THE CARNIVAL

“The Carnival”

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The Carnival is a charming cross between the Fifth Dimension and Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66, offering the rich vocal arrangements of the former against the soft, lulling rhythms of the latter. When I first came upon the album, I thought it fairly obscure and assumed it was the work of talented but unheralded musicians. The album credits, however, told quite a different story—this group and its production team had quite a pedigree.

The Carnival was actually founded by three former members of Brasil ’66: Jose Suares, Janis Hansen and Bob Matthews. All three were dissatisfied with Mendes’ parsimonious ways (he was notoriously cheap), but when their concerns were expressed, the entire band was summarily fired. Still, Suares and Hansen clearly had the goods; after all, Suares’ percussion tracks were central to the Brasil ’66 sound and it was Hansen’s vocal on “The Look of Love” that broke the band. Why live languish in Mendes’ shadow and in near-poverty? Suares and Hansen moved to Los Angeles, recorded some demos and attracted the attention of Association producer Bones Howe who added Terry Fischer (from the Murmaids of “Popsicles and Icicles” fame) as an additional vocalist, completing the line-up.

Of course, the next step was to put together a recording deal. Based largely upon Howe’s enthusiasm for the project, World Pacific signed the band and sessions began in January, 1969. Though The Carnival had been performing with a solid backing band, Howe decided, as was his standard practice, to use the Wrecking Crew on the recordings. For these particular sessions, the A-Team was in full force: Larry Knechtel, Tommy Tedesco, Joe Osborne, and Hal Blaine.

The album opens with “Canto de Carnival,” a percussion-only prologue that not only sets the mood, but helps frame the Brazilian influences that are, frankly, quite subtle on much of the album. “Laia Ladaia” follows and is one of the very best tracks on the album, with a cooking chorus, perfectly placed key-changes and more mellow verse material as an effective contrast. It would have been an obvious choice for a single, but perhaps the label thought the mainstream may not be ready for a song sung largely in Portuguese. “Sweets for My Sweets” is covered as one would expect: building vocal arrangements in the choruses and a gentle Latin swing in the verses (though evoking “Spanish Harlem” more than the bossa nova). The Carnival’s take on Trade Martin’s“Take Me for a Little While” is another revelation—absolutely stunning and, in my opinion, the definitive version. “Turn, Turn, Turn” is covered less successfully; the vocal arrangement is terrific, but the upbeat tempo and bouncy feel of the rhythm section just don’t comport with the reflective tone of the lyrics. It might have worked better in Portuguese! The album also features a beautiful reading of Jeffrey Comanor’s “A Famous Myth” that, in my view, is a little more assured than the better known version by The Groop that appears on the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack LP. “Son of a Preacher Man” is given an over-the-top upbeat performance and while technically very impressive, it thoroughly obscures the soulfulness of the song. The closer is a cover of The Beatles’ “The Word.” It lacks the urgency of the original, but it does add some great vocal parts, including a soaring bridge and a very grooving tag.

“Son of a Preacher Man” was released as a single, but neither the single nor the album charted. One more single was recorded and released in 1971 (Bacharach and David’s “Where There’s a Heart (There Must Be a Heartache”) and, when that also failed to chart, the Carnival disbanded. Suares returned to Brazil and Hansen went on to join The Going Thing, a band formed to promote Ford automobiles (their sole LP was, if you can believe it, released on Ford Motor Company Records—catalog # XCTV-141133!).

The Carnival was reissued on CD by Rev-Ola in 2004 and, while currently out-of-print, is still relatively easy to find. The LP is also often available on second-market sites, but can be pricey.  Fans of the Fifth Dimension, Friends of Distinction, The Free Design and Brasil ’66 will not want to miss this one!

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Pop Pioneer and “Lost Treasures” writer, Peter Marston is the leader of long-running power pop band, Shplang, whose most recent album, “My Big Three Wheeler” has been described as “the Beatles meet Zappa in pop-psych Sumo match.”  Peter has a new project in 2015 under the name MARSTON.   They will have a track on the upcoming “Power Pop Planet – Volume 5” compilation shipping end of December, 2015.

You check it out at this link:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shplang

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LINKS:

ALL MUSIC GUIDE:   http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/carnival-bonus-tracks-mr0001394216

Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janis_Hansen_(singer)

Blog Post:  http://badcatrecords.com/BadCat/CARNIVAL.htm

VIDEOS:

“FORD…It’s The Goin’ Thing”
“THE TRUTH ABOUT IT”