In 1964 four schoolfriends decided to form a band, and so with Jim Peterik on vocals and guitar, Larry Millas on guitar and vocals, Bob Bergland on bass and vocals, and Mike Borch on drums and vocals, the group adopted the name the Shon Dels. In 1965 they released the single 'Like It Or Lump It', backed with 'No Two Ways About It', on their own Epitome Records label, and at this time they were palying garage rock with a strong British Invasion influence. In 1966 they changed their name to The Ides Of March, after Bergland had read Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' in English class, and this seemed to herald an increase in the group's popularity, and so a second single was issued, with 'You Wouldn't Listen' coming out on the regional Harlequin Records label. The A-side received some airplay in Chicago, and so Parrot Records signed the band and reissued the 45 for the nationwide market, resulting in it rising to number five on the Chicago singles charts, and just missing the Top 40 across the country, topping the nationwide listings at 42. Their second single for Parrot, 'Roller Coaster', appeared a few months later, and while the A-side was another hit in Chicago, peaking at number 14 in the Windy City, this time it failed to make the national charts. Three more singles for Parrot followed, with 'You Need Love' in 1966, and then two more in 1967 with 'My Foolish Pride' and 'Hole In My Soul, but while the group was still a major draw in their hometown, their ability to sell records seemed in doubt, and they cut ties with Parrot.
After signing with Kapp Records, the next Ides of March single was the moody pop number 'Nobody Loves Me' in 1968, backed with the semi-psychedelic 'Strawberry Sunday'. It was their first and last release for Kapp, but 'Nobody Loves Me' did point the way to the future with its use of a trumpet in the arrangement. Later that year, with the popularity of horn-based rock bands like Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago on the rise, the band added two trumpet players, John Larson and Chuck Soumar, to give their sound an extra punch. This new sound was enough to gain them a record deal with Warner Bros., and their first full-length album, 'Vehicle', arrived in early 1970. The title track was issued as a single, and it quickly became a smash hit, spending ten weeks on the charts and peaking at number two. Suddenly the Ides Of March were stars across the United States, and they soon found themselves touring the nation and sharing stages with luminaries such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, and the Grateful Dead. The group wasted little time cutting a follow-up album, and their second disc, 'Common Bond', hit stores in 1971. The soft-rock of the 'L.A. Goodbye' single took the emphasis off the horns in favour of a mellower sound, and although it earned a solid amount of airplay, 'Common Bond' didn't spawn a major hit single like 'Vehicle', and so Warner Bros. dropped the band. They did manage to sign a recording contract with RCA Victor, and released more albums in the 70's, but by waiting until 1970 to record their first long-player, it meant that we never got to hear an album by the band before they added the horn section. Hopefully this will put that right with a record that could have been issued in 1968, using the single tracks and the odd unreleased recording that they had amassed by that time.
Track listing
01 Roller Coaster
02 Things Aren't Always What They Seem
03 Hole In My Soul
04 My Foolish Pride
05 I'll Take You Back
06 Girls Don't Grow On Trees
07 Strawberry Sunday
08 You Need Love
09 I'll Keep Searching
10 One And One Does Not Make Three
11 Give Your Mind Wings
12 I'm Gonna Say My Prayers
13 High On A Hillside
14 Nobody Loves Me
15 You Wouldn't Listen
