Born and bred in Chicago, Illinois, the Buckinghams were one of the
most successful groups of 1967. The band started the year off on a
banner note, as they netted a No. 1 hit single with their first single
“Kind of a Drag”
— distributed by the regional USA label and appeared on their debut album of the same name.
By the time 1967 drew to a close, the Buckinghams scored 4 more Top
40 winners. And what an amazing feat that was, in light of the
truckloads of incredible records arriving in the bins that fabled year.
Revolution was in the air with acts like the Doors, the Jimi Hendrix
Experience, Procol Harum, and Jefferson Airplane hawking psychedelic
commodities. Although the Buckinghams traveled a different route than
these bands, they were uniquely forward thinking in their own right.
Shortly after
Kind of a Drag sent the band into orbit, they relocated to the Columbia label, where they cut a pair of excellent albums,
Time and Charges and
Portraits. Now, the always on-the-spot Sundazed Records has again reissued the platters as a solitary set, and here they are …
Released in the spring of 1967,
Time and Charges opens up
with “Don’t You Care,” which peaked at No. 6 on the national charts.
Constructed of crooning horns, breezy boyish vocals and a plush finish,
there was no way a tune this catchy could fail. The album also includes
the band’s slinky, soul-drenched cover of Cannonball Adderley’s “Mercy,
Mercy, Mercy” that seized the Top 5 that summer. Flooded with engaging
tempos, complex movements, and a strict anti-war message, “Foreign
Policy” is an elaborate progressive rock piece, and a beautiful version
of John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s “I’ll Be Back” exerts a nip of a
jazz feel.
The tail end of 1967 saw
Portraits land on the shelves.
Featured among the prizes on the collection are “Hey Baby (They’re
Playing Our Song)” and “Susan,” which reached No. 12 and No. 11
respectively. Both these tasty tunes represented the sound and style the
public came to know and love of the Buckinghams. Sweeping harmonies,
reminiscent of the Beach Boys, combined with brassy horn arrangements
and potent melodies were the magical ingredients directing the
popularity of the band. But as their albums indicated, the band was
adventurous and as daring as the best of the bunch. Rife with stinging
guitar leads and rattling rhythms, “Just Because I’ve Fallen Down” is a
particular mind-blower heard on
Portraits while the rest of the record involves a nice balance of pure pop and horn rock.
Blessed with great vocals, solid chops and the tunes to match, the
Buckinghams were an A-Grade band. Filled with songs that are fun,
imaginative, arty, thought-provoking and just plain good,
Time and Charges and
Portraits are satisfying on every conceivable level.(Beverly Paterson)
Enjoy!
SB1
Flac
Thanks, very nice!
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