Description
Various Artists – Come to the Sunshine: Soft Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults – Double 180 Gram Orange and Yellow Vinyl Records
Come to the Sunshine: Soft Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults opens a different door into sixties record collecting. Here the discoveries are built around vocal harmonies, carefully arranged pop songs and the bright colors of sunshine pop. Compiler Andrew Sandoval brings familiar performers together with names that rarely occupy the front of a record-store rack, allowing the less obvious selections to share the spotlight. The result is a twenty-four-track collection with a clear musical personality: melodic, often ornate and full of records that can be inviting on a first listen while rewarding a closer look at their credits.
Harpers Bizarre set the scene with the title song, written by Van Dyke Parks and produced by Lenny Waronker. Pat Shannon’s ‘Candy Apple, Cotton Candy,’ the Salt’s ‘A Whole Lot of Rainbows’ and the Morning Glories’ ‘Love-In’ continue that colorful opening stretch. The Everly Brothers then appear with ‘Talking to the Flowers,’ giving a recognizable voice to a selection that reaches beyond their best-known hits. It is a thoughtful way to introduce the compilation’s approach. Well-known artists provide points of connection, while the surrounding songs encourage a little curiosity about records that slipped past the usual oldies rotation.
The second side brings in Lee Mallory, the Association, the Vogues, the Looking Glass, Anita Kerr and the Gas Company. Mallory’s ‘Take My Hand’ has Curt Boettcher behind the production, and the Association’s ‘Come On In’ was produced by Bones Howe. Those names help explain the care behind the arrangements without requiring the listener to know the session history in advance. ‘Silver and Sunshine (How Wonderful Is Our Love)’ and ‘Happiness’ keep the emphasis on melody and vocal blend. Across this stretch, the singers and arrangers find several different ways to make a short pop recording feel full of detail.
The later sides broaden the cast further. The Cookies and the Tokens sit alongside the Other Voices and the Street Corner Society, while the Bonniwell Music Machine contribute ‘Discrepency.’ The Holy Mackerel’s ‘Scorpio Red’ brings in a song written by Paul Williams and produced by Richard Perry. Williams also shares the writing credit with Roger Nichols on the Monkees’ ‘Someday Man,’ another of the compilation’s memorable selections. Uncle Sound, Dino, Desi & Billy and the Addrisi Brothers add more connections before the Coronados and the Gates of Eden bring the collection to its close. There is plenty here to follow beyond a single familiar artist.
Originally issued as a Rhino Handmade compilation in 2004, Come to the Sunshine reached vinyl for Record Store Day in 2017. This edition spreads the complete twenty-four-song program over two 180-gram records pressed in orange and yellow marble vinyl. The colorful presentation suits the music, but the selection itself is the reason to spend time with it. For listeners who enjoy the craftsmanship of sixties harmony pop, it offers both recognizable company and fresh discoveries, with enough variety in voices, writing and production to keep each side distinct while preserving the collection’s warm, melodic character.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Release Details
- Artist
- Various Artists
- Album
- Come to the Sunshine: Soft Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults
- Format
- Double 180 Gram Orange and Yellow Vinyl Records
- Media configuration
- 2 LPs
- Original album release
- 2004 (original compilation); 2017 (vinyl edition)
- Label
- Rhino / Rhino Handmade
- Vinyl color
- Orange and yellow marble
- Vinyl weight
- 180 grams
Track Listing
Side A
Harpers Bizarre – Come to the Sunshine
Pat Shannon – Candy Apple, Cotton Candy
The Salt – A Whole Lot of Rainbows
The Morning Glories – Love-In
The Everly Brothers – Talking to the Flowers
The Munx – Our Dream
Side B
Lee Mallory – Take My Hand
The Association – Come On In
The Vogues – Just What I’ve Been Looking For
The Looking Glass – Silver and Sunshine (How Wonderful Is Our Love)
Anita Kerr & The Anita Kerr Singers – Happiness
The Gas Company – If You Know What I Mean
Side C
The Cookies – Wounded
The Other Voices – Hung Up on Love
The Tokens – For All That I Am
The Street Corner Society – Summer Days, Summer Nights
The Bonniwell Music Machine – Discrepency
The Holy Mackerel – Scorpio Red
Side D
Uncle Sound – Beverly Hills
Dino, Desi & Billy – Tell Someone That You Love Them
The Addrisi Brothers – Time to Love
The Monkees – Someday Man
The Coronados – Trip to Loveland
The Gates of Eden – No One Was There (Requiem)
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