RIP Jim Seals
Sad news. Jim Seals has passed at the age of 79 or 80 (some confusion about his birth year). I enjoyed their music, though I can't say I was a big fan. It wasn't until just a few years ago that I learned Dash Crofts played mandolin. That helped explain their quirky sound - it was oddly mixed or effected or something. Also, I think their studio recordings were overproduced, too much instrumentation. That seems to be the case often even in live settings. This studio session presents them in an acoustic setting, where both instruments sound clearer than their recordings. The magic is there.
RIP, Jim Seals. Thank you for the music.
Warner Bros. president Joe Smith gets the story right; David Cassidy doesn't. Seals and Crofts (and Glen Campbell) joined The Champs after "Tequila" was a hit, so they didn't play on it. But they did tour with them for two years, and I'm sure they played it plenty. Oh, look out for the fiddle feature!
This is what I mean - kind of buried in the mix.
Then there's this, in which Dash gets wild on the electric. This concert is available in its entirety, somewhere. This is when I learned he played mandolin, actually, and then about the rocking side. The studio version is below.
They get funky here. So does the editing. Should have followed the action on the mandolin.
I think this was their first single. Definitely the most mandolinny one, to my mind.
Last edited by journeybear; Jun-10-2022 at 1:07am.
Reason: getting things right
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
Bookmarks