Brotherhood — Brotherhood Brotherhood 1969 (USA, Heavy Psychedelic Rock) Full Lp 5.1 Surround

Formed by Levin, Volk and Smith after their exit from Paul Revere and The Raiders, and cultivating a similar pop territory. The first album contains strident pop with some heavier sounds than their predecessors but also adds some unwelcome brass and orchestration. Tracks: 01. Don’t Let Go — 00:00 02. Glory Train —03:41 03. When The Chips Are Down —06:05 04. Back Home Again — 10:18 05. California Dreamin’ — 13:08 06. Rose Garden — 18:10 07. Deep Blue Sea — 21:10 08. Family Tree — 24:26 09. Love Sketch — 26:42 10. Destination Unknown — 30:12 11. When I Get Home — 32:16 Personnel: Drake Levin (Drake Maxwell Levinshefski) — guitar, vocals (02, 07, 09, 10) Phil Volk — bass, vocals (01, 03, 04, 06, 08, 10) Joe Pollard — drums Larry Knechtel — piano (01) Gene Redding, Tina Volk — backing vocals (01) Jim Gordon — drums (02) Jerry Cole — bass (02) Lee Michaels — organ (06) John Barbata — drums (06) Chris Ethridge — bass (06) “.....“Rose Garden” is another borrowed tune, albeit one with an unusual history. First cut in 1968 by songwriter Joe South, a version of the song would be a monster hit in 1970 for Lynn Anderson. But this ‘69 backing track was originally recorded by a friend of the band, organist Lee Michaels. The track was possibly intended for his Recital LP; Drake played on all of that album’s songs. A&M label head Herb Alpert had insisted Michaels record the song, “but Lee hated it,” says Phil. “He knew we were under pressure to get this record done, and we were running on empty, suffering from writers’ block.” So Lee slipped Brotherhood his track, probably without approval from his label: “No one questioned how the master tape got from Point A to Point B,” Phil chuckles. He remembers the lineup on the rocking recording – cut at A&M — as Lee Michaels on organ, ex-Turtle Johnny Barbata on drums, Chris Etheridge on bass, Drake on guitar, and Phil’s overdubbed lead vocal. Joe has memories of working on the song at RCA as well, but it may be those were rehearsal sessions for one of the group’s few live gigs....