The Electric Prunes (album)
The Electric Prunes, sometimes referred to as I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night), is the 1967 debut album by the American garage rock band, the Electric Prunes, released on Reprise Records. The first track, "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)", was a hit and became the band's signature tune. The album also contains another notable psychedelic rock composition, "Get Me to the World on Time". The album was listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
| The Electric Prunes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 1967[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1966 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | [2] | |||
| Length | 29:47 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Producer | David Hassinger | |||
| The Electric Prunes chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Electric Prunes | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
Background
editThe success of the Electric Prunes' single, "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)", which charted at number 11 in the U.S. and at number 49 in the UK, prompted the band to tour more and to record adverts. The band was featured in publicity photos for the November 1967 issue of Teen Pin-Ups. They also recorded an advert for the Vox wah-wah pedal and promoted use of the equipment in the Vox Teen Beat magazine.[4] Following the band's extensive promotional campaign, a second single, "Get Me to the World on Time", was released and charted at number 27 in the U.S.[2]
With the band having a busy touring schedule, the recording of the album was hurried in an effort to cash in on their recent success. The band was already composing material for what they hoped would be an album of their own design.[5] However, much of the album's content was out of their control, as producer Dave Hassinger brought in the songwriting team of Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz. They, alone, produced seven of the 12 tracks, much to the frustration of the band. Mark Tulin and James Lowe, the band's main songwriters, were limited to just one track, the song "Luvin'".[4] The band considered some of the tracks to be filler and were disappointed in not having a choice in disclosing them. Tulin stated, "We had nothing resembling freedom, let alone total freedom, in the selection of our songs. Consequently, there are definitely songs that I do believe didn't belong on the album..."[5]
The album was released in late February 1967 and charted with moderate success at number 113 on the Billboard 200.[2]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Composer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" | Nancie Mantz, Annette Tucker | 2:55 |
| 2. | "Bangles" | Johnny Walsh | 2:27 |
| 3. | "Onie" | Mantz, Tucker | 2:43 |
| 4. | "Are You Lovin' Me More (But Enjoying It Less)" | Mantz, Tucker | 2:21 |
| 5. | "Train for Tomorrow" | James Lowe | 3:00 |
| 6. | "Sold to the Highest Bidder" | Mantz, Tucker | 2:16 |
| No. | Title | Composer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Get Me to the World on Time" | Jill Jones, Tucker | 2:30 |
| 8. | "About a Quarter to Nine" | Al Dubin, Harry Warren | 2:07 |
| 9. | "The King Is in the Counting House" | Mantz, Tucker | 2:00 |
| 10. | "Luvin'" | Lowe | 2:03 |
| 11. | "Try Me on for Size" | Jill Jones, Tucker | 2:19 |
| 12. | "The Toonerville Trolley" | Mantz, Tucker | 2:34 |
| Total length: | 29:15 | ||
| No. | Title | Composer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Ain't It Hard" | Roger Tillison, Terrye Tillison | 2:14 |
| 14. | "Little Olive" | Lowe | 2:40 |
| Total length: | 34:09 | ||
Personnel
edit- The Electric Prunes
- James Lowe – lead vocals (tracks 1, 2, 5–14), autoharp, rhythm guitar, tambourine
- Ken Williams – lead guitar
- James "Weasel" Spagnola – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (tracks 3, 4)
- Mark Tulin – bass guitar, piano, organ
- Preston Ritter – drums, percussion
- Technical
- Dave Hassinger – producer, liner notes
- Richie Podolor – engineer
- Bill Cooper – assistant engineer
- Perry Botkin Jr. – string and brass arrangements
- Ed Thrasher – art director
- Jane McCowan – photography
References
edit- ^ https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1967/Billboard%201967-03-04.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ a b c d e Deming, Mark. The Electric Prunes - I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London: Omnibus Press. p. 918. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ a b "Electric Prunes Biography". electricprunes.com.
- ^ a b Richie Unterberger. "Unterberger Album Review". richieunterberger.com.