The Turtles Present - The Battle Of The Bands 1968 (Deluxe Edition 2017)

The Turtles enjoyed eighteen US hit singles between 1965 and 1970, three of which (“Happy Together”, “She’d Rather Be With Me” and “Elenore”) were also huge hits in the UK. From their original incarnation as surf band The Crossfires, all the way to their final single, the Turtles traversed several different musical paths during their career. It is precisely this power through diversity that makes the Turtles’ body of work one of the most rewarding and enjoyable of the 1960’s – they never met a genre they didn’t like. Edsel Records is proud to present the band’s six albums, each as a 2 CD digipak set.

Produced by the Monkees’ producer Chip Douglas, ‘The Battle Of The Bands’ (1968) features “Elenore” and saw the band assume a different musical persona for each track (or band, to use the American term – the original sleeve features photos of the different bands). The album also features Turtles’ hit cover of the Roger McGuinn/Gene Clark song “You Showed Me”, sampled by U2 and De La Soul, and sampled and covered by the Lightning Seeds in 1997. “I’m Chief Kamanawanalea (We’re The Royal Macadamia Nuts)” has been sampled over sixty times.

The bonus CD features the three contemporary non-album singles (and their b-sides) along with album outtakes and alternate takes. With a booklet note by Andrew Sandoval, this 2 CD digipak edition (exclusive to the UK) has been newly re-mastered by Bill Inglot.

TRACKLIST

CD1

01. The Opening – The Battle Of The Bands
02. The Last Thing I Remember
03. Elenore
04. Too Much Heartsick Feeling
05. Oh, Daddy!
06. Buzz Saw
07. Surfer Dan
08. I’m Chief Kamanawanalea (We’re The Royal Macadamia Nuts)
09. You Showed Me
10. Food
11. Chicken Little Was Right
12. The Closing – Earth Anthem (All)

CD2

01. She’s My Girl
02. Chicken Little Was Right [single version]
03. Sound Asleep
04. Umbassa the Dragon
05. The Story Of Rock And Roll
06. Can’t You Hear The Cows
07. The Last Thing I Remember (The First Thing I Knew) [alternate version]
08. The Owl [outtake]
09. To See The Sun [outtake]
10. Earth Anthem [alternate version]
11. Battle Of The Bands radio spot