i have tried a bit to find the magic in the turtle's beyond the hits a few times but have not.i even bought the record produced by ray davies(as i am a huge kinks fan) but the copy was pretty beat up. will dedicate today to listening to it on spotify as a drive around a bit.
I have an orig White Whale Wooden Head Lp that is in great shape and sounds fantastic. For being comprised of un-used and undubbed tracks, it's pretty solid as a listening experience. Hope you enjoy it, please let us know what you think. I also have the Solid Zinc 2 cd set, which was quite useful when trying to dig deeper 15 or so years ago. I recently bought the double Lp set on Sire from the early 70s (the one compiled by Howard and Mark with their comments on every track included on an insert). I got this one off discogs specifically for the hard to find song called "Like It Or Not", which has become my favorite Turtles song over the last year. I also have about a dozen 7" singles on White Whale, but don't we all?
I have enjoyed the recorded music of the Turtles since back in the day. Had 3 encounters with them: Saw the Turtles in the late 60's at University of Maryland - they were at the top of their game. Flo and Eddie at a club in Huntington Beach, CA. in the 70's They were at the topic of their satirical peak. I remember them doing a "commercial" for a feminine hygiene product endorsed by a well known female singer who has had "relationships" with many male rockers. Cringeworthy now, like early Howard Stern. "Turtles" at Happy Together Tour about ten years ago. Sad to see them and other acts reduced to playing nostalgia act to "fans" who only knew their top hits. It's even sadder now to hear Howie is too ill to even do that. Apparently though it is a back problem and not something more dire. BTW here are his thoughts on the death of some fellow rockers: CRR Interview - Howard Kaylan: A Turtle Comes Out Of His Shell
I’m a big fan. They were obviously appreciated by other musicians because they sang back up for everyone. Zappa was a demanding task master and he invited them to work with him. They had a great collaboration that would not have lasted if Mark and Howard didn’t have the chops. Once you discover there is more to them than Happy Together their music is a gift that keeps on giving.
Al Nichol unfortunately wound up with a terrible drinking problem. Has had a few DUIs and as a result is in poor health. I was also disappointed no thoughts from him in the Solid Zinc set. He was my favorite Turtle when I was a kid. I've chatted a few times with Mark via email over the years. Great guy.
I still find it hard to believe that there never were any outtakes/unreleased tracks for the Flo & Eddie years -- and no official CD release of all the "Dirty Duck" songs (except for the few on that vinyl 3-album set) after all this time. All the F&E albums -- except that weird reggae album -- are extremely solid.
In the fall of 75 flo and eddie were support for Stephen stills on his tour. We got in a couple of the shows on their guest list. I recall them joining stills for Judy blue eyes. Stills was so impressed he used them on his next release. There's a video of their opening set from NJ on Wolfgang's vault.
I was never a 'fan' of the Turtles. But they were 'special' on the Mothers- Live record. 1st time I heard it I remember how shocked, and delighted, I was when they broke into Happy Together!
Great article. Thanks for the Heads Up. I plan on getting his book. I wonder what kind of Bad Stuff Brian Jones was up to. Anyone know?
Sounds very good as do Golden Hits and More Golden Hits that were RSD limited issues. Definitely a plus that Howard and Mark own the master tapes and they were used for all the reissues.
I don’t own any Turtles whatsoever so that would be a nice way of getting them all, as the CD boxset is expensive and OOP now, and I can stream the bonus tracks until I get individual CDs. But yah, all 6 of those albums in one place on vinyl sounds great
Always loved this goof. The clip is from a 1976 Martin Mull special. That's future Cars Greg Hawkes on clarinet. Pearls of wisdom - Sometimes it's a fine line between Joni and Yoko. Flo & Eddie - Nikki Hoi
I own it and I hate to say it, especially being a huge fan of Howard's "Turtles hits" voice, but that album stinks with a capital "S".
^^^ I mean, seriously? Lousy production and the songs (for the most part), just have no real staying power. The magic voice is sadly fading ...
The six Sundazed CDs are great since they include the single only releases as bonus tracks. I especially like the two Rhino CDs 20 Greatest Hits and Turtle Wax Greatest Hits Vol 2.