Lovin' Things

For the song, see Lovin' Things (song).

Untitled

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

Lovin' Things is the fourth album by American rock group The Grass Roots. The album was originally released by Dunhill Records in 1969. The album charted at #73. It contained only two songs composed by the group. The album was intended to take the group into a soulful direction that was being rewarded by charting singles. The A and B side singles released were "Lovin' Things", "The River Is Wide", "(You Gotta) Live for Love" and "Fly Me to Havana". At the end of this run, "I'd Wait a Million Years" was released as an A side and became the group's next charting single, appearing on their next album, Leaving It All Behind.

Songs

The songs featured unique horn punctuated touches by arranger Jimmie Haskell. The songs were written by outside composers, with the exception of two from the group songwriting team of Entner and Grill. This was a notable decrease in compositions by group members compared to their previous two studio albums, Let's Live for Today and Feelings, which contained four and seven group member penned tracks, respectively. Dunhill Records executives decided that since "Midnight Confessions" previously performed so well in the charts, they would take the group output in the same direction with the strong use of horns and wind instruments. A new soulful direction first surfaced on this album and continued strongly on their next album, titled Leaving It All Behind. This strategy proved wise as the group continued to move forward with multiple hit records until 1973. This is the last album with guitarist Creed Bratton, who left the group in early 1969. It is also the last album by the group to feature songs written by P.F. Sloan.

Artwork, packaging

The original release of Lovin' Things is on Dunhill ABC as mono or stereo. The front cover designed by Philip Schwartz.

Singles

Year	Titles	Peak chart positions
		U.S. Billboard	U.S. Cash Box	Canada RPM Top Singles	Canada RPM Adult Contemporary
1969	"Lovin' Things"	49	35	24	-
	"The River Is Wide"	31	16	-	17

Track listing

All songs produced by Steve Barri.

Side one

1. "Lovin' Things" (Schroeck, Loring) – 2:40
2. "The River Is Wide" (Knight, Admire) – 2:30
3. "(You Gotta) Live for Love" (Entner, Grill) – 2:10
4. "City Women" (Sloan) – 2:54
5. "What Love Is Made Of" (Simone) – 2:50
6. "Pain" (Mann) – 2:45

Side two

1. "I Get So Excited" (Gordon, Grant) – 2:40
2. "The Days of Pearly Spencer" (MacWilliams) – 2:30
3. "Baby, You Do It So Well" (Sloan, Barri) – 2:40
4. "I Can't Help But Wonder, Elisabeth" (Sloan) – 4:05
5. "Fly Me to Havana" (Entner, Grill) – 3:50

Personnel

• Rob Grill – vocals, bass, composer
• Warren Entner – guitar, organ, vocals, composer
• Creed Bratton – guitar, vocals
• Rick Coonce (Mr. Rhythm) – drums, percussion
• Steve Barri – producer, composer
• Phil Kaye – engineer, thunder
• P. F. Sloan – composer
• Jimmie Haskell – arrangements
• Session musicians: Hal Blaine, Joe Osborn, Larry Knechtel, Ben Benay, Mike Deasy