ANOTHER TIME

Since you've decided to purchase this particular compact disc from potentially thousands of different titles, chances are very good that you are already aware of who Curt Boettcher was and what he was capable of achieving within the confines of a recording studio. You've heard his magical vocal arrangements and his awe-inspiring production work on records by the Millennium and Sagittarius. You may be unaware, however, that those celebrated projects are really only the tip of the iceberg as far as Curt is concerned. From his pioneering productions of early albums by the Association and Tommy Roe, through his infamous psychedelic pop and lesser-known hard rock excursions, to his 1970's singer-songwriter and disco stages, Curt never stopped refining his talents or broadening his horizons. He stayed fresh by collaborating with an amazing array of disparate artists.

As a staffer for Our Productions and later Columbia Records, Curt worked with numerous artists but often had his roles assigned to him. That would change in 1969 when Curt, Gary Usher and Keith Olsen formed their own label Together Records, with the assistance of record executive Mike Curb. With Usher busy focusing on a series of archival reissues for the new label, Curt and Keith were free to create their own future. They produced LPs (ultimately unreleased) for the Millennium's Sandy Salisbury and the heavy rock group Moses Lake, while Curt also found time to help out another former band mate Michele O'Malley on her debut album SATURN RINGS (ABC S-684). The sounds Boettcher & Olsen had first arrived at on BEGIN were now being reinterpreted and reinvigorated. A good example of this is the fact that many of the synth voicings found on the second (Gary Usher-produced) Sagittarius album THE BLUE MARBLE were copied off of vocal arrangements Curt had originally envisioned. Whether or not he ultimately received credit, Curt was always producing when he was in the studio.

A NEW BEGINNING

It was obvious that sooner or later Curt would be due for a shot at solo stardom. He had been recording almost exclusively with groups since his early days in the folk band the GoldeBriars, and the idea of not having to explain his unique creative ambitions to anyone else must have seemed thrilling to him. Curt's first move towards that direction was his star performance on the Sagittarius 45 "In My Room" (Together 105) which featured a fine lead vocal and some sterling harmonies. Next came the infamous Moses Lake single "Oobleck" (Together 113), followed by a Curt solo 45 co-produced with Gary and Keith. But while the single "Share with Me" (Together 117) was a fine example of the Sagittarius school of baroque pop perfection, the label's minimal promotion muscle ensured a short shelf life for the 45.

By all accounts Together was hemorrhaging cash, and sessions for Curt's first solo album were called off shortly after they'd begun. As Curt later told Ray McCarthy: "I had started on my own album for (Together Records parent company) Transcontinental and freaked out in the middle of it, because of their insensitivities." Fortunately for us, Curt's high workload insured that plenty of tracks featuring his voice and his musical arrangements were cut before Together went under. Many of these were actually publisher's demos. However, they were anything but run of the mill home recordings! The tracks were meticulously produced in the studio and practically note-perfect. Often times these demos were simply overdubbed upon to achieve the finished product. In a few cases, Curt's demos were actually included (in their original state) on albums and singles released by other artists! So what you'll be hearing on this new CD, then, is sort of an "all-sorts" sampler of Curt Boettcher goodies. Both sides of his Together solo 45 are included here, as well as a variety of demos dating from 1965-1969 and what has survived from the aborted sessions for Curt's Together solo album. With the notable exception of the two songs off the 45, all of these tracks were produced solely by Curt Boettcher.

CHICKEN LITTLE WAS RIGHT

After Together folded in late 1969, Curt kept up his busy work schedule as well as his association with Keith Olsen. After a failed attempt at reviving Moses Lake with Curt as the group's new leader (and also including guitarist Mardig Sheridan, keyboardist Mike Balzotti and drummer/ singer/ songwriter Web Burrell), Boettcher and Olsen gifted the Millennium's "Just About the Same" to the Association for a modest hit single and recorded a one-off LP for Mickey Rooney Jr.'s band, Song. This album, simply called ALBUM (MGM SE-4714), was a fairly interesting fusion of San Francisco jam-based rock and Beatlesque pop songs. When it ultimately stiffed, Curt took some time off and then eventually signed with Elektra, where he did finally get to release his solo album. THERE'S AN INNOCENT FACE featured only two songs from Curt's pen, but it was a fine (if under-produced) effort with amazing vocals. A follow-up album, tentatively titled CHICKEN LITTLE WAS RIGHT, was started shortly thereafter, but the sessions collapsed midway through, and Curt left Elektra to pursue a career as a hired-gun session vocalist for the rock music elite.A happy occurrence, then, that two Curt-penned songs from this second aborted solo album were included on this CD package!

You've begun the Millennium. Your moon is continually in Sagittarius. Now dig Curt Boettcher, solo artiste. And don't worry, there's still more yet to come!

--Jason Penick, August 2003

THE SONGS:

BABY IT'S REAL - Likely a candidate for a follow up single to "Share with Me", "Baby It's Real" was a holdover from the Millennium days that Curt re-cut during sessions for his Together solo LP. Typical of Curt's production style during this period, this new version features dense layers of reverb and ever-present vibraphone and tremolo guitar.

ANOTHER TIME - This Sagittarius classic still stands as one of Curt's crowning achievements. The history of the song traces back at least to the early days of the Ballroom, but by the time Curt cut this 1969 studio performance, he had tuned down a half step to accommodate his deeper vocal delivery. As always, Curt's sensitive finger-picked Martin guitar paces the song.

ASTRAL COWBOY - A mystical beauty seemingly plucked from somewhere out of the stratosphere, "Astral Cowboy" shimmers in glorious echo. Lush piano and vibes accompany one of Curt's most otherworldly vocals. The song was eventually given away to Michele, but Curt's definitive version hails from his Together solo album sessions.

I JUST WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND (demo) - This sounds like an earlier mix of the version that would later appear on BEGIN. Noted Boettcher researcher Dawn Eden has stated that this song was demoed around the same time as "If You Only Knew", and since both songs were later covered by the Sunshine Company, it's extremely likely that these demos were originally recorded with that group in mind. The bossa nova influence on both tracks is no happy accident; both Curt and Sandy Salisbury were great fans of Antonio Carlos Jobim.

LOUISE - One of two outtakes included off of CHICKEN LITTLE WAS RIGHT, "Louise" is a charmer, pure and simple. Curt's singing had reached a stage of effortlessness by this point that only occurs with the very finest of voices. The high calypso harmonies, deep percussion and dual electric guitar leads towards the end show that Curt's production skills were still in great shape in the mid-seventies.

SHARE WITH ME - Sounding very much like a BLUE MARBLE outtake, this is really another Millennium composition, reworked with some assistance from Gary Usher as well as Keith Olsen. This is lovely stuff-- graceful country rock somewhat along the lines of the Flying Burrito Brothers' "Hot Burrito #1". Listen hard during the track's climax for some fine, understated harmony vocalizing, and pay notice to the great melodic counterpoint established by Jerry Scheff's electric bass-- a Sagittarius trademark.

ALONG COMES MARY (demo) - By some serendipitous coincidence, a copy of this 1965 demo acetate-- intended only for use by the Association-- has survived for thirty-eight years and is now available to all in digitally remastered form! Rejoice in this wondrous early recording that features Curt on vocals, Tandyn Almer on piano, Gary Alexander on electric guitar and some unknown drummer demoing what would soon become a smash hit single and one of the most treasured songs of its era. Curt's syncopated lead vocal serves as a nice guide for the Association's Jim Yester. The extent of Curt's involvement in the creation of this masterpiece has now become even more apparent.

SOMETIMES - More great stuff from the BLUE MARBLE era. All the usual fantastic things we associate with Sagittarius-- flawless vocals, sweeping strings, melodic bass runs-- are present on this Curt Boettcher flipside as well. Deejays could have easily mistaken this for the plug side of the single, had they bothered to investigate it.

THAT'S THE WAY IT'S GONNA BE - Curt and Lee Mallory should have had a hit with this the first time around, so who could blame Boettcher for trying to remake it for his first solo album? Actually, this cover of the bittersweet Phil Ochs/ Bob Gibson tune stays fairly true to Lee's earlier version (Valiant 751), right down to the "bop-a-doo-bop-ba" harmonies. It is a bit more assertive than its predecessor, however, and features some terse instrumental interplay towards the end. Note the obvious presence of Sandy Salisbury on harmony vocals here.

THE KNOW-IT-ALL (demo) - Most likely another demo recording from the Ballroom era. This take is slightly more up-tempo than the one that wound up on BEGIN, and accentuates the song's aggressive, Burundi-styled drumming-- a type of groove that had recently found favor with many of the era's garage bands.

MISTY MIRAGE - Every great artist seems to have at least one song that exposes the depths of their soul for the entire world to witness. Brian Wilson had his "Surf's Up", John Lennon did it on "Julia", and Curt achieved the same level of intensity with this shimmering masterpiece. If you are not moved by this transcendent performance, it is likely you will be unhappy with the rest of Curt's work as well. For this track is the essence of what Curt Boettcher was all about-- joy, mysticism and reaching out for the unknown. Perhaps thinking that this music was too wonderful to go unheard, Curt gave the song away to Michele as he had with "Astral Cowboy". However, no other version compares with Curt's own take on his masterpiece, a track which should have been the highlight of his Together Records debut.

IF YOU ONLY KNEW (demo) - Yet another case of Curt's demos being better than the actual finished product. The Sunshine Company's lazy take on this bossa-flavored beauty could never quite match Boettcher's groovier, original 1967 demo recording heard here. This is yet another important artifact to add to the growing Curt Boettcher legacy.

REST IN PEACE - Also hailing from the CHICKEN LITTLE WAS RIGHT sessions. One can speculate as to whom Curt was addressing in the lyrics to "Rest in Peace", but it's a fabulous song regardless. Curt was obviously able to soak up the sounds of country rock just as easily as he had with folk, pop, rock, trad jazz and bossa nova.

TUMBLING TUMBLEWEEDS - Then again, Curt was also able to take traditional western music and turn it into something altogether new and unheard of. Witness this trippy cover of the Sons of the Pioneers' 1930's C&W standard. Of course, if one was grasping for comparisons here, they could note the many similarities to Brian Wilson's production work on the Beach Boys' SMILE album-- another unreleased masterpiece out of L.A.'s fertile psych-pop underground.

YOU KNOW I'VE FOUND A WAY (demo) - A publisher's demo so strong that it was eventually included, as-is, on the Boettcher/ Olsen produced debut album from Eternity's Children. This is actually also the same version found on PRESENT TENSE, minus the string overdubs and Gary Usher's co-lead vocal.

ANOTHER TIME (demo) - An earlier solo take by Curt-- this one apparently another Ballroom demo. It's amazing how full this recording sounds with only a single tracked lead vocal and minimal instrumental accompaniment.

MEANWHILE BACK AT THE WORLD - This closing instrumental jam shows Curt's studio band operating at full throttle. The instrumental line-up for this track, as it was for most of Curt's Together solo sessions, was Ron Edgar on drums, Jerry Scheff on electric bass, Doug Rhodes on vibraphone and either Ben Benay or Waddy Wachtel on lead guitar. (Joey Stec, Lee Mallory, pianist Mike Melvoin and pedal steel guitarist Red Rhodes also sat in during some of these sessions.) Here the band explores jazz, blues and even funk textures before collapsing in a giant amalgamated instrumental freakout.