R.I.P. Jesse Colin Young

[felser]

Did some wonderful work fronting the Youngbloods in the 60's (the first three albums are quite memorable), then settled in as a gifted singer-songwriter in the 70's. Recorded  and sang arguably the most iconic song of the 60's:

 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

83 is a good run. I hope to make it that long,

Has The Youngbloods self-titled LP really only been issued on CD twice, once in the UK in 1988 and again in 2014 in Japan? That seems unbelievable.

[mjzee]

32 minutes ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

Has The Youngbloods self-titled LP really only been issued on CD twice, once in the UK in 1988 and again in 2014 in Japan? That seems unbelievable.

I have it on this BGO twofer; pretty easy to find:

I have very fond memories of JCY and the Youngbloods.  Jesse was a folkie knocking around NYC in the early '60's.  I had his solo release on Capitol and a compilation on Mercury.  The Youngbloods had a special chemistry borne of the mix of folk and jazz (similar to the Lovin' Spoonful being a mix of folk and Long Island bar band), and the whole was greater than the sum of the parts.  Their Raccoon record label released some interesting, eclectic titles, including two albums of Michael Hurley's.  The hippie era ended, and JCY emphasized the smooth country folk rocker side of his talents beginning with Song For Juli.  Great voice, quality work; he will be missed.  R.I.P.

Edited March 17 by mjzee

[GA Russell]

RIP Jesse Colin Young!

I found their album Rock Festival to be an unappreciated surprise.

[mjzee]

1 hour ago, GA Russell said:

RIP Jesse Colin Young!

I found their album Rock Festival to be an unappreciated surprise.

That is a very good album.  On Beautiful Lake Spenard.

[mjzee]

This is also a very good album:

 

[JSngry]

What's the geal with that Kenny Gill record on WB/Raccoon? Never heard it or of him. But the lineup looks promising!

[felser]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

What's the geal with that Kenny Gill record on WB/Raccoon? Never heard it or of him. But the lineup looks promising!

Also not familiar with him or it, but yeah, a 1971 album with Carlos Garnett, Bob Berg, Stafford James and Norman Connors sounds mighty fine, and the clip on Youtube is right up my alley.

 

2 hours ago, mjzee said:

That is a very good album.  On Beautiful Lake Spenard.

Love the way that track works as a prelude to the lovely "Josiane".  The live 'Ride The Wind' album was also a good one.

3 hours ago, mjzee said:

I have it on this BGO twofer; pretty easy to find:

 

Actually a 3 on 2 of the three RCA albums.And those BGO Youngbloods CD sets (there's a second great one with Rock Festival, Ride The Wind, and Good and Dusty) have great sound quality, huge improvement over the earlier CD releases of those albums.

[JSngry]

I try to keep out of alleys these days, but...yeah, that's none too bad!!!

I recall it and another one on Raccoon getting an ad in DB at the time, and then one(?) of them getting a positive review that included a comment to the effect that the reviewer had always suspected that there was some jazz lurking somewhere in the the back of the Young bloods, and I was like, ok, whatever, but I'm going to mount a passive push to find that Gill record now ....

[jlhoots]

4 hours ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

83 is a good run. I hope to make it that long,

Has The Youngbloods self-titled LP really only been issued on CD twice, once in the UK in 1988 and again in 2014 in Japan? That seems unbelievable.

High On A Ridgetop

FWIW, I'll be 84 in less than 2 weeks.

Edited March 18 by jlhoots

[sgcim]

On 3/17/2025 at 11:07 PM, JSngry said:

I try to keep out of alleys these days, but...yeah, that's none too bad!!!

I recall it and another one on Raccoon getting an ad in DB at the time, and then one(?) of them getting a positive review that included a comment to the effect that the reviewer had always suspected that there was some jazz lurking somewhere in the the back of the Young bloods, and I was like, ok, whatever, but I'm going to mount a passive push to find that Gill record now ....

JCY used to live across the street from the VV, and spent many nights digging the jazz

[sgcim]

I only had to listen to a few seconds of the intro to "Get Together" to appreciate the musical superiority of Banana, Joe Bauer and Jesse compared to the Airplane, David Crosby and The Kingston Trio's versions of Get Together.
The Youngbloods were calling in cats like Victor Feldman years before Steely Dan even entered a recording studio.
When Jesse went on his own, his singing chops and ability to improvise vocally were equal to anyone of that period and since. When he got a band together, he got the hippest players around him. He sings this song in the original key, and then modulates twice, and he and the sax player are both burning in each new key:

 

[mikeweil]

On 3/17/2025 at 11:41 PM, Kevin Bresnahan said:

83 is a good run. I hope to make it that long,

Has The Youngbloods self-titled LP really only been issued on CD twice, once in the UK in 1988 and again in 2014 in Japan? That seems unbelievable.

It does not surprise me. Back in the day I heard Get Together on the radio and liked it, but never saw one of their records in  the shops here.

[felser]

Here's how you do the Youngbloods on CD, courtesy of BGO (Sundazed for the live one).  On your own for JCY solo:

The three original RCA albums, in greatly improved sound, are on this:

https://www.bgo-records.com/product/bgocd741-the-youngbloods-earth-music-elephant-mountain/

The three best (only missing their last album, mainly old-timey covers) Warner-Raccoon albums are on this:

https://www.bgo-records.com/product/bgocd1284-rock-festival-ride-the-wind-good-and-dusty/

This came out on Sundazed, a worthy vault release:

https://www.discogs.com/master/721791-The-Youngbloods-Beautiful-Live-In-San-Francisco-1971/image/SW1hZ2U6MTM2NDgwNzY=

If you just want a quick summary of the highlights from the first three (RCA) albums, or if you are a completist and need a (good) stray B-Side, you can just grab this:

https://www.discogs.com/master/2059726-The-Youngbloods-Get-Together-The-Essential-Youngbloods

 

Edited yesterday at 01:12 PM by felser

[mjzee]

I’m reading Marc Myers’s book “Anatomy of 55 More Songs” (which I recommend), and just finished the chapter on the making of the song “Come Together.”  Turns out they lifted the arrangement from Buzzy Linhart.

[sgcim]

3 hours ago, mjzee said:

I’m reading Marc Myers’s book “Anatomy of 55 More Songs” (which I recommend), and just finished the chapter on the making of the song “Come Together.”  Turns out they lifted the arrangement from Buzzy Linhart.

You mean "Get Together"; "Come Together is a song by The Beatles. Jesse told the story about hearing Buzzy playing it at a concert somewhere, and he asked Buzzy for the music to Get Together, so he didn't 'lift it' like Marc Myers said. He said hearing Buzzy sing it was a 'mystical experience' that changed his life, and the Youngbloods went into the studio and recorded it right away. I don't know if they paid Buzzy anything, because arrangements are not copyrighted. I wonder if Buzzy ever recorded it, also. He's another folk-rock-jazz crossover guy like Jesse, and those guys never made it big, because they didn't want to sellout to THE MAN.

Thanks for mentioning the Myers' book, I'll look for it.

7 hours ago, felser said:

Here's how you do the Youngbloods on CD, courtesy of BGO (Sundazed for the live one).  On your own for JCY solo:

The three original RCA albums, in greatly improved sound, are on this:

https://www.bgo-records.com/product/bgocd741-the-youngbloods-earth-music-elephant-mountain/

The three best (only missing their last album, mainly old-timey covers) Warner-Raccoon albums are on this:

https://www.bgo-records.com/product/bgocd1284-rock-festival-ride-the-wind-good-and-dusty/

This came out on Sundazed, a worthy vault release:

https://www.discogs.com/master/721791-The-Youngbloods-Beautiful-Live-In-San-Francisco-1971/image/SW1hZ2U6MTM2NDgwNzY=

If you just want a quick summary of the highlights from the first three (RCA) albums, or if you are a completist and need a (good) stray B-Side, you can just grab this:

https://www.discogs.com/master/2059726-The-Youngbloods-Get-Together-The-Essential-Youngbloods

 

Thanks!