Various Artists – The Curt Boettcher Connection

In another dimension, Curt Boettcher would have been a superstar performer and producer, spoken about the same way that Brian Wilson and Phil Spector are. In Phil Spector’ case, just his music he produced, not the mad shit and murder he was later in the press for. Anyway, I digress. Boettcher died in 1987, all but forgotten but as with artists such as Nick Drake, his work has be reassessed in the years that followed  and today he is lot more famous than he was, but he still not a well known name to the mainstream. 

He first started recording his music with his band The Goldebriars. This was his flirtation with folk rock scene that was gaining traction at the time, even though The Goldenbriars did not have a hit, they did make an appearance in the film ‘Once Upon A Coffee House’. After The Goldenbriars split up, Boettcher formed Our Productions with Steve Clark from Vee Jay records and started to produce work for other artists whilst continuing to make music of his own. He started off with Tommy Roe and his LP ‘It’s Now A Winter’s Day’  but he really stamped his new Sunshine Pop sound on a little known band from Los Angeles called The Association. They recorded ‘Along Comes Mary’ and that became a top ten US hit. They follow this up with ‘Cherish’ which was also massive hit and everything would have looked rosey. However, The Association decided to change their management and this prevented Boettcher from working with the band again. 

Boettcher was not one for resting on his laurels and formed a new band called The Ballroom. They recorded a massive amount of material but only one single was slated to be released at the time, even though it got no further than the promo stage. The recordings would not surface until the late 1990’s. One time Brian Wilson collaborator Gary Usher then bought Boettcher out of his Our Productions contract and sets him up as a staff producer at Columbia Records. Usher uses Boettcher on his Sagittarius project which yields the hit single ‘My World Fell Down’, but the follow ups and album are not successful. The recordings do well enough for Columbia to finance Boettcher’s next project, The Millennium. 

Many records are called lost classics but this is one that truly deserves that title. The album and singles are masterpieces but none sell particular well and the band folds. Usher goes on to form Together Records and brings Boettcher on board and though second Sagittarius album is released, it is like its forebear and is not a success. Boettcher continues to work within the music business but little of his output is successful. He sings backing vocals on some Elton John sessions and is the mix down engineer on Emitt Rhode’s ‘Farewell To Paradise’ album. He did produce a 10 minute disco version of the Beach Boys’s, ‘Here Comes The Night”. He continued to work but none of these records matched the heights he achieved in the 60’s. 

I looked at the works of Curt Boettcher in two Podcasts, the links of which are listed below. What this compilation covers is not only the bands that Boettcher was in in the late 60s (The Ballroom, The Millennium, Sagittarius) but some of the acts he produced (Sandy Salisbury, Michael Fennelly, Lee Mallory etc).  What you get is a masterclass in 60s Sunshine Pop that should have lead to a considerably more successful career than it actually was. 

Disc 1

  1. Prelude (Demo) – The Millennium
  2. To Claudia On Thursday (Demo) – The Millennium
  3. Would You Like To Go – The Ballroom
  4. Love’s Fatal Way – The Ballroom
  5. Forever – The Ballroom
  6. Keeper Of The Games – The Ballroom
  7. The Island – The Ballroom
  8. I’m Not Living Here – The Ballroom
  9. Sing To Me – The Millennium
  10. Magic Time – The Ballroom
  11. It’s You – The Millennium
  12. Some Sunny Day – The Millennium
  13. It’s A Sad World – The Ballroom
  14. I’ll Grow Stronger – The Ballroom
  15. A Time For Everything – The Ballroom
  16. Blight – The Millennium
  17. Song To The Magic Frog (Will You Ever Know) – Sagittarius
  18. Lead Me To Love – The Ballroom
  19. Artificial Light (Of All The Living Lies) – Sagittarius
  20. Glass – Sagittarius
  21. I’m With You – The Millennium
  22. You Turn Me Around – The Ballroom
  23. Suspended Animation – The Millennium
  24. Believe You – The Ballroom
  25. There Is Nothing More To Say – The Millennium
  26. Anthem (Begin) – The Millennium
  27. Just About The Same – The Millennium

Disc 2

  1. Come Softly – Sandy Salisbury
  2. Baby It’s Real – Curt Boettcher
  3. Measure Of A Man – The Millennium
  4. A Younger Me – The Millennium
  5. All I Really Have Is A Memory – Sandy Salisbury
  6. Our Love Is An Unwritten Song – Sandy Salisbury
  7. If Only You Knew – Curt Boettcher
  8. I Sing My Song – Dotti Holmberg
  9. It Wont’ Always Be The Same – The Millennium
  10. Dying With You – The Millennium
  11. Together In The End – The Millennium
  12. The Good Ol’ Good Times – Sandy Salisbury
  13. Dancing Dandelions – Michael Fennelly
  14. Ships – Gary Usher
  15. Cecily – Sandy Salisbury
  16. Magic Island – The Millennium
  17. Lament Of The Astral Cowboy – Curt Boettcher
  18. Share With Me – Curt Boettcher
  19. The Blue Marble – The Millennium
  20. Misty Mirage – Curt Boettcher
  21. Come On In (Ode To The Be-In) – Lee Mallory
  22. Back Where You Belong – Sandy Salisbury
  23. Bring Me On Back Home Again – Sandy Salisbury
  24. Believe You – Michele
  25. Sunshine Today – The Ballroom
  26. The Truth Is Not Real – Sagittarius
  27. Love At Last – Lee Mallory

The Works of Curt Boettcher 

Part 1 – https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/2016/11/

Part 2 – https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/podcast/episode-56-the-works-of-curt-boettcher-part-2/

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