Turtle Soup

Product Description
These talented goofs had more fun with music than your cat has with a half-dead mouse, which is saying something. Snappy as Bubblicious and equally adhesive, the Turtles concocted their own style and then made fun of everyone else's. We love them dearly. Produced by Ray Davies of The Kinks, this is a Sundazed reissue of their final studio album together from 1969. Features two bonus tracks: 'Lady-O' and 'The Last Thing I Remember'.

Turtle Soup,Turtles,Sundazed Music Inc.,Oldies,Pop,Rock,V/a Compilations

Average customer rating:

why is this album out of print?
A strange album with a stranger history. Pretty good, though
Is it the good turtle soup or merely the mock?

Turtle Soup
The Turtles
Manufacturer: Sundazed Music Inc.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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Wooden Head
You Baby/Let Me Be
Happy Together

ASIN: B000003GZC
Release Date: 1997-01-28

Tracks:

Come Over
House On The Hill
She Always Leaves Me Laughing
How You Loved Me
Torn Between Temptations
Love In The City
Bachelor Mother
John And Julie
Hot Little Hands
Somewhere Friday Night
Dance This Dance
You Don't Have To Walk In The Rain
Lady-O
The Last Thing I Remember

Album Description

These talented goofs had more fun with music than your cat has with a half-dead mouse, which is saying something. Snappy as Bubblicious and equally adhesive, the Turtles concocted their own style and then made fun of everyone else's. We love them dearly. Produced by Ray Davies of The Kinks, this is a Sundazed reissue of their final studio album together from 1969. Features two bonus tracks: 'Lady-O' and 'The Last Thing I Remember'.

Customer Reviews:

why is this album out of print?.......2006-09-30

i adore this album. i've only listened to this album a couple times on vinyl and i've since been trying to find an affordable copy of it on cd because it is the turtles at their best. those of you who think you only want to listen to the best hits or are not very excited by the turtles should find a way to listen to this album because it's amazing. from the two twisted minds that played with frank zappa (eddie and flo) comes this wonderful pop band with undercurrents of insanity. how could you turn that down?

A strange album with a stranger history. Pretty good, though.......2003-12-23

If any Turtles album can be described as having a "torturous history," Turtle Soup is it. The band was in turmoil as the sessions began. Drummer Johnny Barbata had just quit, and divisions with usual lead-singer Howard Kaylan had caused the band (now including drummer John Seiter, Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman, Jim Pons, and Al Nichol) to experiment with a new songwriting and singing "democracy." Simultaneously, White Whale was begging them for another hit, while the band--seeking artistic respectability--recruited the (at the time) commercial kiss-of-death talents of Ray Davies of the Kinks to produce.

In fact, it's surprising that the recording was ever issued at all. Ray Davies's presence thrilled the band, but his actual production met with mixed reaction--he thought he was making a Turtles album, while the band wanted him to make a Kinks record! And, needless to say, the album underperformed tremendously, not generating nearly enough sales to keep the band or its label afloat.

A shame, really, because Turtle Soup is a fine, if flawed, little album. One thing that immediately registers upon playing it is how *serious* it is compared with their other works; very little of the fun-loving spirit evident on, say, "Battle of the Bands" makes its presence felt here. On one hand, this keeps some of the stronger tracks from being undermined by silliness; on the other, it means that inappropriate seriousness raises its head more than once ("How You Loved Me" is far easier to take in its sung-by-Howard incarnation on Solid Zinc). But a great deal of the album shows the Turtles songwriting prowess at its finest. "Love in the City," a semi-hit, is a moody piece of gold from Al; "Somewhere Friday Nite" is absolutely stellar; and the uptempo "Come Over" and "She Always Leaves Me Laughing" work almost perfectly. Even the more peculiar tracks--"John and Julie" from Al, "House on the Hill" from Jim--demonstrate the underrated tune-crafting ability of the band.

Sundazed's package, however, leaves a lot to be desired. The liner notes are informative, if slightly unsatisfactory, but the real surprise is the sound. While the disc isn't *bad*, Sundazed uncharacteristically applies a lot of dynamic range compression to the program. Perhaps they worked from a very saturated copy tape? Whatever the reason, the Repertoire release ends up sounding a lot more relaxed than this one.

Additionally, said Repertoire (German) CD of this disc adds several bonus tracks, most dating from the ill-fated Shell Shock sessions, that are just as good, if not better, than many of the tracks on the actual album! And since songs like "Can I Go On" and "The Owl" are not available on any of the Sundazed discs, you might as well get the Repertoire CD instead.

Verdict: Odd little album, but if you've found yourself grooving to the Turtles from "Solid Zinc" or "20 Greatest Hits," I doubt you'll be disappointed. Get the Repertoire disc instead, though, as it's almost double the content for the same amount of money.

Random note: Rhino heavily remixed this album in the mid-80s for release on their label. Both CDs currently available use the original mix (a blessing, as while the Rhino mix is interesting, it's *very* 80s, with a lot of near-mono and tons of digital reverb), although that version of "You Don't Have to Walk in the Rain" shows up on the Laserlight boxed-set of Turtles songs.

Is it the good turtle soup or merely the mock?.......2003-06-23

This album hold the distiction of being the only non-Kinks rock album ever produced by Ray Davies. It is also the first Turtles album to feature all songs written by the group. Sad to say, the results are somewhat mixed. It seems like the group was unable to write a full album worth of good songs, and some pretty mediocre songs ended up being recorded. However, some of the songs are very good. "Love in the City" and "You Don't Have to Walk in the Rain" are particularly excellent. Two bonus tracks are included. "Lady-O" is a nice ballad that was the very last thing that the Turtles recorded. "The Last Thing I Remember" is an different version than the one included on the "Battle of the Bands" LP.

Average customer rating:

Good, melodic album - sadly overlooked

Turtle Soup
The Mock Turtles
Manufacturer: Relativity
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000008IJJ
Release Date: 1991-06-14

Tracks:

Kathy Come Home
Head Run Wild
Lay Me Down
Another Jesus Walks on Water
Oh Helen How?
How Does It Feel?
And Then She Smiles
Willow Song
Mary's Garden
Can You Dig It?
Wicker Man

Customer Reviews:

Good, melodic album - sadly overlooked.......2005-08-02

Remembered, if at all, for the really minor alternative hit "Can You Dig It", the Mock Turtles' "Turtle Soup" is actually a very well-written, catchy pop-rock album that got lost in the Madchester shuffle. "Kathy Come Home", "Mary's Garden", and a mellow cover of "The Willow Song", from the cult film "The Wicker Man", are all memorable tunes that measure up to the band's lone semi-hit. There's nothing here you haven't heard before, and singer Martin Coogan's vocals are pleasing if rather nondistinct, but "Turtle Soup" remains a lost album of sorts that deserves a better fate.

Average customer rating:

The album, and more!

Turtle Soup (+8 Bonus Tracks)
Turtles
Manufacturer: Repertoire
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000088AR
Release Date: 1998-03-25

Tracks:

Come Over
House On The Hill
She Always Leaves Me Laughing
How You Loved Me
Torn Between Temptations
Love In The City
Bachelor Mother
John And Julie
Hot Little Hands
Somewhere Friday Night
Dance This Dance
You Don't Have To Walk In The Rain
Chicken Little Was Right, Single Version
Lady-O
Last Thing I Remember
Owl
To See The Sun
If We Only Had The Time
Can I Go On
Dance This Dance

Album Details

8 Bonus Tracks.

Customer Reviews:

The album, and more!.......2000-06-09

The Turtles' "Turtle Soup" is an excellent album in-and-of itself; produced mostly by Ray Davies, it showcases the direction the Turtles *might* have taken if they hadn't suddenly broken up (and if Mark and Howard hadn't pursued a more "primal" music direction). Somewhere Friday Night, Love in the City...basically, I love this album, and so should you.

However, there are two distinct issues of this album out, and naturally, you need both for the "complete package." The Sundazed has better sound quality, but the Repertoire issue adds a disgusting number of INCREDIBLY WONDERFUL bonus tracks that are completely necessary, and it boggles the mind to realize that these are normally unavailible.

So, um, get both. Yay!

Of Both Worlds
Average customer rating:
Of Both Worlds
Mock Turtle Soup
Manufacturer: Mock Turtle Soup
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CAG3JU
Release Date: 2004-01-27