Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful

Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful
Studio album by The Lovin' Spoonful
Released	November, 1966
Recorded	1966 at Bell Sound Studios and Columbia Studios, New York, NY and in Los Angeles, CA
Genre	Folk rock
Length	26:48 (original LP)
Label	Kama Sutra
Producer	Erik Jacobsen
The Lovin' Spoonful chronology
What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966) Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful (1966) You're a Big Boy Now (1967)

Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful is the third album (excluding one soundtrack album) by the folk/rock band The Lovin' Spoonful, released in 1966. It peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.

History

Hums was a deliberate attempt by the band to record in a variety of styles. They composed and played in the pop, country, jug-band, blues and folk styles. It would ultimately end up to be the last full project by the original lineup. It was recorded in New York with the exception of "Lovin' You' which was recorded in Los Angeles.

The album managed to spawn four charting singles for the band, including the No. 1 hit "Summer in the City". "Rain on the Roof", "Nashville Cats", and "Full Measure" also appeared on the Pop charts, all but the last making it to the Top 10. Bobby Darin had a Top 40 hit with a cover version of "Lovin' You". Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash later covered "Darlin' Companion" in 1969 on Johnny Cash at San Quentin. Principal songwriter John Sebastian said of "Nashville Cats" — which made No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 — "We thought our version would cross over to the country market. It never did. So we're always kind, gee, well I guess that tells us what we are and what we aren't." Flatt & Scruggs took "Nashville Cats" to No. 54 on the country charts as a single.

Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful was re-released in 2003 on the Sundazed label with bonus tracks consisting of four demos, instrumental tracks, and alternate versions/mixes of songs from the album, along with extensive liner notes. It was also released on CD along with Do You Believe in Magic? in 1995.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

In his Allmusic review, music critic William Ruhlman wrote of the album "An emphasis on the parts of the album is a way of describing it as more a loose collection of disparate tracks than a unified effort, despite Sebastian's hand in all the compositions and his lead vocals on most of them. This was by necessity, but also by design, since Sebastian and co. went into the studio trying to sound completely different each time. They often succeeded..."

Track listing

All songs by John Sebastian unless otherwise noted.

1. "Lovin' You" – 2:29
2. "Bes' Friends" – 1:54
3. "Voodoo In My Basement" – 2:29
4. "Darlin' Companion" – 2:22
5. "Henry Thomas" – 1:43
6. "Full Measure" (Steve Boone, John Sebastian) – 2:42
7. "Rain On The Roof" – 2:13
8. "Coconut Grove" (Sebastian, Zal Yanovsky) – 2:43
9. "Nashville Cats" – 2:35
10. "4 Eyes" – 2:53
11. "Summer in the City" (Steve Boone, Mark Sebastian) – 2:45

    2003 reissue bonus tracks:

12. "Darlin' Companion" (John Sebastian Solo Demo) – 2:23
13. "Rain On The Roof" (Instrumental Version) – 2:17
14. "4 Eyes" (Alternate Vocal/Extended Version) – 3:41
15. "Full Measure" (Instrumental Version) – 2:43
16. "Voodoo In My Basement" (Instrumental) – 2:40
17. "Darlin' Companion" (Alternate Vocal/Alternate Mix) – 2:25

Personnel

• John Sebastian – lead and background vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar, autoharp, piano, organ, ocarina, pedal steel guitar, Irish harp
• Steve Boone – electric and double bass, piano, organ, percussion
• Joe Butler – drums, percussion, background vocals, lead vocal on "Full Measure"
• Zal Yanovsky – electric and acoustic guitar, banjo, background vocals, slide whistle, lead vocal on "Voodoo in My Basement"
• Henry Diltz – clarinet
• Artie Schroeck – electric piano on "Summer in the City"
• Larry Hankin – "Jews" harp

Production notes

• Produced by Erik Jacobsen
• Engineered by Roy Halee
• Photography by Henry Diltz

External links

• The Lovin' Spoonful at Classicbands.com
• Lovin' Spoonful Official Website