Turtle Love

I've always secretly been a fan of The Turtles, not the least of which reasons include my own fondness for the reptiles of the same name, both living and decorative. But no, in this instance, I refer to the pop band from the late '60s best known for their infectious pop masterpiece "Happy Together." I mean, in spite of whatever you might feel about the group or the music from this era, this is a staple song of the sixties that continues to be a hummable, brilliant piece of music. There were a couple of other hits that they had, like the haunting "You Showed Me" or their bubblegum take on Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe." I knew of some of their work collectively and individually, but, as yet, had not really proclaimed myself a "Turtle fan."

But a few weeks back, I got curious. Maybe it was sparked after freshly revisiting Mark Volman (Flo) and Howard Kaylan's (Eddie) contribution to the adult cartoon oddity "Down & Dirty Duck," or their short-lived collaboration with Frank Zappa & The Mothers, best "documented" in the free-form misfire that is "200 Motels." But I thought I'd look them up again, mainly to see how I could find a copy of the soundtrack to "Dirty Duck" (which apparently you can't do - WTF?). My curiosity was piqued enough for me to buy two of the Turtles albums from iTunes: "The Turtles Presents the Battle of the Bands" and "Turtle Soup." This turned out to be a very wise decision. Both albums work on their own terms in complete and conceptualized album form and are, in my opinion, both overlooked gems from this era of music, which I have always been fond of.


"Turtle Soup" was produced by Kinks front-man (and songwriting hero to yours truly) Ray Davies, reportedly after the group heard the Kinks album "Village Green Preservation Society." Interestingly, "Soup" really plays as a step-sister to "Village Green" with its wistful melodies and nostalgic themes of simpler times gone by. But like "Village Green" the songs have grown on me like a pleasant fungi that I prefer to keep - even to the point where i find myself humming what would otherwise be considered dismissive tracks.

The album kicks off with the raucous "Come Over" which sounds like a rock band just hanging on the edge of having fun while jangling on their guitars and pushing that carefree sound that is a staple of the Turtles' sound. The album, more or less, goes in a melancholy direction with tracks like "House on the Hill," clearly providing a strong link to the contribution Ray Davies was bringing to the table as a producer (like, why are the Turtles singing about having people "over for tea" all of a sudden?). It is in the middle of the album that it finds its peak, in the upbeat country flavors of "Torn Between Temptation" with fantastic, warbling vocal performances from Kaylan and Volman, and "Love In the City" - an ambitious psychedelic anthem with searing vocals and sweeping orchestral and horn arrangements reminiscent of the Love album "Forever Changes."


"The Battle of the Bands" album intrigued me because of the conceit in which each track would be produced and performed as though each song were by a different group. Naturally, the results or somewhat mixed but it's still quite a bit of fun. This album is also noteworthy for containing the classics "You Showed Me" and the sardonic wit of "Elenore." Amidst these two gems, The Turtles manage to cover country, surf, rockabilly and their trademark pop hooks. As a result, the album never finds a comfortable coalescence amidst all these styles, but regardless, the journey is quite enjoyable.

I like how Howard Kayland and Mark Volman always sound like they're having buttloads of fun while they sing these songs. The two have always struck me as likable and smart guys - as though they were always in on the joke of rock superstardom (perhaps to a damaging effect). But while they were willing to satirize their "rock star" status, they still remained fully committed to what they might be doing in any given song or genre of music.

The long and the short of it is that I am now, officially, a "Turtles fan" and highly recommend these two albums for people that are fans of obscure psychedelic masterpieces. At times, "Turtle Soup" (arguably the better of the two albums reviewed here), does feel like a companion piece to some of the Kinks work from the same era, but this is hardly a bad thing for a die-hard Kinks fan. In the end, my feeling after getting more familiar with some of their work, is that The Turtles belong in the pantheon of great under-appreciated artists from that golden era of rock music: The Zombies, Love, and, naturally, The Kinks.