features in: Album Chart of 1966 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1960s |

Issued in January ’66 following the release of their two latest singles, “A Lover’s Concerto” (August ’65) and “Attack!” (December ’65). At the time of their sole album release, the Toys were: Barbara Harris (20, lead vocals), Barbara Parritt (21, vocals) and June Montiero (19, vocals). Although Harris sang lead for the majority of the album (the group's producers felt that her voice was the most commercial), Parritt and Montiero were each given a chance to shine, the former on “Hallelujah” (terrific) and the latter on “Yesterday” (un-affecting), the album’s sole cover version, and a strange choice at that. Parritt and Harris share the lead vocal duties on “Back Street” (average). Apart from the aforementioned Lennon / McCartney piece, all tracks were written by the Toys' producers, Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell. The Billboard advertisements sold the vision: “High-pitched vocal gymnastics! Low-toned counterpoints! Soulful harmonies! Dramatic arrangements! Jumpy rhythms!” All of which is spot on actually. The blend is popish and groovy without ever being cheesy. That said, the album is really dominated by both sides of the monster 45 – “A Lover’s Concerto” and, to a lesser extent, “This Night”. The former, one of thee pop hits of the decade, was worth all of the considerable studio effort. It was a swinging pop dance rewrite of Christian Petzold’s “Minuet in G” which had been used as a framework by Johann Sebastian Bach in his “Notebook For Anna Magdalena Bach, Minuet In G”, a five finger piano exercise. Ambitious, I LIKE it! The girls and their production crew reached for the stars and literally struck Gold, as certified by the RIAA on December 17, 1965. The single’s flipside proves to be the other main highlight here, veering away from the Supremes onto the Shirelles for inspiration. Neat work Toys.
The Jukebox Rebel
15–Feb–2009
Tracklist |
A1 | [02:41] ![]() |
A2 | [02:34] ![]() |
A3 | [03:13] ![]() |
A4 | [02:31] ![]() |
A5 | [02:20] ![]() |
A6 | [02:34] ![]() |
B1 | [02:32] ![]() |
B2 | [02:21] ![]() |
B3 | [02:29] ![]() |
B4 | [02:53] ![]() |
B5 | [02:40] ![]() |
B6 | [03:03] ![]() |