Search - Grass Roots :: The Grass Roots: Greatest Hits, Vol. 1

Nice Compilation Of Grass Roots Early Hits!

Barron Laycock | Temple, New Hampshire United States | 03/06/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although some Amazon reviewers seem to consider the Grass Roots less than an authentic "real" band with consistent membership, those of us that saw them in various venues on tour in the late sixties and early seventies were sure fooled! I bumped into them in an airport restaurant sitting with one-time megastar Dion in the early seventies when they were still touring. Wonder where these reviewers was back then? My guess is that they were still busy stealing marbles from older brothers. This is a great collection by one of the most successful groups in the mid to late 1960s, and they were best known for a series of counterculture songs with provocative lyrics, especially in their monster hit, "Let's Live For Today". Perhaps no other single song so well epitomizes the sixties notion rejecting mainstream convention as does this song. It, along with Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock" and Scott MacKenzie's "San Francisco" became an anthem for the youth culture that sprang up in opposition to the stultifying conformity of older Americans. Many of their other songs like "Where Were You When I Needed You", "My Midnight Confessions", and "Temptation Eyes" were more conventional love songs. This is a great compilation of their music, and provides the listener with a terrific sampling of just why they were as popular and as successful as they became in the boiling cauldron of sixties music as they did. Enjoy!"

Nice

running_man | Chesterfield Twp., MI | 01/15/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is nice. If you're ever in the mood for something nice, this is nice.The Grass Roots came about in pretty much the same way as The Monkees... a studio manufactured hit machine, and they had a comparable degree of success. Like the Monkees, their songs were pure pop. Nothing about them could be considered radical or offensive. They were a bit more edgy than Gary Puckett and The Union Gap, and not as edgy as Three Dog Night. In other words, they were in the middle of the middle of the center of circa 1970 pop music.With one exception... their gift to the Summer of Love, fitting in neatly with Sgt. Peppers, 'San Franciscan Nights' and flower power, their classic 'Let's Live For Today'. This one song was my single motivation for purchasing this CD, and it's worth every penny. More succinctly than any other composition, 'Let's Live For Today' (which rose to number 8 on the national charts in June of 1967, that year of years for rock music) epitomizes the consciousness of the counterculture, espousing lyrics such as, "When I think of all the worries, people seem to find, and how they're in a hurry to complicate their minds, by chasing after money, and dreams that can't come true, I'm glad that we are different, we've better things to do... one, two threeeee, four... sha - la - la - la - lala, live for today...". Yeah, that's it! Isn't it odd how the generation that supposedly aspired to such a creed became the most materialistic generation the world has seen? But we can't blame The Grass Roots for that, now can we? This CD does contain other hits of note, especially 'Sooner Or Later' (#9 in 1971), 'Temptation Eyes' (#15 in 1970), and 'The River Is Wide' (#31 in 1969). All three songs are immediately recognizable, though not everyone would associate them with the 'Let's Live For Today' band. This is perhaps due to the fact that The Grass Roots featured two talented lead singers, Rob Grill and Warren Entner, and even had leads sung by Dennis Provisor ('Walking Through the Country') as well. Aside from the 4 aforementioned songs the best song on the CD is 'Feelings', which was released as a single in 1968, but never broke the Top 100. It's just a fun song to listen to... a very unique and changing sound, partly attributable to an enticing use of vibes. Lesser known Top 40 hits also included here are 'Where Were You When I Needed You' (the band's first hit, rising to #28 in July of 1966), 'Walking Through the Country' (#44 in 1970), 'Two Divided By Love' (#16 in 1971), and 'Bella Linda' (#28 in 1969). One other song, 'This Precious Love' rounds out the disc. Though all of these songs are, of course, nice, the only memorable one is 'Bella Linda', conspicuous for its shameless imitation of the early Bee Gee's sound.There are virtually no liner notes, and those that are included are rather poorly written and confusing. There is one picture of the band, offered on the front cover. Each of the ten songs, produced for Top 40 AM radio consumption, is predictably 3 minutes or less, meaning the disc is well under 30 minutes total. But remember, you get 'Let's Live For Today', so you simply can't be disappointed."

One of the Best!

Melvin Hunt | Cleveland,, Texas United States | 07/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD shows why the Grass Roots were one of the biggest bands
of the 1070's. This group sold number 1 selling records and sold out concerts all over the country.Buy this CD and you will be able to enjoy the excellent sound of the Grass Roots. This album features such hits as "Bella Linda","The River is Wide",Walking
Through the Country"and "Two Divided BY Love" as well as other hits recorded and sold by this group. Buy this CD and you will become a fan as well.You will never forget this band."