Sloan's second album had a fuller mid-1960s Los Angeles pop-folk-rock production than his more acoustic-weighted debut, and the material was a shade less strong.
Still, the standard of writing remained good, particularly on &"Let Me Be" (a hit for the Turtles), &"Here's Where You Belong" (Sloan's most pop-friendly numbers), the sullen but melodic &"Lollipop Train," and the wistful &"From a Distance," which sounds like it could have been a hit (and indeed it was a few years later in Japan). The Dylan influence was there to hear on &"Halloween Mary," &"When the Wind Changes" and &"The Man Behind the Red Balloon."
This was fine since those songs were good on their own merits, but not so fine when it just sounded like a dumb Bob Dylan talking-jive parody, as on &"Patterns Seg. 4." (by Richie Unterberger)
Co-produced by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri (who also co-wrote several of the songs),1966''s "12 More Times" didn't knock me out the first couple of times I heard it. This time out tracks like 'From a Distance' and 'The Precious Time' reflected a fuller, more 'produced' sound, but overall the sonic differences were minimal. You could also hear Sloan struggling to carve out a unique identify. Unfortunately, on first brush about half of the set sounded like Sloan was suffering from a severe case of Dylan wannabe. Tracks like 'The Man Behind the Red Balloon', 'Here's Where You Belong' and 'Upon a Painted Ocean' not only borrowed Dylan's mid-1960s sound, but appropriated his lyrically dense, socially relevant palate. Luckily Sloan's voice was way better than Dylan's, croak but that didn't do anything to make this stuff sound more original. All of those comments might explain the reason these songs didn't strike me as being as fresh and energetic as the first album. Luckily I set the album aside and a couple of years later gave it another chance. The second time around the set's charms started to reveal themselves to me. True, it wasn't the most original collection you've ever heard, but it's probably one of the best mid-1960s folk-rock albums, though few folks have actually heard it.
- 'From a Distance' was one of those period electric folk-rock songs that should have been a massive hit for Sloan (it was tapped as a single), and probably would have been a massive hit had The Byrds, The Grass Roots, The Turtles, or some other band tapped it as a cover. One of those lost mid-1960s classics that collectors dream about stumbling across.
- A driving blues numbers, 'The Man Behind the Red Balloon' found Sloan doing his best Dylan impression ... well it sounded like Dylan had Dylan been gifted with a decent singing voice.
- Basically just Sloan and acoustic guitar, 'Let Me Be' had a likeable raw sound which actually sounded a but like an unfinished demo. Naturally The Turtles covered it an had a hit.
- Co-written with Barri, 'Here's Where You Belong' was another song with a Dylan influence, as channeled through The Byrds. Nice driving rocker ...
- Once 'The Precious Time' got rolling it reflected a distinctive Byrds influence than jangle rock feel. This might also be about as close to recording a grunge song as Sloan ever came. One of the best performances on the album.
- Complete with lyrically dense structure (with all those words this one would have been a bitch to play live), a bouncy melody, and harmonica solo, 'Halloween Mary' sported one of the album's best Dylan-esque melodies. Yeah the goofy title was a mystery to me, but who cared when the song was so catchy, which explains why it was released as a single ...
- Another stripped down acoustic performance (just Sloan, acoustic guitar, and harmonica), 'I Found a Girl' was interesting for simplicity and for being one of the few tracks that didn't try to make sine sort of 'big' statement. Yeah it was amazingly sappy, but Sloan sounded very happy on this one so it stands as my choice for the album's best performance ...
- 'On Top of a Fence' found Sloan returning to scathing social commentary. If heard in isolation this one probably would have been okay, but when packaged alongside the rest of these tracks, this one just kind of blurred in with the rest.
- With strumming electric guitar 'Lollipop Train (You Never Had It So Good)' started out sounding like a sappy 1950s love song, but quickly opened up into what sounded like a biting stab at a former girlfriend. He's seldom sounded as pissed off ...
- 'Upon a Painted Ocean' offered up more Dylan, but this time out it sounded tired and obvious ...
- 'When the Wind Changes' was an acoustic folk number that actually sounded like Donovan trying to channel Dylan. With it's overt political manifesto, this one was simply pompous and plodding. Imagine a bad night at your local Irish bar ...
- Bless his soul, the notorious serious Sloan saved one of his best performances for the closer. Atypically goofy, 'Patterns Seg. 4' had a great rockabilly melody coupled with some of the funniest lyrics he'd ever penned. Nice to hear a throwaway like this ... (by badcatrecords)
Still, the standard of writing remained good, particularly on &"Let Me Be" (a hit for the Turtles), &"Here's Where You Belong" (Sloan's most pop-friendly numbers), the sullen but melodic &"Lollipop Train," and the wistful &"From a Distance," which sounds like it could have been a hit (and indeed it was a few years later in Japan). The Dylan influence was there to hear on &"Halloween Mary," &"When the Wind Changes" and &"The Man Behind the Red Balloon."
This was fine since those songs were good on their own merits, but not so fine when it just sounded like a dumb Bob Dylan talking-jive parody, as on &"Patterns Seg. 4." (by Richie Unterberger)
Co-produced by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri (who also co-wrote several of the songs),1966''s "12 More Times" didn't knock me out the first couple of times I heard it. This time out tracks like 'From a Distance' and 'The Precious Time' reflected a fuller, more 'produced' sound, but overall the sonic differences were minimal. You could also hear Sloan struggling to carve out a unique identify. Unfortunately, on first brush about half of the set sounded like Sloan was suffering from a severe case of Dylan wannabe. Tracks like 'The Man Behind the Red Balloon', 'Here's Where You Belong' and 'Upon a Painted Ocean' not only borrowed Dylan's mid-1960s sound, but appropriated his lyrically dense, socially relevant palate. Luckily Sloan's voice was way better than Dylan's, croak but that didn't do anything to make this stuff sound more original. All of those comments might explain the reason these songs didn't strike me as being as fresh and energetic as the first album. Luckily I set the album aside and a couple of years later gave it another chance. The second time around the set's charms started to reveal themselves to me. True, it wasn't the most original collection you've ever heard, but it's probably one of the best mid-1960s folk-rock albums, though few folks have actually heard it.
- 'From a Distance' was one of those period electric folk-rock songs that should have been a massive hit for Sloan (it was tapped as a single), and probably would have been a massive hit had The Byrds, The Grass Roots, The Turtles, or some other band tapped it as a cover. One of those lost mid-1960s classics that collectors dream about stumbling across.
- A driving blues numbers, 'The Man Behind the Red Balloon' found Sloan doing his best Dylan impression ... well it sounded like Dylan had Dylan been gifted with a decent singing voice.
- Basically just Sloan and acoustic guitar, 'Let Me Be' had a likeable raw sound which actually sounded a but like an unfinished demo. Naturally The Turtles covered it an had a hit.
- Co-written with Barri, 'Here's Where You Belong' was another song with a Dylan influence, as channeled through The Byrds. Nice driving rocker ...
- Once 'The Precious Time' got rolling it reflected a distinctive Byrds influence than jangle rock feel. This might also be about as close to recording a grunge song as Sloan ever came. One of the best performances on the album.
- Complete with lyrically dense structure (with all those words this one would have been a bitch to play live), a bouncy melody, and harmonica solo, 'Halloween Mary' sported one of the album's best Dylan-esque melodies. Yeah the goofy title was a mystery to me, but who cared when the song was so catchy, which explains why it was released as a single ...
- Another stripped down acoustic performance (just Sloan, acoustic guitar, and harmonica), 'I Found a Girl' was interesting for simplicity and for being one of the few tracks that didn't try to make sine sort of 'big' statement. Yeah it was amazingly sappy, but Sloan sounded very happy on this one so it stands as my choice for the album's best performance ...
- 'On Top of a Fence' found Sloan returning to scathing social commentary. If heard in isolation this one probably would have been okay, but when packaged alongside the rest of these tracks, this one just kind of blurred in with the rest.
- With strumming electric guitar 'Lollipop Train (You Never Had It So Good)' started out sounding like a sappy 1950s love song, but quickly opened up into what sounded like a biting stab at a former girlfriend. He's seldom sounded as pissed off ...
- 'Upon a Painted Ocean' offered up more Dylan, but this time out it sounded tired and obvious ...
- 'When the Wind Changes' was an acoustic folk number that actually sounded like Donovan trying to channel Dylan. With it's overt political manifesto, this one was simply pompous and plodding. Imagine a bad night at your local Irish bar ...
- Bless his soul, the notorious serious Sloan saved one of his best performances for the closer. Atypically goofy, 'Patterns Seg. 4' had a great rockabilly melody coupled with some of the funniest lyrics he'd ever penned. Nice to hear a throwaway like this ... (by badcatrecords)
Personnel:
Hal Blaine (drums)
Bones Howe (drums)
Larry Knechtel (keyboards)
Joe Osborne (bass)
John Phillips (guitar)
P.F. Sloan (aka Philip Gary Schlein) (vocals, guitar, harmonica)
Tracklist:
01. From A Distance (Sloan) 2.59
02. The Man Behind The Red Balloon (Sloan) 2.19
03. Let Me Be (Sloan) 2.49
04. Here's Where You Belong (Sloan/Barri) 3.00
05. The Precious Time (Sloan/Barri) 2.40
06. Halloween Mary (Sloan) 2.30
07. I Found A Girl (Sloan/Barri) 2.30
08. On Top Of A Fence (Sloan) 4.28
09. Lollipop Train (You Never Had It So Good) (Sloan/Barri) 3.05
10. Upon a Painted Ocean (Sloan) 3.10
11. When The Wind Changes (Sloan) 4.27
12. Patterns Seg. 4 (Sloan) 3.10
Hal Blaine (drums)
Bones Howe (drums)
Larry Knechtel (keyboards)
Joe Osborne (bass)
John Phillips (guitar)
P.F. Sloan (aka Philip Gary Schlein) (vocals, guitar, harmonica)
Tracklist:
01. From A Distance (Sloan) 2.59
02. The Man Behind The Red Balloon (Sloan) 2.19
03. Let Me Be (Sloan) 2.49
04. Here's Where You Belong (Sloan/Barri) 3.00
05. The Precious Time (Sloan/Barri) 2.40
06. Halloween Mary (Sloan) 2.30
07. I Found A Girl (Sloan/Barri) 2.30
08. On Top Of A Fence (Sloan) 4.28
09. Lollipop Train (You Never Had It So Good) (Sloan/Barri) 3.05
10. Upon a Painted Ocean (Sloan) 3.10
11. When The Wind Changes (Sloan) 4.27
12. Patterns Seg. 4 (Sloan) 3.10
