This is the new sound of the Osmond Brothers!
Yes…new! The boys have added some brand new vocal sounds to the barbershop harmonies that categorized their earlier offerings and are expanding into all sorts of new areas.
You know the Osmonds of course. They’re the four young brothers – Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay, reading from the oldest and tallest, down – who have starred on the Andy Williams TV Show and on the dramatic series the Travels of Jaimie McPheeters. And it all began just two years ago with a one-shot appearance on the Andy Williams television program. The simple harmonic blend of their fresh young voices drew huge amounts of mail. They appeared again…and again...and again. With each appearance Andy recognized the innate showmanship of these four young fellows, and he was instrumental in helping them develop into the stars they are today.
Soon after their first appearance on the Williams show, MGM records signed the boys for records and TV. Since that time they have learned to act, to do comedy, to play several musical instruments and to dance. They have added special material designed for personal appearances and have become, in a very real sense, a polished singing act. In this album you can hear the way in which they have continued to develop musically, for in this album they have expanded their singing to include today’s sound – rock and roll and rhythm and blues tunes.
Just listen to the Osmond’s rock and roll interpretations of the recent popular smash hit, Downtown; their wild arrangement of Mister Sandman and That’s What I Want. The boys also wail My Mom in rhythm and blues style. These last two songs were written specifically for them.
To round out the package of fine singing, The Osmond Brothers also sing a few typically American standards like Hello, Dolly, Life is Just A Bowl of Cherries, Ragtime Cowboy Joe, and Red, Red, Robin.
Then these same boys sing such sensitive and appealing compositions as May Each Day, the sign-off theme from the Andy Williams Show; Chim Chim Cheree, from Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins motion picture success; Sing A Rainbow, a nearly forgotten beauty from the film, Pete Kelly’s Blues; and the almost hymnal standard Sweet and Low. Such versatility is extremely rare among young singers.
All of the selections in this album were arranged and conducted by George Wyle with the exception of My Mom and Mister Sandman which were arranged by Terry Melcher. Melcher, incidentally, is Doris Day’s son and a fine young record producer, song writer and performer in his own right.
The boys – and their singing style – are growing up. The lads are developing a rich warm sound that is flexible enough to sing any kind of song material. They’ve come a long way in just two years and they will be going a lot farther.
This album was designed for the great American public – all ages and all walks of life from six to sixty – so sit back and listen to the fine New Sound of The Osmond Brothers. |