In 1967, producer
Alan Douglas heard some tapes of solo performances by
Richie Havens. In
Douglas' own words, as taken from a note on the back cover of this reissue, "We decided that a solo recording was just too difficult to compete in the exploding record market...So we went back to the studio and overdubbed musical backgrounds onto
Richie's solo sessions." The results yielded two albums on his own
Douglas label,
Electric Havens, and
Richie Havens Record, issued at a time when the singer was reaching much bigger audiences with Verve albums conceived with full-band arrangements from the start.
My Own Way is a 14-song CD compilation of material from those
Douglas LPs, and is flawed in several crucial respects. True,
Havens' performances -- largely of traditional or traditional-oriented folk and blues material, though there are more contemporary items like
Ray Charles' "Drown in My Own Tears" and
Fred Neil's "The Bag I'm In" -- are OK, and characteristic of the style with which
Richie came to prominence. However, the overdubs are sometimes notably out of sync with the original contents, smacking of a hurried rush to exploit the folk-rock sound. Even the liner notes concede
Douglas' additions were done "to the great displeasure of purists everywhere," and though they're not nearly as controversial or well-known as the posthumous overdubs he laid on some
Jimi Hendrix tapes, they can likewise be criticized for insensitivity.