Sinking Radio - The Millennium's "It's You"

Here's my weekly reminder to tune in to Sinking with Sylvia and Todd (and Matt Dwyer) Friday from Noon to 2:00 PM on Little Radio (click on tune in on the upper left side). Tomorrow their guest will be comedian Matt Braunger. You can catch Braunger's comedy show around town, including an appearance at the Upright Citizens Brigade with Janeane Garofalo (and Tim and Eric) on August 9th. That's show's only $8.

Each week on the show, they feature an official You Set the Scene pick. My pick for tomorrow's show is the Millennium's "It's You" which comes from the band's only official release, Begin. The Millennium was a late 1960s psychedelic pop band formed by Curt Boettcher. Boettcher was previously in another band called, the GoldeBriars, but was better known for producing hits by Tommy Roe as well as the Association's first album. With the help of his friend, producer Gary Usher, Boettcher was signed to Columbia Records, and gathered friends and session musicians to form the Millennium.

Begin is a critically revered album; if you do a little investigating, you'll read some incredibly hyperbolic stuff. I picked up the vinyl reissue a few years back after reading one of those glowing reviews (I was also intrigued by the Gary Usher connection - Usher produced a couple of my favorite Byrds' records as well as co-writing the Beach Boys' "In My Room").

After reading all that stuff, my expectation were sky high. I'm not a huge fan of really light 60's pop and when I first put it on, some of the production and arrangements sounded dated. But then I put it away for a while, put it back on with fresh ears, and realized that all the songs have their charm and a handful (including "It's You") are pretty fantastic. Begin was never a commercial success, but "It's You" was the album's closest thing to a hit. Written by Michael Fennelly and Joey Stec (the duo wrote a couple of the other great tracks too), the song features some great guitar work and psychedelic production. Fennelly went on to form Crabby Appleton (who I need to check out) and Joey Stec released a critically acclaimed solo record in 1976 (which is also on my list).

If you're into late 60's pop, Begin is essential listening.