The Left Banke

A rather odd 14-song collection, seemingly compiled to give as much weight to material for its rarity value as its quality. There's Gonna Be a Storm is a much better and lengthier career survey. But if you're a Left Banke completist, you should keep an eye out for this, because it has a few tracks not on the aforementioned CD compilation. "Love Songs in the Night" and "Two by Two" were recorded by the original group, Michael Brown in tow, in 1971, although the tracks were credited to Steve Martin when they were issued on a rare Buddah single; these are the best things the group did after 1967. The previously unreleased "Foggy Waterfall," recorded in late 1969, features Steve Martin on vocals, although no one else from the Left Banke was apparently present (making its designation as a legitimate Left Banke track dubious). And there are also a couple of songs by Brown's early-'70s group, the Stories, including the number 1 hit "Brother Louie," which was actually recorded after Brown left the group. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide