Plain and Fancy: 08/16/24

Wow, this was a weird one ... Showcasing the talents of rhythm guitarist Richard Barcellona, drummer Daniel Derda, singer/keyboardist Eddie Haddad and bassist John Keith, The American Revolution came off as an unsuccessful cross between bubblegum pop and more conventional rock.

The band traced its roots to an earlier Los Angeles outfit known as The Band without a Name, which in turn traced part of it's heritage to the poorly named Scottie and The Tissues. By 1966 The Band without a Name featured former Scottie and the Tissues rhythm guitarist Richard Barcellona and bass player John Keith, future Beach Boy and solo act David Marks, and singer/keyboardist Eddie Haddad. The group found a manager in dj/dance promoter Casey Kasem and found steady work playing L.A. dances and clubs. Through Kasem and Mike Curb they were hired as house band for American International Pictures.

The stuidio's original marketing plan was apparently to turn the group into an in-house version of The Monkees, but their film legacy was limited to a couple of cameo appearances in AIP biker flicks and having a couple of songs included on the accompanying soundtrack LPs (Thunder Alley (as The Band with No Name), Born Wild (?), The Glory Stompers, and Wild In the Streets).

Signed by MGM's short-lived Flick Disc subsidiary, the band's 1968 debut "The American Revolution" found them working with three separate producers (the team of Michael Lloyd and Mike Curb, Harley Hatcher (who contributed several tracks and was also a Mike Curb associate), and Larry Brown). As was common at the time, much to the band's irritation most of the tracks were recorded by studio musicians - in this case Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine, guitarist James Burton, bassist Carol Kaye and keyboardist Larry Knechtel. Adding to the band's frustrations, most of their original material was passed over in favor of outside tracks suggested by the producers.

Only four of the ten tracks were group compositions with Hatcher responsible for three tracks, including the hideous 'Prelude To Love' (notable for one of the lamest guitar solos you'll ever hear) and the equally bad 'Come On and Get It'. With such a disjointed 'birth', it was to be expected the resulting album was all over the musical spectrum, including haphazard stabs at Rascals-styled blue-eyed soul ('Come On and Get It'), seriously bad Mersybeat knockoffs ('Rainbow In the Rain' sported what had to be the worst mock English accents I've ever heard'), Beatles-styled psych (the hysterically Sgt. Pepper knockoffs 'In the Late Afternoon' and 'Opus #1') and even Buckinghams-styled horn rock ('Love Has Got Me Down').

The band undertook an extended national tour in support of the LP, but it failed to chart. Following the tour Barcellona and drummer Dave Novorgoski (who'd previously replaced Daniel Derda) were fired for violating the morals clauses in their contract. Keith subsequently quit reuniting with Barcelona and Novorgoski in The Edge. Haddad recruited a new American Revolution lineup, but the project quickly collapsed. He then turned his attention to Max Frost and the Troopers. Keith eventually moved to Central California and went to work for the US Postal Service but remained active in music recording with The Loose Gravel Blues Band and the Beatles tribute group Revolver.

Bad-Cat