Roger Nichols

A true sleeper in the context of California pop, this album is a lot of things at once: soft pop, a smattering of rock, and a heavy dose of easy listening. As a songwriter, Roger Nichols wrote with such luminaries as Paul Williams and (fresh from his Pet Sounds collaboration with Brian Wilson) Tony Asher, who co-wrote several of the selections here. The group itself has a great vocal blend: Nichols is joined by Murray MacLeod and his sister Melinda, and the three voices combined create a wonderful soft sheen, equally effective on the ballads (Bacharach's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart") and uptempo numbers ("Don't Take Your Time"). There is an extremely gorgeous version of Goffen & King's "Snow Queen" (which was to appear a year later on the City's LP, Now That Everything's Been Said); the song here is a graceful waltz underpinned by superb vocals. The credits on the album are a virtual who's who of California pop at the time. Among those that helped out on the project in one way or another are Lenny Waronker, Van Dyke Parks, Bruce Botnick, and Randy Newman. Superbly produced by Tommy LiPuma, the album unfortunately didn't do very well at the time of its release, which is an incredible injustice. The music, though, holds up extremely well today, and is an authentic slice of California pop. Delicious. [This version of the album includes eight bonus tracks.] ~ Matthew Greenwald, All Music Guide