OHIO EXPRESS

OHIO EXPRESS (Stereo BDS 5018) 1968

SIDE 1
Yummy, Yummy, Yummy (2:18) (A. Resnick - J. Levine)*
Winter Skies (2:58) (K. Laguna - S. Laguna)
Into This Time (2:45) (D. Kastran)
First Grade Reader (3:03) (P. Karwan)
Mary-Ann (2:29) (K. Laguna)
SIDE 2
Down At Lu Lu's (1:55) (C. Resnick - J. Levine) *
Turn To Straw (4:05) (J. Pfahler)
Vacation (1:45) (J. Pfahler)
She's Not Comin' Home (2:52) (J. Pfahler)
It's A Sad Day (It's A Sad Time) (2:46) (K. Laguna)
The Time You Spent With Me (5:05) (K. Laguna)

Produced By Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffery Katz
Except * By Jerry Kasenetz, Jeffery Katz, Artie Resnick and Joey Levine

REVIEW:

Enter Joey Levine. Although he only makes an appearance on two songs (the two hits; one of which is merely the most recognizable Bubblegum song of all time) the core group -- introduced on the back cover for the first (and last) time are essentially given their walking papers. Before they exit to make way for total Levine domination, the "real" group gives it their last good go and, 30 years hence, I feel confident saying what a damn good go it was.

Into This Time, First Grade Reader, and Turn To Straw are three lost psychedelic classics. Lost, because they are buried deep on what most people thought at the time was a just another silly bubblegum record. There's nothing silly about these songs though. Into This Time, for example, shows up as an instrumental in the Shadows of Knight oeuvre re-titled From Way Out To Way Under. By itself, and in the context of a garage band, it's a powerful, well-developed rock song. On this album, The Ohio Express present the full song with added misshapen lyrics and a layer of music that bends and shapes the song into a psychedelic classic. Turn To Straw is another fine nugget and really points the flesh and blood Express towards their own identity. Any "If only" or "mighta, coulda, shoulda" thoughts would be appropriate here. But, ultimately, had they been able to break free from the Super K and Levine bonds, obscurity in another genre would have followed them. Too bad, I could've dug these guys in a big way. (And some hacks like The Doors live on. Geez!). The only consolation, I guess, is that they are the precursors to the mid to late-'80s Enigma label's stable of hard rockers and poppers like Rain Parade and TSOL. That this brief movement led directly to the Alternative Seattle sound of Nirvana and that ilk is not a stretch.

It's A Sad Day and The Time You Spent With Me sound like the work of yet a third group and are pleasant power pop stabs but are merely filler. Was there a sign-up sheet to be on this record? Could we have been the Ohio Express for a day? Winter Skies further exacerbates the issue by sounding like The Lemon Pipers, and, as you know, that's not a compliment. Mary-Ann and She's Not Coming Home split the bubblegum influence of the groups employers with their own pop sensibilities. They strain to be hits, but don't stretch far enough in either direction.

Oh, yes, I should mention Yummy, Yummy, Yummy and Down at Lu Lu's. They are good, solid bubblegum songs. Either they sound out of place with the rest of the songs or vice versa. Can't wait to get a CD version (one was released but it 's long out of print) and sequence them out though.

The dual side of the "group" (with, what, six different singers?) didn't give the listener any consistency and, as a result, Ohio Express sounds like a compilation album. With the next album, Chewy Chewy, the situation is dealt with swiftly. We must say good-bye to Pfahler and company and prepare ourselves for the full onslaught of Joey Levine.

I'm starting to miss the things these guys could've done. - Andrew Bergey

 

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