Friday Night Catnip: The Art of Lovin' -- The Art of Lovin'
It’s been a while since I posted the Friday Night Catnip, primarily because of a catnip shortage. However, lo and behold while I was packing my possessions this week to prepare for the upcoming move there was a pleasant surprise! 
It might be awhile before I post anymore Friday Night Catnip so please take the opportunity for catnip combustion to the psychedelic 60s sounds of The Art of Lovin’. The Art Of Lovin’ have a mixed male/female vocal style at their head -- a sound that's somewhere in the Mamas & Papas mode, but a bit more stripped down -- and crafted here with leaner, darker sounds that are really great -- and almost a bit spooky at times! As with other Mainstream rock sessions, there's something magical about the way the bass is recorded -- a completely flat tone that pushes the music up from the bottom, and really makes a magical platform for rougher guitar, organ, and drums.
With their psych-tinged folk-rock (or was it folk-tinged psych-rock?) and male/female vocals, this Massachusetts-based fivesome garnered more than their share of comparisons to Jefferson Airplane and the Mamas and the Papas on their eponymous 1968 album, but they were more than just the East Coast versions of those fabled San Francisco bands. The group -- Paul Applebaum (vocals, guitar, chief songwriter), Johnny Lank (bass), Barry Tatelman (saxophone), Gail Winnick (vocals), Sandy Winslow (drums, percussion) -- sidestepped MGM's "Bosstown Sound" circus when they signed with Detroit-based Mainstream Records, and their lone album is full of rich harmonies courtesy Applebaum and Winnick, inventive guitar work and a cover of Tim Hardin's "
How Can We) Hang On To A Dream" (for comparison purposes check out the version by Gandalf also in the Music Appreciation Group). The band played a few Boston-area gigs in support of the album, but soon broke up, its members choosing college over the life of rock stars.
Despite the group's short lifespan, The Art of Lovin' LP still makes its mark in the twenty-first century: It earns high praise and fetches good prices in online auctions by knowledgeable '60s music collectors. In 2008, the album was remastered and released on CD for the first time by Japanese record label P-Vine. And in 2009, Joel and Ethan Cohen included the band's "Good Times" on the soundtrack to their 1960's-set black comedy A Serious Man.
Although the opening to the first song is obnoxious, it is a fairly decent LP so why don't you break out the catnip and chill? Enjoy the catnip!
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOtKMFpzhAKhDa6J-jNCWqHawCXbBJDHI
Paul's Circus 0:00
What the Young Mind Says 3:24
You've Got the Power 6:05
Take a Ride 9:13
Good Times 12:23
Daily Prayer 15:03
The First Time 17:52
And I Have Seen Them All 21:40
You'll Walk Away 24:57
(How Can We) Hang On to a Dream 27:26
State of Mind 30:12
Total Time: 33:49