The Beau Brummels - Turn Around: The Complete Recordings 1964-1970 (2021)

Often credited as early architects of the San Francisco sound, the Beau Brummels found success right out of the gate with their 1964 debut single, "Laugh, Laugh." With its autumnal folk-pop jangle and moody melodic hooks, the song bore enough resemblance to the burgeoning British Invasion that many fans mistook these young Americans for invading Brits. Defined by the partnership of Sal Valentino (vocals, tambourine) and Ron Elliott (guitar, vocals, songwriter), the influential group went on to notch a small clutch of mid-'60s hits like "Just a Little" and "You Tell Me Why," while anticipating both the folk-rock and country-rock genres ahead of better-known bands, especially the Byrds. By the late '60s, the Brummels' mainstream popularity had all but died, and yet they went on to release their two best albums in 1967's enchanting Triangle and its 1968 follow-up, the eclectic, countrified Bradley's Barn. A pair of reunion albums were made in 1975 and 2013, but they failed to match the exceptional quality of the group's original 1960s run. That is the period covered here on the exhaustive eight-disc set Turn Around: Complete Recordings 1964-1970, from archival deep-divers Cherry Red Records. Generously padding their five Autumn/Warner Bros. records is an absolute banquet of singles, demos, alternate mixes, and assorted rarities that reveal every facet of the band, from their Baroque and psych-pop leanings to the tight beat-folk of their early days. As the label boasts, this truly is the last word on the Brummels. More often than not, the music is excellent and it's easy to see why the band is still held in such esteem after all these years. ~ Timothy Monger