December 18 – The Lovin’ Spoonful – 24 Karat Hits – Pt. 1

You know, I just found out recently what the group’s name means after all these years. It’s semen related, and so I’ll leave it at that. I heard the explanation on my radio station 107.1 The Peak, after I believe they played a 10cc song, a later English group that took their name from the same reference.

Anyway, the Lovin’ Spoonful is a folk-rock group known for wacky onstage antics and lead singer John Sebastian’s mutton chops. They came up through the Greenwich Village scene in the mid-1960s and had strong ties to The Mamas and the Papas. This is a double album of hits, and though the memorable songs are very memorable there were only five that I counted from sides one and two. I started with side two as there is a big old scratch on it and its’ easier for me to run by the record player and give it a well-placed hit rather than get up to fix it if it got stuck. Side two started with “Summer in the City” and “Lovin’ You,” and ended with the wonderfully and overly orchestrated “Darling Be Home Soon,” which I played twice cause it’s just that good.

Side one included “Daydream” (What a day for a daydream… ) and “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind,” but for a double best-of album titled 24 Karat Hits, the other songs on sides one and two are far from gems. I wonder if there was a dispute about including one or two songs more than what would fit on one record, and as no one would give, they had to add lesser songs to justify the two-record set.

Not a bad workout though.