The Mojo Men - Times Like These (1966)

As mentioned in the previous post from the Mojo Men, Dennis DeCarr left the group in 1966 and was replaced by drummer/vocalist Jan Errico, formerly of the Vejtables. This signalled a change in direction for the group, and they ditched their previous British Invasion-influenced garage rock for more of a pop/folk sound. They also left Autumn Records and signed with Reprise Records, where their first single for the label was a Baroque cover version of Buffalo Springfield's 'Sit Down, I Think I Love You', which became the band's first and only top 40 single. Despite releasing half a dozen more singles between 1966 and 1968, they could never regain the popularity of that first record, and so in 1968 Metchick left the band, and the remaining trio shortened their name to The Mojo, and then just Mojo, before they released their lone studio album, 'Mojo Magic', on GRT Records in 1969. Later that year the group disbanded, but after 'Sit Down, I Think I Love You' was included on the seminal 1972 'Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era' compilation album, the band's earlier output was re-examined and found to contain a number of fine recordings. There have been three Mojo Men compilation albums released between 1995 and 2003, but the most interesting of them was a collection of recordings made after Errico joined in 1966, but which were never released. There is a lot of duplication on it, with the inclusion of alternate takes and demos, but by stripping all of those out we are left with an excellent collection of music which shows the transition of the group's sound into the pop/folk for which they are most known, and which could have been released as an actual album in 1966.

Track listing

01 Is Our Love Gone
02 What Kind Of Man
03 Another World
04 Sure Of Your Love
05 Look Into My Eyes
06 Times Like These
07 You Didn't Even Say Goodbye
08 Happiness Is You
09 Not Too Old To Start Cryin'
10 'Til I Find You
11 What's The Answer
12 They May Be Right
13 Remember Me
14 Don't Leave Me Crying Like Before