GET TOGETHER: THE ESSENTIAL YOUNGBLOODS

The Youngbloods include: Jesse Colin Young (vocals, guitar, bass); Lowell Levinger III (Banana) (guitar, piano); Jerry Corbitt (guitar); Joe Bauer (drums). Producers include: Felix Pappalardi, The Youngbloods, Charles E. Daniels. Compilation producer: Paul Williams. Recorded between 1967 & 1969. Includes liner notes by Michael Hill. Personnel: Jesse Colin Young (vocals, guitar); Lowell Levinger (guitar, keyboards); Joe Bauer (drums). Liner Note Author: Michael Hill. Named for velvet-voiced lead singer Jesse Colin Young, the Youngbloods will forever be associated with their biggest hit, the 1960s peace-and-love anthem "Get Together," one of the most genuinely moving songs of its kind. That song (in fact written by Quicksilver vocalist Dino Valente) is far from the sum total of the Youngbloods' story, as this essential collection makes clear. Like the Lovin' Spoonful, the Youngbloods started out as a mid-'60s good-time electric jug band of sorts, mixing folk, blues, rock, and a touch of country with an effervescent delivery redolent of the promise the era held for pop/rock fans. Unforgettably named keyboardist Banana contributed a signature electric piano sound that (along with Young's striking vocals) helped set the group apart from the pack. By the time of their highly regarded 1969 album ELEPHANT MOUNTAIN, even though they had trimmed down to a trio, the Youngbloods were fleshing out their sound with some jazzier excursions ("Ride the Wind") and heavier, more introspective fare ("Darkness, Darkness"). This definitive anthology leads you through it all, proving that the Youngbloods were no one-hit wonder, but in fact one of the finest, most underrated American bands of the '60s.