not out of print, even if they remain relatively unknown and it’s a sin and a shame that even if it were to magically happen now, it would be too late to make a difference to him. I’m reminded in this of another power-pop band whose music I love, the even more ill-fated Badfinger, but as the cliché goes, at least the music is out there and I’m certainly the better for having discovered it.
Anyhow, it all starts here, kind of. Although not his first release by the calendar, this set was an opportunistic release from Rhodes’ previous record label piggy-backing on the relative success of his “Emmit Rhodes” album in 1970, the company gathering up tracks lying around from the artist and his recently disbanded group The Merry-Go-Round, for whom he wrote almost all their material.
So this set really should have a grab-bag feel to it, with some tracks by his old band and some made solo with the crack ‘Wrecking Crew” session musicians who’d provided backings for the likes of Spector and the Beach Boys, to name but two. Remarkably, multi-musician Rhodes (he started out as a drummer) played all the instruments on his own subsequent releases but there’s nothing much wrong, as you’d expect, with the musicianship here, although as a sessioneer you’d have to be pretty dumb to mess up songs of this quality.
It probably is grab-bag in fact at least in terms of its programming, with probably one too many songs about death, and one of them sandwiched between two lighter, more whimsical tunes.
Yes, Rhodes, who was once nicknamed the “one-man-Beatles” is massively influenced by them, which you pick up when you hear the “Lovely Rita” voice-box “ch..ch..ch’s” in “Let's All Sing” and when he breaks into a chorus of “Give Peace A Chance” over the fade of “Holly Park” but I was also reminded of The Zombies “Oracle and Odyssey”, especially in the darker songs and of Harry Nilsson’s wonderful first two albums in the lighter, more sing-songy tunes.
Starter “Mother Earth” reflects the Aquarius Generation’s return-to-nature ethos with its use of an early moog adding texture and a lovely up and down piano run at its centre, then follows the beautiful chamber-pop of “Pardon Me”, which Brian Wilson at his peak wouldn’t have disowned and the cheery country and western spoof “Textile Factory” where you hear Rhodes’ vocal give up the pretence at the cheekily left-in fade.
The first of the two maudlin songs arrives next, the very sad “Someone Died”, which sounds personal and for me is superior to the later storm-blasted “The Man He Was” which somewhat falls over as it overdoes the allegory in its lyric, then “Come Ride, Come Ride” which is a lovely swirling confection which name-checks his old group.
Another thing I like about Rhodes is the way he surprises by upsetting expectations. You wouldn’t expect an upbeat song called “Let’s All Sing” to be celebrating the dumping of a girlfriend or conversely another called “Saturday Night” to bemoan rather than celebrate the weekend.
“Holly Park” is very Nilssony with its vibrant piano-melody and nostalgic lyric and is succeeded by his tuneful old Merry-Go-Round single “You’re A Very Lovely Woman” and the light calypso-pop of “Mary Will You Take My Hand”, likely inspired by the you-know-who’s tale of Desmond and Molly Jones.
The collection finishes with another Harry-esque flight-of-fancy “ In Days Of Old”, before ending with the gorgeous ‘Til The Day After”.
I don’t think I’ve ever written such a long review, in fact it’s more like an essay, which I’m aware flies a little in the face of Rhodes’s own way with economy and brevity, but I’m just so glad to have met this guy’s music I couldn’t stop myself.
And do you know the most amazing thing about him, besides writing all his own material, doing all his own backing vocals and playing all the instruments, is surely that he wasn’t even 20 years old at the time and indeed had retired from the business which had chewed him up at the age of 23!
I’ll be reviewing his other three albums over this Christmas and they’re even better than this, trust me.
So if you end up this festive period with some unused gift card spending on any of the major streaming sites, maybe do as I did all those years ago and treat yourself to this guy’s music, although don’t wait as long as I did to give it a listen!
That new McCartney album will have to wait!
I’ve been playing the whole set for days and will just continue to indulge myself with this terrific pop music even as, having familiarised myself with Emitt’s life story, I can’t help but feel sad for him the way his career panned out. Of course, he unfortunately died this year, almost a forgotten man and certainly hadn’t gone on to live the life of ease and even luxury these songs should have guaranteed him.
At least his wonderful early albums from 1970 to 1973 are available and not out of print, even if they remain relatively unknown and it’s a sin and a shame that even if it were to magically happen now, it would be too late to make a difference to him. I’m reminded in this of another power-pop band whose music I love, the even more ill-fated Badfinger, but as the cliché goes, at least the music is out there and I’m certainly the better for having discovered it.
Anyhow, it all starts here, kind of. Although not his first release by the calendar, this set was an opportunistic release from Rhodes’ previous record label piggy-backing on the relative success of his “Emmit Rhodes” album in 1970, the company gathering up tracks lying around from the artist and his recently disbanded group The Merry-Go-Round, for whom he wrote almost all their material.
So this set really should have a grab-bag feel to it, with some tracks by his old band and some made solo with the crack ‘Wrecking Crew” session musicians who’d provided backings for the likes of Spector and the Beach Boys, to name but two. Remarkably, multi-musician Rhodes (he started out as a drummer) played all the instruments on his own subsequent releases but there’s nothing much wrong, as you’d expect, with the musicianship here, although as a sessioneer you’d have to be pretty dumb to mess up songs of this quality.
It probably is grab-bag in fact at least in terms of its programming, with probably one too many songs about death, and one of them sandwiched between two lighter, more whimsical tunes.
Yes, Rhodes, who was once nicknamed the “one-man-Beatles” is massively influenced by them, which you pick up when you hear the “Lovely Rita” voice-box “ch..ch..ch’s” in “Let's All Sing” and when he breaks into a chorus of “Give Peace A Chance” over the fade of “Holly Park” but I was also reminded of The Zombies “Oracle and Odyssey”, especially in the darker songs and of Harry Nilsson’s wonderful first two albums in the lighter, more sing-songy tunes.
Starter “Mother Earth” reflects the Aquarius Generation’s return-to-nature ethos with its use of an early moog adding texture and a lovely up and down piano run at its centre, then follows the beautiful chamber-pop of “Pardon Me”, which Brian Wilson at his peak wouldn’t have disowned and the cheery country and western spoof “Textile Factory” where you hear Rhodes’ vocal give up the pretence at the cheekily left-in fade.
The first of the two maudlin songs arrives next, the very sad “Someone Died”, which sounds personal and for me is superior to the later storm-blasted “The Man He Was” which somewhat falls over as it overdoes the allegory in its lyric, then “Come Ride, Come Ride” which is a lovely swirling confection which name-checks his old group.
Another thing I like about Rhodes is the way he surprises by upsetting expectations. You wouldn’t expect an upbeat song called “Let’s All Sing” to be celebrating the dumping of a girlfriend or conversely another called “Saturday Night” to bemoan rather than celebrate the weekend.
“Holly Park” is very Nilssony with its vibrant piano-melody and nostalgic lyric and is succeeded by his tuneful old Merry-Go-Round single “You’re A Very Lovely Woman” and the light calypso-pop of “Mary Will You Take My Hand”, likely inspired by the you-know-who’s tale of Desmond and Molly Jones.
The collection finishes with another Harry-esque flight-of-fancy “ In Days Of Old”, before ending with the gorgeous ‘Til The Day After”.
I don’t think I’ve ever written such a long review, in fact it’s more like an essay, which I’m aware flies a little in the face of Rhodes’s own way with economy and brevity, but I’m just so glad to have met this guy’s music I couldn’t stop myself.
And do you know the most amazing thing about him, besides writing all his own material, doing all his own backing vocals and playing all the instruments, is surely that he wasn’t even 20 years old at the time and indeed had retired from the business which had chewed him up at the age of 23!
I’ll be reviewing his other three albums over this Christmas and they’re even better than this, trust me.
So if you end up this festive period with some unused gift card spending on any of the major streaming sites, maybe do as I did all those years ago and treat yourself to this guy’s music, although don’t wait as long as I did to give it a listen!
That new McCartney album will have to wait!
Published
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Simply said, Emitt Rhodes' "The American Dream" has the distinction of being the best 'contractual obligation' album you'll ever have the pleasure of hearing.
As you'd expect, the album has a rather tortuous history. When the Merry-Go-Round collapsed in 1969, under their recording contract they still owed their label A&M Records another album. As de facto band leader, it was left up to singer/songwriter/guitarist Rhodes to go back into the studio in an effort to cobble together a second album. The end result consisted of a mix of previously completed Merry-Go-Round tracks, polished up demos and some new studio tracks. Rhodes completed the project in mid-1969, but A&M management simply shelved the project.
Jump ahead and 1970 saw Rhodes solo career beginning to attract considerable attention via his self-titled 1970 ABC/Dunhill debut. More than willing to cash-in on Rhodes sudden commercial recognition, A&M wasted no time dusting off the earlier material. Packaged as an Emitt Rhodes solo effort, the album had the misfortune of being released at the same time Rhodes' second Dunhill album hit the streets.
In spite of the fact it was a product of corporate indifference and greed, the album was simply great. Easily as good as Rhodes' first two Dunhill solo effort, the collection effortlessly showcased Rhodes' knack for penning highly commercial, radio-friendly pop. Tracks such as 'Mother Earth', ' Pardon Me', 'Holly Park' and 'In Days of Old' were full of Beatles influences (or at least McCartney influences), but in a good way ... as opposed to being the product of a slavish imitator. The album's also impressive for simply sounding so go. Rhodes may have stitched the results together, but you're hard pressed to tell. Merry-Go-Round demos such as 'You're a Very Lonely Woman', 'Come Ride, Come Ride' and ''Till the Day After' sound right at home with his new studio material. Elsewhere, A&M tapped 'You're a Very Lonely Woman' b/w ''Til the Day After' as a single (A&M catalog number 1254). That drew the ire of former members of Merry-Go-Round who apparently muttered lawsuit under their collective breathes leading concerned A&M executives to stand their ground (ha) reissuing subsequent pressings of the LP without the song. The company also elected to slap a new cover on subsequent releases (see below). While hundreds of albums are labeled as 'lost classics', this one's truly deserving of that label.
As you'd expect, the album has a rather tortuous history. When the Merry-Go-Round collapsed in 1969, under their recording contract they still owed their label A&M Records another album. As de facto band leader, it was left up to singer/songwriter/guitarist Rhodes to go back into the studio in an effort to cobble together a second album. The end result consisted of a mix of previously completed Merry-Go-Round tracks, polished up demos and some new studio tracks. Rhodes completed the project in mid-1969, but A&M management simply shelved the project.
Jump ahead and 1970 saw Rhodes solo career beginning to attract considerable attention via his self-titled 1970 ABC/Dunhill debut. More than willing to cash-in on Rhodes sudden commercial recognition, A&M wasted no time dusting off the earlier material. Packaged as an Emitt Rhodes solo effort, the album had the misfortune of being released at the same time Rhodes' second Dunhill album hit the streets.
In spite of the fact it was a product of corporate indifference and greed, the album was simply great. Easily as good as Rhodes' first two Dunhill solo effort, the collection effortlessly showcased Rhodes' knack for penning highly commercial, radio-friendly pop. Tracks such as 'Mother Earth', ' Pardon Me', 'Holly Park' and 'In Days of Old' were full of Beatles influences (or at least McCartney influences), but in a good way ... as opposed to being the product of a slavish imitator. The album's also impressive for simply sounding so go. Rhodes may have stitched the results together, but you're hard pressed to tell. Merry-Go-Round demos such as 'You're a Very Lonely Woman', 'Come Ride, Come Ride' and ''Till the Day After' sound right at home with his new studio material. Elsewhere, A&M tapped 'You're a Very Lonely Woman' b/w ''Til the Day After' as a single (A&M catalog number 1254). That drew the ire of former members of Merry-Go-Round who apparently muttered lawsuit under their collective breathes leading concerned A&M executives to stand their ground (ha) reissuing subsequent pressings of the LP without the song. The company also elected to slap a new cover on subsequent releases (see below). While hundreds of albums are labeled as 'lost classics', this one's truly deserving of that label.
Published
Not a proper solo album but quite interesting as it predates Emitt Rhodes' debut, at least in its inception and conception.
Published
A very McCartney-esque album, to a fault really. The songs thankfully on the whole stand on their own two feet, especially the beautiful Pardon Me.
Published
Much better in reality than it is in theory. What should sound like a stew of leftovers and demos ends up being a very listenable smorgasbord of delights. Perhaps it's most important aspect is it's stepping stone relation to Rhodes' trilogy of proper solo albums. It was Emitt working on finishing this project to fulfill the Merry-Go-Round A&M contract and his lack of complete satisfaction with outside arrangements that led him to the conclusion that "if you want it done right, you've got to do it yourself". The album was released in two configurations, one with the previously released "You're A Very Lovely Woman" and the final release with "Saturday Night" in it's place. "Textile Factory" tends to attract some negative reaction, as does the calypso experiment of "Mary Will You Take My Hand", and both seem to take their cue from the White Album's "Don't Pass Me By" and "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" - which are the two tracks from that album that are probably it's weakest spots. However, do not miss "Holly Park", "Mother Earth", "Pardon Me" or "In Days Of Old" - all of which are very strong and very essential listening.
Published
A really amazing album, especially concerning the circumstances. Being my first encounter wih Emitt I was shocked by the excellent quality. The only thing from keeping me away of giving it a 5-star rating is the annoying "Mary will you take my hand".
Published
With his back up band the Merry Go Round gone, Rhodes used a host of session musicians on this release. Another solid McCartney-like album, Rhodes shows he is a fine guitarist and songwriter. apparently a contractual filling album, it sure does not sound that way.
Published
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Catalog
31 May 2024
12 May 2024
-
A1
Mother Earth
-
A2
Pardon Me
-
A3
Textile Factory
-
A4
Someone Died
-
A5
Come Ride, Come Ride
-
A6
Let's All Sing
-
B1
Holly Park
-
B2
You're a Very Lovely Woman
-
B3
Mary Will You Take My Hand
-
B4
The Man He Was
-
B5
In the Days of the Old
-
B6
'Til the Day After
12 Apr 2024
10 Apr 2024
28 Mar 2024
27 Mar 2024
8 Feb 2024
-
A1
Mother Earth
-
A2
Pardon Me
-
A3
Textile Factory
-
A4
Someone Died
-
A5
Come Ride, Come Ride
-
A6
Let's All Sing
-
B1
Holly Park
-
B2
You're a Very Lovely Woman
-
B3
Mary Will You Take My Hand
-
B4
The Man He Was
-
B5
In the Days of the Old
-
B6
'Til the Day After
7 Feb 2024
1 Feb 2024
22 Jan 2024
1 Jan 2024
28 Dec 2023
26 Dec 2023
25 Dec 2023
-
A1
Mother Earth
-
A2
Pardon Me
-
A3
Textile Factory
-
A4
Someone Died
-
A5
Come Ride, Come Ride
-
A6
Let's All Sing
-
B1
Holly Park
-
B2
You're a Very Lovely Woman
-
B3
Mary Will You Take My Hand
-
B4
The Man He Was
-
B5
In the Days of the Old
-
B6
'Til the Day After
7 Dec 2023
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