Rating: **** (4 stars)
Title: The Yankee Dollar
Company: Dot
Catalog: DLP-25874
Year: 1968
Grade (cover/record): VG/VG
Comments: cut out notch top left; minor ring wear; mono
Available: 1
Price: $150.00
According to the liner notes on their album, drummer Nick Alexander,
singers Liza Gonzales and Dave Riordan, guitarist Greg Likens, keyboard
player Bill Masuda and bassist Bill Reynolds met while students at San
Luis Obispo's Cal Poly.
Signed by Dot, their 1968 debut teamed the band with producer Frank Slay.
Musically "The Yankee Dollar"
was nothing less than wonderful. Gonzales and Riordan were both gifted
with nice voices and on tracks such as "Sanctuary" and
"City Sidewalks" effortlessly trading lead vocals. Backed by
Likens' fuzz guitar (check out the great solo on "Live and Let
Live"), Masuda's stabbing organ chords and occasional sound effects,
the collection sported a sound that successfully blended folk-rock with
Jefferson Airplane-styled psychedelic. Musically the set offered up a
standard mix of popular covers (Donovan's "Catch the Wind",
Dylan's "The Times, They Are A-Changin'" and Chet Power's
"Let's Get Together") and original material. While the covers
were all nicely done, group penned originals such as "Follow Your
Dream's Way" and "Johann Sebastian Cheetah" were even
better. Inexplicably the set failed to sell. The band apparently
subsequently called it quits.
"The Yankee Dollar" track listing:
1.) Sanctuary (Carter - Gilbert) - 2:16
2.) Good Old Friends (Carter - Gilbert) - 2:36
3.) Catch the Wind (Donovan) - 2:55
4.) If In Swimming (David Riordan) - 3:53
5.) Follow Your Dream's Way (Greg Likens) - 6:36
6.) Live and Let Live (Carter - Gilbert) - 2:18
7.) City Sidewalks (Carter - Gilbert) - 2:56
8.) Let's Get Together (Chet Powers) - 4:30
9.) Winter Boy (Buffy St. Marie) - 2:22
10.) The Times, They Are A-Changin' (Bob Dylan) - 3:06
11.) Johann Sebastian Cheetah (David Riordan - Greg Likens - Freeman) -
3:04