From 1965 to 1970, the White Whale label recorded a lot of pop/rock, though
the Turtles were its only consistent hitmakers. This 27-track compilation zeroes in on the company's more obscure singles, in which they seemed to touch on most of the shades of pop/rock from the era, though almost always remaining on the lighter side of things. In truth there aren't any gems here, but there's some interesting (and some dull) stuff for major '60s rock collectors to feast upon, as well as some rare tracks penned by
Brian Wilson,
Paul Williams,
Randy Newman, and
Randy Bachman to entice fans of those songwriters. The best goodies are
the Dillards' 1970 cover of
Bob Dylan's "One Too Many Mornings"; Matthew Moore Plus Four's 1965 cover of
Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Codyne (She's Real)," one of the earlier and rawer L.A. folk-rock singles; and Freddie Allen's "We've Only Just Begun," the original version of the song made into a mega-smash by
the Carpenters (who put out their version just a few months later). As for songs that might be more interesting for the writing credits than for the music, there's Laughing Gravy's close replication of
the Beach Boys' "Vegetables," featuring
Dean Torrence of
Jan & Dean; the Brothers' renditions of rare though unremarkable early songs by
Warren Zevon ("The Girl's Alright") and
Randy Newman ("Love Story"); and Sugar & Spice's "Not to Return," written by
Randy Bachman (who later recorded it on a solo album). There's a little bit o' MOR soul in
Dobie Gray's "Do You Really Have a Heart," released in 1970 during his long stretch between hits; he's the only artist here, actually, who had hits, besides Nino Tempo & April Stevens and (if you want to stretch it)
Liz Damon's Orient Express. A few of the cuts cross from pop/rock to easy listening pop, but for the most part it's average period fare, often on the poppier and slicker side of the early L.A. studio rock sound. More successful (and, for the most part, better) White Whale releases are compiled on Varese Sarabande's Happy Together: The Very Best of White Whale Records, which combines flops with hits by the likes of
the Turtles, Nino Tempo & April Stevens, Lyme & Cybelle,
the Clique, and
René & René, and has only one song that also appears on
In the Garden. ~ Richie Unterberger