Late in 1963, The GoldeBriars recorded “Sunshine Special,” the group’s adaptation of the traditional train song. Curt Boettcher – the male vocalist in the line-up and also its major creative leader – would later make sunshine a specialty; his shimmering California-pop productions for the likes of The Millennium, The Ballroom and Sagittarius have all gone on to attain cult status. There’s not much of that baroque psych-pop sound on Now Sounds’ Walkin’ Down the Line: The Best of The GoldeBriars (CRNOW52), the first-ever retrospective for the short-lived folk unit. But this compelling new 30-track stereo anthology of the band’s vibrant 1963-1964 recordings reveals the earliest blossoming of Boettcher’s gift for harmonies, and the roots of the beautiful music he would later create.

Formed in Minnesota by Boettcher, sisters Dotti and Sheri Holmberg and guitarist Ron Neilson – all four of whom were still in their teenage years – The GoldeBriars came to the attention of Epic Records A&R chief Bob Morgan on the strength of a four-song demo recording (which concludes this set). Morgan saw that the youngsters would occupy a spot on the Epic folk roster alongside the illustrious likes of The New Christy Minstrels, and produced both of their two released albums. (Mention should be made of one additional group member – Jezebel, the wooden fertility goddess brought back by Neilson’s father during World War II from the Marshall Islands. Jezebel can be seen in all her glory on numerous photos in this package, including on the cover!)

The first six tracks on Walkin’ Down the Line have been reprised from The GoldeBriars’ self-titled debut, recorded in late 1963. In a colossal bit of bad timing, the Epic LP arrived in stores on February 10, 1964 - the day after The Beatles made their big splash on The Ed Sullivan Show. The big noise made by the four boys from Liverpool threatened overnight to make The GoldeBriars’ brand of folk feel antiquated. The tracks from The GoldeBriars show off the group’s sound at its purest and most delicate, whether on the traditional spiritual “Mumblin’ Word,” which retells the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, or “Alabama Bound.” (Both folk songs had been popularized by Lead Belly.) Indeed, stunning harmonies proliferate, including on the haunting and dark “Railroad Boy.” But producer Bob Morgan encouraged the group to experiment with overdubbed vocals, portending the direction of Curt Boettcher’s future career; the results can be heard on tracks like “Shenandoah,” with the gorgeous counterpoint line from Sheri that Boettcher would revive years later on a Millennium track.

It was likely inevitable that The GoldeBriars’ acoustic, drum-free sound would morph into folk-pop, at least if the group hoped to have a commercial future. So sophomore release Straight Ahead! (primarily recorded in May 1964 with a handful of holdovers from the earlier sessions such as the traditional Jewish chant “Zum Gale Gale”) added percussion and more expansive arrangements on tracks like the beatniks-in-love story of “MacDougal Street.” The astute, informative and entertaining liner notes from longtime Boettcher scholar Dawn Eden reveal the influence of Brill Building songwriter Bob Goldstein, who was initially brought in to collaborate with the group to polish their stage act. He took a keen interest in Boettcher as a songwriter, and they collaborated on tracks including “Sea of Tears.” Though recorded in May 1964, it’s stunningly gorgeous soft-pop of the variety that Boettcher would master a couple of years down the road. Here, introducing this compilation’s brace of material from Straight Ahead!, it hits the listener like a bolt of lightning. Just listen to the first bars to hear why Boettcher and Brian Wilson are so often spoken of in the same breath.

If “Sea of Tears” looked forward, though, Goldstein’s pretty “Castle on the Corner” looked backwards. The enjoyable track is a spot-on pastiche of The Fleetwoods; the one-man, two-woman group behind “Come Softly to Me” and “Mr. Blue” was one of Boettcher’s favorites. Traditional tunes weren’t absent from the LP, however, such as the frenetic, banjo-driven rendition of “Jump Down.”

The nine selections here from Straight Ahead! certainly reflect the group’s eclectic stew of influences, even as more original material was entering their repertoire. The Goldstein co-written “No More Bomb” may characterize the group’s peaceful, innocent approach to protest music. “No more big, bad bomb – no more bang-bang from de [sic] boom-boom…everything is calm,” goes the Caribbean-flavored track. Even in 1964, it might have been fairly labelled quaint, but “I’ve Got to Love Somebody,” with its freight-train rhythm, pointed the group in a more folk-rock direction with harmonies that would have made The Mamas and Papas envious!

Sessions were held in December 1964 for a third album, though the tracks were shelved and didn’t see release until the CD era was underway.  By that point, The GoldeBriars had added drummer Ron Edgar (later of The Music Machine and The Millennium) and bassist Tom Dorholt; in addition, Ron Neilson had left the line-up, replaced by Murray Planta. Had it been released at the time, Jimmy Reed’s “Hush, Hush” would have brought the group into rocking territory. “Nothing Wrong with You That My Love Can’t Cure” went even further in the folk-rock direction, comparing favorably to the sound of Jackie DeShannon’s classic work of the period. The GoldeBriars even tackled a Dylan cover via the chugging “Walkin’ Down the Line” which was first recorded by Dylan in 1962 but not included on any of his albums. (The GoldeBriars likely learned it from Hamilton Camp, though DeShannon also recorded it!)

Typical for the group, the December 1964 material was varied in tone and style but makes for exciting listening in this context. The apocalyptic “The Last Two People on Earth” (“Now hate is gone forever and love has taken its place”) is musically more aggressive than much of The GoldeBriars’ past output but still very much in the same gentle protest tradition. The catchy “Tell it to the Wind” was actually co-written by Jeff Barry and features an overtly pop sound with its big percussion, swooning harmonies, and effortlessly graceful melody. Another Goldstein co-write, the bubbly “June Bride Baby,” sounds like a lost girl group gem from the Red Bird label; it’s effectively sequenced directly after a demo of Goldstein’s sweet “I’m Gonna Marry You.”

This anthology is rounded out by the previously unreleased four-song demonstration record that sold Epic Records on The GoldeBriars. Recorded in August 1963 and pressed on a flexi-disc, it features two songs from the group and two more on which they back another folk collective, The Flinthill Singers. (The latter offer a rather bright and boisterous take on “Blowin’ in the Wind.”)

Walkin’ Down the Line: The Best of The GoldeBriars is an effervescent introduction to the group, and for that matter, to the career of Curt Boettcher, cult hero and pop visionary. Alan Brownstein has beautifully remastered all of the tracks, and producer/art director Steve Stanley has complemented the music with a wonderful design, as well. The exquisite, intricate harmonies of Curt Boettcher, Dotti and Sheri Holmberg have never sounded as sweet.

The GoldeBriars, Walkin’ Down the Line: The Best of The GoldeBriars (Now Sounds CRNOW 52, 2014) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

1. A Mumblin’ Word (He Never Said)
2. Alabama Bound
3. Railroad Boy
4. Come Walk Me Out
5. Shenandoah
6. Voyager’s Lament
7. Sea of Tears
8. Mac Dougal Street
9. Castle on the Corner
10. Haiku
11. No More Bomb
12. Sweet Potatoes
13. Jump Down
14. I’ve Got to Love Somebody
15. Zum Gale Gale
16. Hush, Hush
17. Nothing Wrong with You That My Love Can’t Cure
18. Walkin’ Down the Line
19. The Last Two People on Earth
20. Tell it to the Wind
21. Nothing More to Look Forward To
22. I’m Gonna Marry You (Demo)
23. June Bride Baby
24. Sunshine Special
25. Noah
26. My Song
27. Pretty Girls and Rolling Stones (Demo)
28. Old Time Religion (Demo)
29. Blowin’ in the Wind (Demo)
30. Come Along (Demo)

Tracks 1-6 from The GoldeBriars, Epic BN 24087, 1964
Tracks 7-15 from Straight Ahead!, Epic BN 26114, 1964
Tracks 16-20 from Straight Ahead!, Collectors’ Choice Music CCM 735, 2006
Tracks 21, 22, 24-26 from The GoldeBriars, Collectors’ Choice Music CCM 734, 2006
Track 23 from Epic single 5-9806, 1965
Tracks 27-30 previously unreleased, from original demo recording, 1963