Owen B – Owen B

 

1. Share (0:52)

2. Daily News (4:34)

3. All We Are Asking (4:18)

4. Mellow Meadow (8:00)

5. Share (1:10)

6. My Friends (4:09)

7. Weekend (4:18)

8. Leavin' It All Up To You (3:44)

9. Out On Our Own (3:14)

10. Thank You For Listening (3:44)

Owen B

Owen-B (named after the band's black and orange 1954 Mercury), has an interesting, if rather convoluted background. 

Born and raised in Mansfield, Ohio singer / guitarist Terry Van Auker and multi-instrumentalist Tom Zinser got their starts playing in a number of local bands, including Tommy Z And The Sleepers. By 1967, the two were playing in an outfit known as Wildlife. Popular on the local club scene, an audition for Columbia went well, but the company's interest was contingent on the group agreeing to dump their then lead singer Lou Basso. Reluctantly, the rest of the band agreed to the personnel change, subsequently recording a number of demos for the label. The partnership was brief, resulting in the release of one instantly obscure single: 'Time Will Tell' b/w 'Hard Hard Year' (Columbia catalog number 4-44369).  

Back on the club circuit, 1969 saw another personnel change with former Crazy Elephant / Music Explosion drummer Bob Tousignant (aka Bob Avery) signing on.  Another name change followed, with Owen-B emerging.

Unable to interest another major label in their material, the group elected to go the self-issued route. Consequently, 1970's cleverly-titled "Owen-B" was released on their own Ohio-based Mus-i-col label. Self-produced, anyone expecting to hear another set of mid-1960s blue-eyed soul / garage was probably somewhat disappointed by the album. Similarly, anyone buying into dealer hype claiming this was a set of mind melting psych was going to be disappointed. Those comments aren't meant to be taken as criticisms since the collection is quite commercial and somewhat of a lost classic. Featuring ten band-penned originals, musically the set bounced all over the spectrum, including stabs at stoner acoustic folk ('All We Are Asking'), pop ('My Friends'), country-rock ('Weekend'), and conventional hard rock ('Share'). Normally, something as diverse wouldn't hold up particularly well, but when packaged with killer melodies, great harmony vocals, some first-rate guitar (courtesy of Terry Van Auker) and a real sense of fun and enjoyment you ended up with one of the rare exceptions to the rule. Personal favourites include 'Leavin' It All Up To You' and 'Out On My Own' (which add a bit of progressive complexity to the mix). Easy to see why folks hype the album, even if it isn't for the right reasons. Shame they didn't record a follow up set.