Once
again I made a discovery from my own CD shelf. It occurred quite some
time ago, actually, but I couldn't find time or motivation to publish
this post about Eternity's Children - until now. After all, the
nightless night has just passed and the hottest days of summer lie
ahead...
Eternity's
Children were never very succesfull but since the 60s they have
definitely gained a status as cult favorites. The group was formed in
Cleveland in 1967 by singer-keyboardist Bruce Blackman and drummer
Roy Whittaker. Warm vocal harmonies were a major part of the group's
sound right from the beginning. In my opinion, the best parts are the
ones where Linda Lawley's vocals can be heard – that is especially on
the second album Timeless.
Generally
speaking, Eternity's Children sound like a very typical sunshine pop
group which is no wonder considering their first album (Eternity's
Children, 1968) was produced by Curt Boettcher and Keith Olsen. The
first album has some excellent moments, such as Mrs. Bluebird, a song
that I think might be one of the catchiest ever recorded, and a
perfect example of the incredible power of nonsensical baa-baa lyrics. Other
cool songs include Sunshine Among Us, and Again, Again - and others.. Nothing here is actually bad.
The
second album (Timeless) is a big improvement from the self-titled
album. Timeless feels a lot more coherent as a whole. The album
becomes more than a sum of its parts and unlike the first album
cannot be blamed for sounding like Curt Boettcher's side project
(with emphasis on the word 'side'). The album features brilliant
organ sounds with horns, and of course the vocal arrangements are
magical. With the band sounding more like itself and not Sagittarius
or the Millennium, the result sounds (at least to me) in a very good
way slightly more down-to-earth. In addition, the band sounds really
happy on this album! Pretty much every song is very good and makes a
charming collection of summery feel. You can't go wrong with this
one! Check out I Wanna Be with You, Nature's Child, Look Away, Till I Hear It From You, or just any other great tune.
Later,
Eternity's Children moved on to a different blue-eyed soul style
abandoning the tender harmonies and sunshiny sounds. The results are
very good, too. Rev-Ola's reissue called Eternity's Children has both
the albums as well as great singles from the band's later recoring
career. All in all, a fantastic reissue!
Here are a few songs (YouTube):
