“The Toys Sing “A Lover’s Concerto” And “Attack!”” by The Toys - album review

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

TJR says

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] 5.6.png The Toys - Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) Pop
A2 [02:34] 5.6.png The Toys - Deserted (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) Pop
A3 [03:13] 6.3.png The Toys - See How They Run (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) Pop
A4 [02:31] 6.9.png The Toys - Hallelujah (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) Pop
A5 [02:20] 6.2.png The Toys - I Got A Man (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) Pop
A6 [02:34] 9.7.png The Toys - A Lover’s Concerto (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) Pop
B1 [02:32] 4.9.png The Toys - What’s Wrong With Me Baby (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) Pop
B2 [02:21] 4.6.png The Toys - Yesterday (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) Pop Ballad
B3 [02:29] 6.6.png The Toys - Baby’s Gone (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) Pop
B4 [02:53] 7.8.png The Toys - This Night (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) Pop
B5 [02:40] 5.0.png The Toys - Back Street (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) Pop
B6 [03:03] 5.1.png The Toys - Attack! (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) Pop

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