The Appletree Theatre - Playback (2009)

Appletree Theatre was the group name of brothers John and Terry Boylan, starting in 1968. They made one album, Playback, which attracted cult attention, after which John became a producer of, among other people, the Eagles, and Terry became a solo artist under the name Terence Boylan.

Members: John Boylan - Vocal, Terry Boylan - Vocals, Larry Coryell - Guitar,  Eric Gale - Guitar, Herb Lovelle - Vocals,  Chuck Rainey - Bass, Chuck Israels - Bass Guitar,  Paul Griffin - Piano, Buddy Saltzman - Drums, Michael Equine - Drums, Zal Yanovsky - Guitar               

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The Appletree Theatre  - Playback (2009) 

Review by Richie Unterberger

Playback is divided into three acts, an overture, and an epilogue, with the full-length songs linked by dialogue and snatches of music, sometimes given distorted sonic treatment. That's a style that became trendy during the Sgt. Pepper era, but really wasn't strictly necessary for a set such as this, which in the main consists of fairly conventional songs mixing folk-rock, pop/rock, light psychedelia, and orchestrated sunshine pop. The music is pleasant and fitfully unusual, with the Beach Boys-ish psych-lite of "Hightower Square" recalling the better moments of Sagittarius. There are also lilting, folky, pensive tunes like "Saturday Morning" and "I Wonder If Louise Is Home" that would probably find favor with fans of mildly adventurous 1960s pop/rockers like Emitt Rhodes. Obviously the interludes and jarring bits of country-pop and soul-rock were intended as components of a quasi-psychedelic mosaic. But they often end up distracting from the group's forte, which is nice, dreamy, bittersweet psychedelic-tinged folk/rock/pop, as heard on the closing "What a Way to Go."

 01. The Appletree Theatre - ...In The Beginning... 

 02. The Appletree Theatre - Hightower Square 

 03. The Appletree Theatre - Lullaby 

 04. The Appletree Theatre - Saturday Morning 

 05. The Appletree Theatre - Nevertheless It Was Italy 

 06. The Appletree Theatre - I Wonder If Louise Is Home 

 07. The Appletree Theatre - Chez Louise 

 08. The Appletree Theatre - E-Train (The Jello Song) 

 09. The Appletree Theatre - Meanwhile 

 10. The Appletree Theatre - Brother Speed 

 11. The Appletree Theatre - You're The Biggest Thing In My Life 

 12. The Appletree Theatre - Don't Blame It On Your Wife 

 13. The Appletree Theatre - The Sorry State Of Staying Awake 

 14. The Appletree Theatre - Barefoot Boy 

 15. The Appletree Theatre - Lotus Flower 

 16. The Appletree Theatre - What A Way To Go (Yes)

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