Friday, December 8, 2006

Fun & Games - Elephant Candy - UNI - 1969


hey all :

here is a great pop sike band from legendary producer Gary Zekely. he also produced yellow balloon , the clique & others.
i love this LP , there is a great beach boys cover of "dont worry baby" which is one of my fave BB trax & they do it justice !
title track is hilarious , one can only imagine what they are refering to , lol.
this is a must have LP to any pop psych fan.
and as an extra bonus "for me" -- along with "the clique" , this stuff originates from texas , where i reside.

* for fans of : the turtles , the clique , spanky & our gang , yellow balloon , left banke

here is more info than u need :

"Genius harmony pop from Fun & Games -- a group who only cut one album in their brief career, but it was a doozy! The set's got a simple, honest sort of approach to Sunshine Pop -- a bit less polished than most of the California crowd, but still with a similar use of larger arrangements in pursuit of a greater vision. Gary Zekley is the real genius here -- as he handled all production and most of the songwriting -- in a way that's instantly personal, yet which also has the best blend of dreamy modes that we love from other groups of the generation. Fun & Games almost have the charm of Spanky & Our Gang, but without any of their "old timey" sort of gimmicks -- and the group nicely trade between simple catchy pop tunes, and others that have a more introspective, deeper feel."

"The Fun and Games' Elephant Candy is an exemplary harmony pop and bubblegum album dating back to the late '60s. Its popularity today (especially among soft pop collectors, who have helped pushed copies of the LP into the upper strata of the marketplace) can be traced directly to the group's involvement with über-talented Los Angeles singer/songwriter/producer Gary Zekley. Zekley (who passed away in 1996) had previously struck gold as a songwriter/producer for a group called the Yellow Balloon, co-writing eight of that group's 11 LP tracks, including the hit song "Yellow Balloon." Zekley had already written or co-written (often with his songwriting partner, Mitchell Bottler) numerous soft pop hits, including "Like a Summer Rain" for Jan & Dean and the original version of "Superman" by the Clique (later covered by R.E.M.). By 1968, Zekley's success had led him to be introduced to a California-by-way-of-Texas group called the Fun and Games by UNI Records president Russ Regan. Unlike several of Zekley's groups -- which were mostly a vehicle for Zekley and Bottler's songs, and mostly utilized session musicians -- the Fun and Games were a real group. Nevertheless, Zekley took control of their destiny, and ended up producing the group's sole album, 1969's Elephant Candy, co-writing seven of the 12 songs featured on the album. Elephant Candy wasn't as successful as Zekley's previous efforts, however, and spawned just one Top 100 hit, "Grooviest Girl in the World." Today, many soft pop and bubblegum fans like to point out the song's unintentionally hilarious lyrics, during which the singer sums up his excessive compliments to the groovy girl by stating, "And I'm a guy with impeccable taste" (as if she should be flattered that such an amazing guy would be tossing compliments her way -- such an ego!). It is rather unfortunate that this album hasn't been reissued in the U.S. on compact disc, although "Grooviest Girl" (and other tracks) have appeared on numerous compilation albums, including 25 All-Time Greatest Bubblegum Hits." -- All Music Guide


ALL TRAX FROM WAX -- transferred by da` shaman

  • FUN & GAMES - ELEPHANT CANDY - UNI - 1969 - mp3 @ 320 kbps - 57 MB
  • [ includes front/back cover high rez scans ! ]

  • 1 - SADIE
  • 2 - GROOVIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD
  • 3 - CLOSE TO CARMEL
  • 4 - TOPANGA CANYON ROAD (ALBUM VERSION)
  • 5 - TUESDAY , TUESDAY
  • 6 - GOTTA SAY GOODBYE
  • 7 - DONT WORRY BABY
  • 8 - ELEPHANT CANDY
  • 9 - SOMETHING I WROTE
  • 10 - WAY SHE SMILES
  • 11 - IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE WIND


download -- here --

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks Shaman,good stuff.Niiiice!
Gotta be the best lookin` blog!!

Anonymous said...

Hi!!
Once again,another good album!!
I didn´t know anything about this band,but I must say there are a bunch of nice tunes!!The first time I heard Sadie,I felt in love with this song,and the cover of don´t worry baby,is very very good. Thanks again man,people like you help us to discover and remember THE REAL GOOD MUSIC.
Best wishes
HAMMERHEAD

Anonymous said...

Great stuff! Love Fun & Games, Spanky etc. Look forward to see what else you post.
Thankyou
Michael C.

Anonymous said...

A thousand thanks, I never heard about (until now), about this Gary Zekley production :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks Shaman, Elephant Candy! cant help but smile everytime i listen Cool Song its rotting my brain but its addictive

akashaman said...

"one bite in the moonlight , you`ll be lovin me for evermore : give me some of that elephant candy"

nahh , its totally non addictive tho !
glad ya diggin it

ha

aka`

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the beautiful music!

Anonymous said...

¡Que bien! ya lo escuche, al igual que Yellow Balloon y no estan nada mal, ¿donde podria encontrar el disco de "the clique"?

zappahead said...

Definatley beachboys/turtles in this...excellent stuff..thanks for the share.

Anonymous said...

"It Must Have Been the Wind", a forgotten gem! A wonderful post, thank you for the link!

Unknown said...

it's a PEARL. Now i want the compact or the eLePant candy...