Bruce & Terry: Bruce Johnston, Terry Melcher (vocals).
Booklet contains interviews with Bruce Johnston and Terry Melcher.
Recorded between 1963 & 1966.
Audio Mixer: Bob Irwin.
Liner Note Author: Al Quaglieri.
Recording information: 04/22/1963-02/15/1966.
Photographers: Guy Webster; Steve Besch; Clark Besch.
This 20-track compilation gathers together the best of Johnston's and Melcher's best sides for Columbia under the B&T moniker. That's important, because this collection could just as easily have been double the length if they had amassed all the tracks that Bruce & Terry had recorded under other names like the Rip Chords, etc. including the hit "Hey Little Cobra." Because Bruce & Terry were a virtual vocal overdubbing machine, some of the tracks on here ("Custom Machine," "Don't Run Away," "I Love You Model T," "Come Love," "Raining In My Heart") appear in mono-only formats. This becomes the only way to hear the final product as it was etched into black phonograph records, as B&T would overdub right directly onto the final single track mix. It also gives the sound of these tracks an edgy, mid-rangey "squashed" kind of compression to them, making them leap out of the speakers. As a musical satellite orbiting around the Brian Wilson/Jan & Dean/Wrecking Crew axis, the music here reflects that time and sound beautifully. These are the beginnings of two long-standing careers in the record business and the records they literally cut their teeth on. ~ Cub Koda
Professional Reviews
Dirty Linen (6-7/00, p.67) - "...Their best efforts in the studio were nothing short of spectacular....You don't have to like big waves to appreciate their vocal harmonies and bouncy love songs..."
