Genre: rock
Rating: 4 stars ****
Title: Plain Jane
Company: Hobbit
Catalog: H.B. 5000
Year: 1969
Country/State: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG
Comments: promo sticker on front cover
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5384
Price: $120.00
Wow !!! I'd only seen one short review of this obscurity and it essentially labeled it as lame country-rock ... Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
First off, other than what's on the liner notes, good luck finding out much about this outfit. The line up featured singers/guitarists Don Gleicher and Barry Ray, and brothers David and Jerry Schoenfeld (drums and bass/keyboards respectively). This is speculation on my part, but I suspect the band originally hailed from New Mexico. That's based on the fact that a 'Don Gleicher' was a member of a pair of mid-1960s New Mexico-based bands - The Monkeymen and The Piggy Bank. (Turns out I was correct - see below.)
Recorded at Hollywood's I.D. Sound Studios with Les Brown Jr. handling the production duties, 1969's "Plain Jane" was nothing short of fabulous. Featuring ten original tracks with all four members contributing material, the album showcased a mesmerizing blend of late-1960s country-rock, pop, and psych influences. Full of killer songs and breath-taking, slightly stoned vocals, this overlooked gem spent weeks on my CD carousel (yes I made a CDR copy for personnel use). Hard to pick standouts since all ten tracks were worth hearing, but the opener 'Who's Drivin' This Train' sounded like Arlo Gurthrie and the Grateful Dead having graduated from the John Philips top-40 songwriting academy, while 'Not the Sam' combined CSN&Y vocal harmonies with some ballistic drumming and a cool psych feel. If I had any complaints, it was that these guys lacked a distinctive sound of their own, though in borrowing bits and pieces from other groups they came up with a wonderful aural stew. They also created one of those albums that was a blast to crank up and play spot-the-influences. Okay, I'll add that 'Num-Bird' was too country-flavored for my tastes. 'You Can't Make It Alone' was what post-Monkees Michael Nesmith always yearned to sound like. 'That's How Much' sported an odd mock-English feel - hum, kinda' what Davy Jones always wanted to sound like ... 'Short Fairy Tale' added some tasty jazzy guitar licks to the mix. And that was just side. All hyperbole aside this is a classic lost album just waiting to be discovered !!!
"Plain
Jane" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Who's Drivin' This Train (C. Ray) - 3:55
2.) You Can't Make It Alone (Jerry Schoenfeld) - 4:19
3.) That's How Much (Don Gleicher) - 2:08
4.) Short Fairy Tale (Don Gleicher) - 2:19
5.) Not the Same (Jerry Schoenfeld) - 4:20
(side
2)
1.) Num-Bird (C. Ray) - 2:24
2.) What Can You Do? (Jerry Schoenfeld) - 2:50
3.) Fire Hydrant (C. Ray) - 4:08
4.) Silence (Don Gleicher) - 2:31
5.) Mrs. Que (C. Ray) - 3:36
Poking around on the internet I came up with an address for a Don Gleicher. Lo and behold it was the same one ... Mr. Gleicher was kind enough to tell me a little bit about the band:
Scott:
I am, in fact, that Don Gleicher. Jerry, David, and myself were from New
Mexico; Barry was from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma as I recall.
I left the band shortly after the album was completed and have not seen any
of the others since. I've heard that Jerry moved to Mancos, Colorado, but I
have no idea where the others are.
Just for your information, we had actually recorded another entire album
prior to that one. Unfortunately, there was a financial dispute between
management and the studio, and we never got our tapes back. I thought I had
at least one really nice tune on that one that I've long since forgotten.
That very somber tune called "Silence" (as I recall - haven't
listened to it in years) was written in memory of a friend of mine who was
the sax player in an early group here in Albuquerque called "The
Continentals". (Jerry was one of the founding members.) He was killed
in a car accident a few years after the band split up.
Quite by chance I ran into Schoenfeld on Hollywood Boulevard as I left an
audition (hadn't seen him in years). He and Barry had the album deal cooking
and it eventually proceeded to fruition.
I'm glad you enjoyed the album. Maybe one of these days I'll burn it to a
CD.
Don Gleicher
March
2008