The Mojo Men:Sit Down...It's the Mojo Men (US, 1966/67)

An 18-song compilation of material from their 1966-68 hitch with Reprise, combining several singles with five tracks from an unreleased album. This fully documents the second phase of the band, when they added drummer Jan Errico and changed from a second rate garage band into a better (but not fully first-rate) pop/folk-rock group. This isn't half bad for the genre, but you can see why they never really distinguished themselves from the San Francisco crowd. It's way too pop to be associated with the Haight-Ashbury scene, a little too weird to be compared to, say, the Association (with the occasional sudden blasts of psychedelic fuzz guitar and baroque production), not as accomplished as the Mamas & the Papas, and gussied up with too many conventional pop string arrangements. Van Dyke Parks arranged a few of the singles, including their lone hit, "Sit Down, I Think I Love You" (which is here). Most of the material was written by Errico and bassist Jim Alaimo.

SIT DOWN PLEASE...

The Mojo Men: Whys Ain't Supposed to Be (US, 1965/66)

This 21-track disc covers the Mojo Men's first incarnation, when they were a pop-garage group, not the pop-folk-rock act they would evolve into when Jan Errico joined. "She's My Baby" and "Dance With Me" made some noise regionally, "Dance With Me" making the middle of the national charts, but Autumn Records folded before the group got the chance to do any albums. Assembled from a handful of Autumn 45s and many previously unissued recordings, this could be considered the Mojo Men's lost album. But it's really not worth getting excited about, even if you're a garage fan (*). The thumping, monotonous drums and rinky-dink organ patterns can grate, and worse, the material is often so thin as to be puerile. Juvenile lyrics are a mainstay of many garage recordings, but the Mojo Men's compositions could be downright annoying. Their emulations of the Rolling Stones, Kinks, and Animals were pale, though some promise could be heard in a few moodier, folk-rock influenced cuts.

By request, some time ago, another hangover from yesterday, a "jevy" night.
Enjoy yourselfs with some info in the mint-time.
What about the WCPAEB? like em dontch you? coming soon all their lps, ripped in mono/stereo.
(*) Agree with this ? no....mmm

AUTUMN SESSIONS

The Mojo Men: Not Too Old to Start Cryin': The Lost 1966 Masters (US, 1966)

BAND INFO

One of the earliest San Francisco rock bands, the Mojo Men had local hits on the Autumn label with "Dance With Me," "She's My Baby," and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Off the Hook" in the mid-'60s. Their early sides displayed a raunchy but thin approach taken from the mold of British Invasion groups like the Stones and Them.

One of the earliest San Francisco rock bands, the Mojo Men had local hits on the Autumn label with "Dance With Me," "She's My Baby," and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Off the Hook" in the mid-'60s. Their early sides displayed a raunchy but thin approach taken from the mold of British Invasion groups like the Stones and Them.

ALBUM REVIEW
For a minor mid-'60s San Francisco garage/folk-rock/psych group with very limited national success, the Mojo Men certainly recorded a hell of a lot of material. This compilation contains no less than two dozen previously unreleased 1966 recordings, cut in the uneasy period between when their original label, Autumn, had bit the dust, and they had yet to release tracks with their next company, Reprise. It's no less than the fourth CD of material from the group that's been issued, with no duplication between the discs. For that reason, even some enthusiastic '60s/San Francisco collectors might wonder whether it's only of peripheral, completist-only interest. It's definitely not, however; a little surprisingly, it has much of the best stuff they ever did, with only a few of the songs that would be re-recorded at Reprise. Far more than their earlier, more garage/British Invasion-inclined recordings prior to the entrance of drummer/singer Jan Errico into the lineup, it has a folk-rock/slightly psychedelic feel somewhat akin to the pre-Grace Slick work of Jefferson Airplane. Too, it's nonetheless less precious and slick than their more polished (if occasionally fine), baroque rock-influenced Reprise material. Bittersweet, wistful folk-rock with mild garage and psychedelic tinges (and more than a touch of the Beau Brummels) is the main vibe on this strong set of mostly original material, highlighted by the ones on which Errico's stirring, yearning vocals -- the best qualities she brought into the band from her former outfit, the Vejtables -- are prominent. While some of the tunes are rather run of the mill, the best of them are really good, including the Beau Brummels-style "Is Our Love Gone"; "Not Too Old to Start Cryin'," represented by two versions (and later redone for Reprise); and, above all, "You Didn't Even Say Goodbye," where Errico's singing is a match for Signe Anderson at her best. Even the oddball cover arrangements of "She Cried" (formerly a hit for Jay & the Americans) and the late-'50s Bell Notes rocker "I've Had It" are cool. You could even make an argument for this as the best Mojo Men CD, despite the absence of their only two songs to make appreciable national noise, "Dance with Me" and "Sit Down, I Think I Love You."

LINK: DANCE WITH ME