Chim Chim Cher-ee

By the spring of 1965, the New Christy Minstrels were into their eighth lineup during their three-year existence with only Nick Woods and Art Podell remaining from the first incarnation. As if that weren't enough, the band's primary force, Randy Sparks, had split the previous fall as a series of ongoing internal battles pushed him farther away from the direction that the Christys were headed. After the album Cowboys and Indians (1964), the Christys were dealt a further blow when lead vocalist Barry McGuire and recent recruit Peter Potash jumped ship after the combo's successful tour of Europe. Prior to their excursion they scored a hit with an arrangement of "Chim Chim Cher-ee" from the Academy Award-winning Walt Disney film Mary Poppins (1964). With the folk contingency having more or less abandoned the group, the New Christy Minstrels took a different, if not somewhat modern approach to their upcoming recordings. Obviously inspired by the Top 30 charting of "Chim Chim Cher-ee," they remade the selection and surrounded it with their most folk-rock effort to date. While fans of their earlier material were undoubtedly nonplussed, the landscape of music was rapidly changing and the Christys took advantage of the new sounds and fusions. The resulting Chim Chim Cher-ee (1965) long-player examines the influence of electrified rock & roll within the context of other decidedly more traditional entries. Hearkening back to their former persona are affable takes of "Cotton Fields," "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine," and the original compositions "Lark Day" and "Freedom." An added highlight is the laid-back bossa nova interpretation of "We'll Sing in the Sunshine." The cool and refined melody foreshadows their cover of "The Girl From Ipanema" from the next LP, The Wandering Minstrels (1965). Another obvious departure can be heard on the mid-tempo "It's Gonna Be Fine," "Downtown" -- the same tune that was a smash for Petula Clark -- and the blues-infused rocker "He's a Loser." The times they were indeed a-changin' and keen-eared classic rock enthusiasts might detect something strikingly familiar. Most notably, a guest shot by the Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian, who plays guitar, sings harmony, and provides the incendiary harmonica lick at the beginning of the song.