Curt Boettcher & Friends - Looking For The Sun (2019) @ Flac / Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Try For The Sun (2023) @ Flac

As a songwriter, producer, or vocalist, Curt Boettcher had a hand in some of the most unique and memorable songs of the late '60s, whether it was the bubblegum of Tommy Roe's Sweet Pea," the baroque pop of the Association's "Along Comes Mary," or the psychedelic weirdness of Sagittarius' "My World Fell Down." He was also behind the scenes on lots of songs and albums that didn't crack the public consciousness at the time but later became treasures to lovers of delicate and harmonious pop, the main example being the Millennium's Begin. Looking for the Sun focuses on a period just after his successes with the Association and Tommy Roe when he was set up with a production company and unlimited studio time. It gave the 22-year-old fledgling producer and talent scout plenty of opportunity to work on perfecting his sound while also looking for pop hits. With a talented cadre of cohorts, including his partner in Our Productions Victoria Wilson, Boettcher worked with a wide array of artists from different segments of the pop spectrum. Gathered up here are cuts from girl groups (the Bootiques,) Roy Orbison-style crooners (Keith Whitley), British folk-rockers (Jonathan Moore), and garage bands (Action Unlimited), along with a few cuts featuring Boettcher himself (both sides of an early Sagittarius single "Another Time" and a song from Summer's Children, an avant-pop duo with Wilson). The main thing all the artists had in common is that none of them had any hits despite Boettcher's best efforts. It does make for a fine collection of left-field pop, hidden gems, and weird moments though. The best tracks are where his lush and echoey production techniques meet up with first-rate songs and interesting singers to create magic. Cindy Malone's "You Were Near Me" is a haunting slice of bouffant pop made special by the wooly production that makes the song sound like a train barreling through a tunnel, Summer's Children's "Milk and Honey" gets spooky thanks to the way Boettcher's and Wilson's vocals blend like demon-eyed twins, Action Unlimited's minor-key garage rock ballad "My Heart Cries Out" features some disembodied, swirling echo, and "Another Time" is otherworldly baroque pop sung by Boettcher with elfin charm. His more straightforward songs and productions are just as satisfying; the Spector-sized sound of Ray Whitley's "Take Back Your Mind" is powerfully huge, "I Didn't Ever Know" by Jonathan Moore is a jangling slice of heartbreak folk, and the Bootiques' "Did You Get Your Fun" is a frothy bit of innocent girl pop. Confusingly, there are a few songs that don't have a tangible connection to Boettcher, but they are mostly in the same vein as his work (Eddie Hodges' "Shadows & Reflections") or by friends of his (both sides of an early Sandy Salisbury single), so it doesn't disrupt the flow sonically. Despite that bit of archival weirdness, Looking for the Sun is a fascinating, quite listenable, and often brilliant survey of an undocumented section of Boettcher's career that's well worth investigating.

Curt Boettcher & Friends - Looking For The Sun (2019)

1. Cindy Malone - You Were Near Me

2. Ray Whitley - Take Back Your Mind

3. Summer’s Children - Milk and Honey

4. The Bootiques - Did You Get Your Fun

5. Keith Colley - Enamorado

6. Keith Colley - Shame, Shame

7. Jonathan Moore - I Didn’t Ever Know

8.  Eddie Hodges - Shadows and Reflexions

9.  Action Unlimited - My Heart Cries Out

10. Action Unlimited - Thinking to Myself

11. Ray Whitley - Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

12. Ray Whitley - Lorraine

13. Jonathan Moore - London Bridge 

14. Sandy - The Best Thing

15. Sandy - All I Really Have Is a Memory

16. The Bootiques - Mr. Man of the World

17. Gordon Alexander - Looking for the Sun

18. Gordon Alexander - Miss Mary 

19. Gordon Alexander - Windy Wednesday

20. Sagittarius - Another Time

21. Sagittarius - Pisces 

This is the first compilation of Boettcher , after the fan-made Complete Singles Collection from a few years ago. This compilation focused on some of the lesser known singles he worked on, as well as classics such as Summer’s Children and The Bootiques. Among the highlights is an unreleased tune by Cindy Malone, both sides of a Sandy Salisbury (ex-Millennium) single credited to just Sandy, Eddie Hodges expected rendition of “Shadows & Reflexions” (he was friends with songwriter Tandyn Almer), and some tracks from Gordon Alexander’s sole LP.

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If a fan of the sunshine pop scene in the U.S. during the 1960s were to pull back the curtains of some of the more innovative, interesting, and odd records, they were likely to find the impish hand of one Curt Boettcher helming the controls. The Association's "Along Comes Mary," Sagittarius' "My World Fell Down," and the Millennium's Begin album are the best examples of his genius blends of high vocal harmonies, Baroque melodies, and intricately played post-Pet Sounds orchestration. During this era, he worked with a core group of musicians, and none of them were more talented than Sandy Salisbury. His pure-as-a-Hawaiian-beach singing was a key part of the Boettcher sound, and not only was he a member of the Millennium, but the producer used him on a variety of sessions for artists like Tommy Roe and Paul Revere & the Raiders. Salisbury was also a strong and prolific songwriter, and the duo worked on writing and demoing tracks at a furious pace for a few years in the late '60s. Almost none of the songs were released, partially due to Salisbury's 1968 album Sandy being canceled by a failing label, but also because Boettcher conspired to hold them back in case he wanted to use them for future projects. Those projects didn't happen, and Salisbury quit the music business thinking that his songs weren't good enough. Decades later, spurred on by revived interest in both sunshine pop and Boettcher, the Sandy album was finally released and numerous collections of demos and unreleased tunes hit the market, proving that his songs were actually just fine. It's been a few years since a collection like this has been released; Sundazed dug into the vault once more and extracted a small chunk of work the two had done in their short time together. Try for the Sun collects a batch of finished songs, acoustic demos, and unreleased tracks that run the gamut from frothy novelty numbers, introspective ballads, and gushing love songs to weird psychedelic interludes. The instrumentation is minimal on most of them, putting the focus on the otherworldly vocals. Both Boettcher and Salisbury possess high and clear voices that sound untouched by care or wear. When they sing in harmony, it's a sound that no other act of the time, or since, has quite managed to capture. Their singing gives silly little pop songs like "The Sun Is Shining Now" or "Oops" an extra dimension of oddness, makes simple, tough garage rockers ("Spell on Me") go down like honey, helps paper over the sometimes less than profound lyrics, and generally makes them sound like the featured performers at a coffeehouse located somewhere on one of the rings of Saturn. Even when the songs are uncomplicated ditties, like the title track or the happily sappy "She Brought Love to My Life," their voices make it weird and wonderful, like an elfin version of the Everly Brothers. Most of the set sticks to this kind of template, but there is one song where the music is as left-field as their vocals, namely a completely goofy take on "Baby Please Don't Go" that substitutes electronic noises and drones for anything remotely bluesy. It's so different from the rest of the album that it makes one wonder whether there are any more treasures like this in the vault waiting to be discovered. Apart from that, what Sundazed did dig up and shine some light on here is fascinating, and a worthwhile addition to the flood of Boettcher and Salisbury archival releases of the past that have sought to give them the credit they deserve as crafters of sublime sunshine pop.

Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher  - Try For The Sun (2023)

 01. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Oops 

 02. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - The Sun Is Shining Now 

 03. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Love Is Good 

 04. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Next Day Sad 

 05. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Soft Word 

 06. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Our Minds Keep Moving On 

 07. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Try For The Sun 

 08. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Baby, Please Don't Go 

 09. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Spell On Me 

 10. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Opus To A Friend 

 11. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Really And Truly 

 12. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - She Brought Love To My Life 

 13. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Sweet Tangerine 

 14. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Rainbow, Rainbow 

 15. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Off The Cuff Bridge (Cecily) 

 16. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Wishin' 

 17. Sandy Salisbury & Curt Boettcher - Love Divided By Two 

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