Marshmallow Way was a "band" I know very little about, aside from the fact that they released a really fun bubblegum-psych LP on United Artists records in 1969. What I can tell you is that the band was essentially a front for the songwriting and production duo of Billy Carl and Reid Whitelaw. Who were they? Well, all I really know is that they were briefly part of the infamous bubblegum pop empire known as Kasenetz and Katz (aka Super K). K&K basically had a hand in almost every bubblegum single and LP released in the late 60s outside of the Archies and Tommy Roe, they produced all the Ohio Express, the Music Explosion and 1910 Fruitgum Co. stuff and even had a project of their own, the Kasenetz and Katz Super Circus.
Carl and Whitelaw had written a hit single for the 1910 Fruitgum Co. in '68 called "Goody Goody Gumdrops", a prototypical bubblegum song released on the Buddah label that reached #37 on the Billboard Hot 100. Somewhere down the line Carl and Whitelaw must have wanted their own project, but Super K weren't interested so the two parted ways. Carl and Whitelaw eventually landed a deal with United Artists and released this album in 1969.
In terms of the actual sound, this album is similar to the kind of material 1910 Fruitgum was putting out at the time, but this Marshmallow Way LP seems to have an air of sophistication that the Fruitgum Co. didn't. Where the Fruitgum Co.'s songs were impossibly simple boogie-ing bubblegum tunes, Carl and Whitelaw seemed to be striving for smart, studio crafted pop, with tighter harmonies, more dense and even exotic instrumentation and percussion. There's plenty of organ, silly lyrics, handclaps and punchy drumming commonly found on bubblegum records of the era, but theres also vibraphone, marimbas, organ, congas and some nice jangly electric 12 string found on several of the songs on this record. The vocal harmonies seem to also possess a complexion that wasn't often found on your standard Super K release but was more typical of sunshine pop bands like the Turtles. But make no mistake, at it's core, this album is pure, chewy bubblegum, it's just dressed up nicer. This record also shows a consistency from song to song that was lacking on most bubblegum LPs as bubblegum was almost entirely a singles based genre.
Highlights from this 12 song album include the blissful and super jangly "Good Day", the sugary, chug-a-lug rocker "Sweet Thing", the wistful "Romeo and Juliet" and the proto Power Popper "Come On Kitty". But there really isn't a dud track on record, just fun, sunny pop music.
This album has never been reissued on CD, and I really doubt that it ever will be. Original LPs are hard to track down but I bought one a few years ago and transferred it to mp3 using EAC's .WAV editor. Ripped in 256 kb/s. There are a couple of different vinyl rips around on the web of this record, but mine is definitely the superior sounding rip, as my copy of the album is essentially mint. No EQing or pop-removal, just straight from vinyl to mp3. Download here: http://www.mediafire.com/?0xuqe1h5v7kd8vs
-Casey
In terms of the actual sound, this album is similar to the kind of material 1910 Fruitgum was putting out at the time, but this Marshmallow Way LP seems to have an air of sophistication that the Fruitgum Co. didn't. Where the Fruitgum Co.'s songs were impossibly simple boogie-ing bubblegum tunes, Carl and Whitelaw seemed to be striving for smart, studio crafted pop, with tighter harmonies, more dense and even exotic instrumentation and percussion. There's plenty of organ, silly lyrics, handclaps and punchy drumming commonly found on bubblegum records of the era, but theres also vibraphone, marimbas, organ, congas and some nice jangly electric 12 string found on several of the songs on this record. The vocal harmonies seem to also possess a complexion that wasn't often found on your standard Super K release but was more typical of sunshine pop bands like the Turtles. But make no mistake, at it's core, this album is pure, chewy bubblegum, it's just dressed up nicer. This record also shows a consistency from song to song that was lacking on most bubblegum LPs as bubblegum was almost entirely a singles based genre.
Highlights from this 12 song album include the blissful and super jangly "Good Day", the sugary, chug-a-lug rocker "Sweet Thing", the wistful "Romeo and Juliet" and the proto Power Popper "Come On Kitty". But there really isn't a dud track on record, just fun, sunny pop music.
This album has never been reissued on CD, and I really doubt that it ever will be. Original LPs are hard to track down but I bought one a few years ago and transferred it to mp3 using EAC's .WAV editor. Ripped in 256 kb/s. There are a couple of different vinyl rips around on the web of this record, but mine is definitely the superior sounding rip, as my copy of the album is essentially mint. No EQing or pop-removal, just straight from vinyl to mp3. Download here: http://www.mediafire.com/?0xuqe1h5v7kd8vs
-Casey
Hi Casey,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog you have here!Thanks for sharing these cool psych LPs.Nice work!These are hard to find anywhere.
Thanks a bunch for the kind words! Stay tuned, as I'll be updating regularly.
DeleteGreetz. Second on the previous comment. Just found the blog thru PHROCK. Thanks for taking the time.
ReplyDeletePS - Thanks too for the Mediafire links!
ReplyDeleteNo problem! thanks for stopping by i really appreciate the feedback.
DeleteFound this page by periodically Googling Marshmmallow Way, because my dad was in the band (grey jacket). I don't use my Google+ page but I'm posting with it so you can see my name and then their RYM entry:
Deleterateyourmusic.com/artist/marshmallow_way
From what he remembers you're right about all of these songs being Carl/Whitelaw creations. He and his friends essentially just showed up and posed for pictures.
He remembers going to the studio in New York to record the music themselves, but those recordings were ultimately shelved and session musicians played what you hear on the album. That is, of course, if those first recordings were ever meant to be considered in the first place.
They would also play shows and promote the album by not playing any of the songs on them because they didn't really know them at all. I don't think any of them are credited on the sleeve.
I have a few copies of this album in varying quality, but no great digital copy yet. If you still have yours would you be willing to post a FLAC or WAV rip? I mean this MP3 link is down anyway since I found this page a year later, but personally I would like to have a copy of this in a lossless format to burn to a CD.
Thanks for any help.
This is cool. I found this the same way because MY dad is in the band too! (Pink shirt)
DeleteWhen Carl & Whitelaw produced "Goody Goody Gumdrops" they used the regular studio musicians that Kasenetz-Katz used on most of their records. Billy Carl sang lead on the record after the Fruitgum Company lead singer Mark put his voice on and K&K decided they liked Billy's voice better. Billy had sung the demo. When Carl & Whitelaw left K&K, they produced this album using the same musicians and Billy sang lead, so it was actually the same exact group as on Goody Goody Gumdrops.
ReplyDeleteMy dad(pink shirt) was really happy to see a nice review about the record. Made his day! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Casey, please could you reupload this album? thanks.
ReplyDeletebuckeye