Tony Rivers - The Tony Rivers Collection, Vol. 2: Harmony Grass

 1. Tony Rivers - I Can Guarantee You Love  (3:02)

 2. Tony Rivers;The Castaways - Pantomome  (3:48)

 3. Tony Rivers;The Castaways - Turn of the Century  (2:41)

 4. Harmony Grass - Move in a Little Closer Baby  (2:43)

 5. Harmony Grass - Happiness Is Toy Shaped  (2:27)

 6. Harmony Grass - First Time Loving  (3:47)

 7. Harmony Grass - What a Groovy Day  (3:33)

 8. Harmony Grass - I Remember  (3:06)

 9. Harmony Grass - Summer Dreaming  (2:17)

 10. Harmony Grass - My Little Girl  (3:19)

 11. Harmony Grass - I've Seen to Dream  (3:16)

 12. Harmony Grass - (It Ain't Necessarily) Byrd Avenue  (2:00)

 13. Harmony Grass - Chattanooga Choo Choo  (2:23)

 14. Harmony Grass - Good Thing  (2:43)

 15. Harmony Grass - I Think of You  (2:14)

 16. Harmony Grass - Ballad of Michael  (2:37)

 17. Harmony Grass - Dooley, Tom  (2:20)

 18. Harmony Grass - What Do You Do When Love Dies  (2:47)

 19. Harmony Grass - Mrs. Ritchie  (3:45)

 20. Harmony Grass - Teach Me How  (2:26)

 21. Harmony Grass - Cecilia  (2:47)

Review by Richie Unterberger  

After leading off with Tony Rivers' & the ' 1968 single "I Can Guarantee You Love"/"Pantomime" and an outtake by the same group, the rest of this CD is devoted to the output of Rivers' subsequent outfit, Harmony Grass. On that Tony Rivers & the Castaways single, the A-side's "I Can Guarantee You Love" borrows heavily from the Cyrkle's "Turn Down Day" in its opening riff; the flip side's "Pantomime" is one of the closest approximations of the late-1960s Easybeats that you're likely to hear from a rival group. Harmony Grass was essentially a continuation of Rivers & the Castaways under a different name but with a similar focus on harmony-driven pop/rock, heavily influenced by the Beach Boys and American sunshine pop. Indeed, this might be considered the most respectable British sunshine pop of all -- not as much as a compliment as that might seem, since the band had such little competition. It's lightweight, if well-produced, late-1960s pop with some touches of sophistication. At their best, which was usually on Rivers' original tunes, they offered some decent, melodic pop/rock with intricate harmonies and melodies, as on "I've Seen to Dream" (which shows a 1966-era Beach Boys fixation), and "Summer Dreaming" and "My Little Girl" (which show their debt to the Beach Boys' slightly earlier, more fun-based sound). At its worst, it's cloyingly sweet and hollow -- music for true goodie-goodies, to be harsh. In general, it's too bouncy for its own good, and not imaginative enough to inspire consideration of Harmony Grass or Rivers as notable overlooked artists. The disc might well double as a Harmony Grass best-of, since it includes everything they did, containing both sides of all of their singles, plus all the non-45 tracks from their sole album, 1969's This Is Us.

***

Thanks to Cor ..