Track Listing

1. When I Meet Them
2. Diamond Girl
3. Hummingbird
4. Castles in the Sand
5. East of Ginger Trees
6. I'll Play for You
7. Ruby Jean and Billie Lee
8. King of Nothing
9. Summer Breeze
10. We May Never Pass This Way (Again)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35629 in Music
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

From Amazon.com
Although the prime exponents of the '70s California soft rock style were album artists such as America, Bread, and Poco, Seals and Crofts--essentially an AM singles band--have aged even better. The key is in their tight songwriting. "Summer Breeze," "Diamond Girl," and the rest of the hits display an odd, but apt, sense of arrangement and instrumentation--and enough of a rock & roll sensibility to keep their sound from slumping into period piece laid-backism. Case in point: The duo's first band was the Champs, noted for the fake-Latin crudhopper "Tequila." Even so, it's not grit, but ace songcraft that captures the prize here. All of the ace songs are included. --Gavin McNett

Customer Reviews

Vocal harmonies and mandolin picking in the Seventies
Seals and Crofts are one of those Seventies groups where having the Greatest Hits album comes under the "all you will ever need" category. In fact, this album came out in 1974 and the pair stopped having hits the following year, having first made the charts in 1972. Long before Peter Buck was losing his religion, James Seals and Dash Crofts were in to the joys of mandolin playing (e.g., "Hummingbird") as one of the top soft-rock groups of the Seventies with a string of pop hits: "Summer Breeze" (#6), "Diamond Girl" (#6), "Hummingbird" (#20), "We May Never Pass This Way Again" (#21), and "I'll Play For You" (#18).

In addition to their subtle vocal harmonies, the thing to really pay attention to with Seals and Crofts are the excellent bridges they tend to have in their songs. To this day if I hear "Summer Breeze" on the radio I have to listen for that fantastic bridge: "Sweet days of summer-the jasmine's in bloom/July is dressed up and playing her tune/And I come home from a hard day's work/And you're waitin' there/Not a care in the world." (Excuse me I have to back the CD up to that point again.) I also have fond memories of "We May Never Pass This Way (Again)," which was pretty much a graduation staple when I was released from high school. But even the "non" hits on this album are well worth listening to. My only real complaint, idiosyncratic as it may well be, is that this collection does not include the song Seals and Crofts did for the theme song of "The Paper Chase." Fortunately, I still have some of those on videotape to listen to from time to time.

Lovely tunes and harmonies
Seals & Crofts were an early 1970s outfit that gave us some beautiful songs. The essence of their sound is elegant vocal harmony. The style veers from folkie soft rock to funky blue-eyed soul in the vein of Hall and Oates. Unfortunately the lyrics can be downright trite and twee sometimes, but the melodies make up for that deficiency. I doubt that every track on this album was really a hit: the only songs that made the charts were Summer Breeze, Hummingbird, East Of Ginger Trees, Diamond Girl, We May Never Pass This Way Again and I'll Play For You.

When I Meet Them is a nice singalong number of hippy optimism with a hint of country, whilst Diamond Girl with its tempo variation provides the first example of their gorgeous harmonies and catchy hooks. Hummingbird is a tender and subdued ditty with a spiritual undertone, and East Of Ginger Trees has appealing instrumental passages and eventually rousing vocals, after the first few verses where the vocals remind one of James Taylor.

Another of my favourites is I'll Play For You, a melodious pop ditty with gripping vocals. Ruby Jean And Billy Lee is a sensitive ballad with lovely piano, whilst King Of Nothing is a charming uptempo number. Then comes the highlight of the album and Seals And Crofts' finest achievement: the magnificent Summer Breeze. With its evocative poetic lyrics, impeccable vocals and exquisite arrangement, this song is most enchanting, a real gem.

This duo is considered part of the early 1970s singer-songwriter artists, on the sweeter side. And it is true that some of the sentiments in their lyrics sound very dated, even silly. But there is an undeniable charm in their music. And Summer Breeze is a piece of magic that is worth the price of the album.