Chad+jeremy

Although this 18-song best-of duplicates much of what was on the best previous Chad & Jeremy CD compilation (One Way's The Best of Chad & Jeremy), this release is definitely the superior option. Its most crucial edge is the inclusion of four songs from 1965-1966 Columbia singles, as the One Way disc was limited to the material they released on World Artists. In addition, the Varese Sarabande anthology has comprehensive liner notes, songwriting credits, and original release date info, whereas the One Way disc had none of those things at all. This CD still concentrates on the World Artists sides from 1964-1965, including all of the hit singles. Some of the inessential covers of hits and standards from the One Way compilation are axed, but decent original tunes like "My How the Time Goes By" are retained. The four Columbia sides include the three Top 40 hits "Before and After" and "I Don't Wanna Lose You Baby" (both written by Van McCoy), and "Distant Shores" (by future Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears producer James Guercio).

Chad & Jeremy - Sing For You (1965) {Ember–Air Mail Japan, AIRAC-1315, Paper Sleeve rel 2007}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 237 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 108 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 55 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1965, 2007 Ember Records / Air Mail Recordings Japan | AIRAC-1315
Rock / Pop / Psychedelic / Baroque Pop / British Invasion

Generally relegated to footnote status, folk/rock duo (heavier on the folk) Chad & Jeremy nonetheless managed a certain level of influence among a group of navel-gazing sensitive types who couldn’t totally commit to either the Beatles or Stones camps. And yet they still managed to make something of a splash riding the crest of a wave that was the British Invasion. At a time when it seemed every artist was copping the sound of the Beatles and/or Stones, Chad & Jeremy remained (relatively) committed to their folk origins. The trouble with this was their particular brand of folk was slowly falling out of favor following the arrival of Bob Dylan.

Chad & Jeremy - Of Cabbages And Kings (1967) {Columbia–Sony Music Japan, MHCP-978 rel 2006, Cardboard Sleeve}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 364 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 141 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 12 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1967, 2006 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | MHCP-978
Rock / Pop / Psychedelic / Baroque Pop / British Invasion

Andy Shernoff of the Dictators once wrote a song called "Who Will Save Rock and Roll?," which featured the memorable verse "June first, '67/Something died and went to heaven/I wish Sgt. Pepper never taught the band to play." Maybe Shernoff was going a bit far to make a point, but the unfortunate truth is that once the Beatles released their magnum opus, it would be many years before an album that was simply a collection of great songs would seem to be enough in the eyes of the rock cognoscenti. Seemingly every act of any significance during the late '60s made a high-gloss concept album, and Chad & Jeremy were no exception; while they had a sure knack for smart and subtle folk-influenced pop with outstanding harmonies, the times demanded more of them, and in 1967 they released their response to the Sgt. Pepper's phenomenon, Of Cabbages and Kings.

Chad & Jeremy - The Ark (1968) {Columbia–Sony Music Japan, MHCP-979 rel 2006, Cardboard Sleeve}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 332 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 126 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 13 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1968, 2006 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | MHCP-979
Rock / Pop / Psychedelic / Baroque Pop / British Invasion

While The Ark contained nothing quite as elaborate as "The Progress Suite" that had taken up one whole side of Of Cabbages and Kings, it was another psychedelic mishmash of styles – Indian one minute, musichall the next – of a kind so many popular performers had been indulging in at the time in hopes of making the next Sgt. Pepper. The difference was that most of Chad & Jeremy's peers had gotten it out of their systems the year before. But C&J were upper-class types who took naturally to the pretensions of the form – they thought they were making Art. Their listeners thought differently: The Ark missed the charts, and Chad & Jeremy broke up.

Discussions of the "quiet is the new loud" aesthetic of bands like Belle & Sebastian and Kings of Convenience typically cite primal influences like Nick Drake, Donovan, and the Velvet Underground, but rarely if ever mentioned is a duo that predated them all – listening to Chad & Jeremy many decades on, it now seems almost as if they pioneered an entire genre, their string-sweetened, pastoral, and hopelessly twee acoustic pop anticipating so much of the sound in vogue at the turn of the century to follow.

This collection of 8 discs may be the most comprehensive collection of its type. There are a total of 120 songs from almost as many artists. There are a few artists represented more than once, with The Kingston Trio represented by 9 songs, every one memorable. The era represented by these songs spans about ten years. The earliest songs in this collection date back to the late 1950's. The latest songs date to about 1968.

This collection of 8 discs may be the most comprehensive collection of its type. There are a total of 120 songs from almost as many artists. There are a few artists represented more than once, with The Kingston Trio represented by 9 songs, every one memorable. The era represented by these songs spans about ten years. The earliest songs in this collection date back to the late 1950's. The latest songs date to about 1968.