Although Memphis Sam Pearlman has lauded Rock's occasional awesome capacity for speaking without words, a more elusive standard has emerged for measuring rock achievement: speaking with words. Rock has always spoken through a tremendous array of perfectly appropriate "cliches." But that's just a basic ground for novel paths in use of the mere word and its extension and transcendence. Here is where The Innocence sums it all up. Mairzy Doats is a readymade classic.
Mere words reduced to mere sounds regrouped into new mere words which are somehow more poetically evocative than the originals. Here The Innocence speaks with somebody else's speech composed of just a pile of word play. Just playful as a silly kids' song, it has been allowed to crystallize into a monument to non serious word play. And now, after John Lennon's great books have validated just this type of "game."
The Innocence has come to resurrect Mairzy Doats and give Rock an addition so perfect for Rock and so long inevitable. And There's Got To Be A Word (Beyond the Meaning of Love) is even more than this. Groping for new words which mean more than words which already mean a whole bunch! Just look at the most obvious gem of all. The Innocence: you can even dig the pseudo-plural name of the group.
by Richard Meltzer
Tracks
1. There's Got To Be A Word (Beyond The Meaning Of Love) (D Ciccone, Jimmy Wisner) - 2:25
2. Mairzy Doats (Drake, Hoffman, Livingston, Jimmy Wisner) - 1:14
3. Someone Got Caught In My Eye (Andreoli, Poncia Jr, Anders, Poncia) - 1:59
4. All I Ask (D Ciccone, Jimmy Wisner) - 2:48
5. Your Show Is Over (D Ciccone, Jimmy Wisner) - 2:45
6. A Lifetime Lovin' You (Andreoli, Poncia Jr, Anders, Poncia) - 2:21
7. Whence I Make Thee Mine (Andreoli, Poncia, Cordell, Jimmy Wisner) - 1:44
8. It's Not Gonna Take Too Long (Andreoli, Poncia Jr, Anders, Poncia) - 2:05
9. All I Do Is Think About You (Linde, Bloom Jimmy Wisner) - 2:30
10.I Don't Wanna Be Around You (Ripp, Andreoli, Poncia Jr, Anders, Poncia) - 2:08
11.Do You Believe In Magic (J Sebastian, Jimmy Wisner) - 2:23
12 I Don't Wanna Be Around You (Bonus Track, Single Version) (Ripp, Andreoli, Poncia Jr, Anders, Poncia) - 2:08
13.There's Got To Be A Word (Beyond The Meaning Of Love) ( Bonus Track, Single Version) (D Ciccone, Jimmy Wisner) - 2:24
The Innocence
*Peter Anders
*Vini Poncia
*Artie Ripp
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THE INNOCENCE The Innocence (Rare original 1967 US Kama Sutra(KLP-8059) label 11-track vinyl LP - essentially a vehicle for writer-producers Pete Anders and Vinnie Poncia, including the hit single 'There's Got To Be A Word' and version of label mates the Lovin' Spoonful's 'Do You Believe In Magic'. The West Coast was definitely the only place other than London, to be in during 1967...this LP supports that notion.
ReplyDeleteThe Innocence was a studio-only creation of songwriters/producers Anders & Poncia. American pop group formed in Providence, Rhode Island. The group's members were Peter Andreoli (aka Peter Anders) and Vincent Poncia, Jr., and had previously had a hit single together (with a third member, Norman Marzano) under the name The Videls with a song called "Mr. Lonely", which hit #73 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1960. After a few further single releases, The Videls folded, and Anders and Poncia began writing tunes with Phil Spector for groups such as The Ronettes and The Crystals.
Recording under the name The Trade Winds in 1965, they released several singles and scored two more U.S. hits, "New York's a Lonely Town" (#32, 1965), but switched to Kama Sutra Records two years later. Label MD Artie Ripp encouraged Andreoli and Poncia to work with other songwriters, notably Don Ciccone of the Critters. One of his compositions, "There's Got To Be A Word!", marked the debut of Innocence, a studio-only act featuring Andreoli and Poncia. (Ripp cheekily included himself in attendant publicity photographs.)
In 1966 they changed their name to The Innocence, recorded a full-length eponymous album, and had two further hit singles, "There's Got to Be a Word!" (U.S. #34, 1966) and "Mairzy Doats" (U.S. #75, 1967). Following the LP release the duo released another album under the name Anders & Poncia on Warner Bros. Records in 1969, and shortly after broke up. Poncia later went on to produce material for artists such as Ringo Starr, Melissa Manchester and Kiss.
See: ANDERS & PONCIA DISCOGRAPHY
http://peteranders.net/discography/
This is one of the best of the Bubblegum Eara. Thank you so much!!!
ReplyDeletei had this and could never get past Mairzy Doats. Bruce
ReplyDeleteThanks again for all the great music.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful 2013!
~yoeshka
Thanks a lot Marios! I really like this band. very nice.
ReplyDeletePlease reupload the 'free text'
ReplyDeleteJaimin Rajani, "The Innocence" reUp..
ReplyDeleteWhat instruments were used on this song?
ReplyDelete