Los Bravos
Los Bravos - Columbia 1966 Comments:Spanish Los Bravos had a big international hit in 1966 with the single "Black is Black". The song is rhythmically inciting, well-produced and very catchy. Maybe you could compare the sound to the Box Tops’ “The Letter”. It was written by songwriting team Michelle Grainger, Tony Hayes, and Steve Wadey, who are also behind a few other songs on this, the group's debut album. The album is professionally produced by Ivor Raymonde, who i.a. also produced for Dusty Springfield. The music is a mix of British beat-pop and American R&B. The musicians in the band were young but competent. There should therefore be a basis for a solid 1960s album. Unfortunately, this is not entirely the case; the songwriting is simply not good enough. Although "Black is Black" is a great song, one song, of course, is not enough to save an entire album.
Honorable exceptions from the total indifference in the songs are in addition to "Black is Black" is another Grainger / Hayes / Wadey song "Will You Always Love Me" which is a nice little pop song. Two songs written by group member Monolo Diaz, "Make it Easy on Me" and "You Won't Get Far" are a bit in the same genre and quite nice. The latter has, by the way, borrowed / stolen the guitar riff from The Kinks' "Tired of Waiting for You".
Based on my prior knowledge of "Black is Black", I must say that the album is a disappointment.
|
