When "Baby, Now That I've Found You" reached No. 1 on the U.K. Singles Chart in late 1967, The Foundations became the country's first multi-racial band to score a No. 1 single.  The irresistible tune by Tony Macaulay and John MacLeod also topped the chart in Canada and peaked just out of the top ten in the United States, inaugurating a brief period of success for the groundbreaking group.  The Foundations are well-remembered today for both "Baby, Now That I've Found" you and the Macaulay/Mike D'Abo confection "Build Me Up, Buttercup," and now Cherry Red's Strawberry imprint is delving further into their discography with a new 3-CD set.  Am I Grooving You: The Pye Anthology, due on August 12, features both of The Foundations' Pye studio albums (the first in mono and stereo) as well as their live album and numerous bonus singles.

The Pye Anthology primarily covers 1967-1970, with the additional material stretching The Foundations' story to 1975.  Within that brief period of time, the London-based group went through numerous changes.  Their initial eight-man line-up (including a horn section) featuring lead singer Clem Curtis not only consisted of artists from varying backgrounds but also varying ages ranging from 18 to 38.  Their live sound was steeped in soul - see their covers of James Phelps' hit single "Love Is a Five-Letter Word" and Joe Tex's driving "Show Me" on their debut LP, From The Foundations - while their big brass sound also lent itself to groovy lounge stylings (take one listen to Tony Hatch's "Call Me" from the same album).  When songwriter-producer Tony Macaulay took an interest in the group, the proven hitmaker steered them in the direction of sophisticated mainstream pop.

From The Foundations, presented in both mono and stereo on CD 1, features "Baby, Now That I've Found You" as well as four other Macaulay/MacLeod compositions including the swaying "I Can Take or Leave Your Loving" and dramatic "Come on Back to Me" with its Four Seasons-esque harmonies.  Though the LP didn't chart, The Foundations were back on their feet again with, well, "Back on My Feet Again," another Macaulay/MacLeod number that bore more than a passing resemblance to "Baby, Now That I've Found You."  It reached the top ten in the U.K., and preceded the arrival of a concert LP, Rocking The Foundations: Live.  The 1968 album, presented on CD 3 here, didn't include a live version of their first hit, though it did include "Back on My Feet Again."  Instead, it brought more cover favorites into the group's discography such as Bert Berns and Jeff Barry's "Am I Grooving You," the early Philly soul anthem "Love Is All Right" (a.k.a. "The Horse"), Bob Dorough and Ben Tucker's swaggering "Comin' Home Baby," and a spaced-out take on Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "The Look of Love."  The grittier Rocking The Foundations better captured the group's sound than their more polished studio LPs, and in late August 1968, it was announced that Clem Curtis had departed the line-up to focus on a solo career.  Curtis had chafed at the pop direction encouraged by Macaulay and took off for the U.S. where he performed alongside such bona fide soul men as Wilson Pickett.

Colin Young was tapped to replace Clem Curtis.  The Barbados native made his recording debut with The Foundations on "Build Me Up, Buttercup," bringing his own soul-pop style to the effervescent charmer featuring co-writers Tony Macaulay on organ and Mike D'Abo on piano.  "Buttercup" reached No. 2 in the U.K. and No. 3 in the U.S. and was followed by Macaulay and MacLeod's almost-as-catchy "In the Bad, Bad Old Days Before You Loved Me" (No. 8 U.K./No. 51 U.S.).  (Though Clem Curtis' rendition was the hit version, Macaulay re-recorded "Baby, Now That I've Found You" with Young on the lead vocal over the existing backing track.  That version which premiered on a 1969 budget compilation is included among the bonus material here.)

The Foundations' second studio album, 1969's Digging The Foundations, was recorded between U.S. and U.K. tours.  (Among their memorable U.S. dates were Fillmore East bills with The Byrds and Tim Buckley; and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Savoy Brown.  They also toured with Stevie Wonder and The Flirtations.)  Numerous group compositions were featured this time out in addition to the expected Macaulay/MacLeod tracks.  Their twee "My Little Chickadee" was a minor hit in the U.S. and Canada but wasn't released on 45 in the U.K.; perhaps owing to a dearth of material, the band also returned to "Let the Heartaches Begin."  Macaulay had offered them the song for their first LP but they'd chosen "Baby, Now That I'd Found You" instead and Long John Baldry had the (chart-topping) hit with "Let the Heartaches Begin."

1969 would see The Foundations' final charting single in the U.K.: "Born to Live, Born to Die, written by bandmates Eric Allandale, Tony Gomez, and Colin Young.  They broke up two years later after departing Pye Records and releasing a lone single for the Uni label.  (Both Clem Curtis and Colin Young subsequently led iterations of the band which resulted in the former gaining rights to the name The Foundations while the latter had to use The New Foundations.  Another group member, Alan Warner, still tours today as Alan Warner's Foundations with vocalist Hugh Montgomery who had auditioned to replace Clem Curtis in 1968.)

Am I Grooving You rounds out The Foundations' recorded legacy with a clutch of solo singles from Clem Curtis originally issued on the label in 1971-1972 as well as the lone single from The New Foundations, released on Pye in 1975.  Ironically, Curtis reteamed with none other than John MacLeod for the enjoyable likes of "Time Alone Will Tell" and the Al Green pastiche "Point of No Return."  Curtis even reworked "Stand by Your Man," soul-style, on an originally-unissued track reprised here.  The New Foundations' melodic A-side "Something for My Baby" recalled the Colin Young-led group's heyday, albeit with glossier production, to little commercial notice.

The three discs are housed within an eight-panel digipak along with a 24-page booklet offering photos, memorabilia, and Lois Wilson's liner notes based on a fresh interview with Alan Warner.  Simon Murphy has remastered the audio.  It all adds up to a fine tribute to an underrated band that successfully merged soul and pop into a recognizable sound of their own.  Look for Am I Groovin' You: The Pye Anthology from Cherry Red/Strawberry.

The Foundations, Am I Groovin' You: The Pye Anthology (Strawberry/Cherry Red CRJAM011T, 2022) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

From the Foundations (Mono) (Pye NPL 18206, 1967)

1. Baby Now That I've Found You
2. I Can Take or Leave Your Loving
3. Hold Me Just a Little While Longer
4. Come On Back to Me
5. Love Is a Five-Letter Word
6. Call Me
7. Show Me
8. Jerkin' the Dog
9. A Whole New Thing
10. The Writings on the Wall
11. Personality Man

Plus:

12. Back on My Feet Again (Mono Single Version) (Pye single 7N 17417, 1968)
13. Any Old Time You're Lonely or Sad (Mono) (Pye single 7N 17503, 1968)
14. We Are Happy People (Pye single 7N 17503, 1968)
15. It's All Right (from Pye EP 24297, 1968)
16. Build Me Up, Buttercup (Mono Single Version) (Pye single 7N 17636, 1968)
17. A New Direction (Pye single 7N 17636, 1968)

From the Foundations (Stereo) (Pye NSPL 18206, 1967)

18. Baby Now That I've Found You
19. I Can Take or Leave Your Loving
20. Hold Me Just a Little While Longer
21. Come On Back to Me
22. Love Is a Five-Letter Word
23. Call Me
24. Show Me
25. Jerkin' the Dog
26. A Whole New Thing
27. The Writings on the Wall
28. Personality Man

CD 2

Selections from The Foundations (Marble Arch LP MALS 1157, 1969 (Stereo))

1. Am I Grooving You (Studio Version)
2. Harlem Shuffle (Studio Version)
3. Tomorrow (Studio Version)

Plus:

4. Give Me Love (Pye single 7N 17702, 1969)

Digging The Foundations (Stereo) (Pye NSPL 18227, 1968)

5. My Little Chickadee
6. Till Night Brought Day
7. Waiting on the Shores of Nowhere
8. In the Bad, Bad Old Days Before You Loved Me
9. A Penny, Sir
10. I Can Feel It
11. Take Away the Emptiness Too
12. Let the Heartaches Begin
13. A Walk Between the Trees
14. That Same Old Feeling
15. Solomon Grundy

Plus:

16. Baby, Now That I've Found You (Colin Young Vocal/Stereo) (from The Foundations, Marble Arch LP MALS 1157, 1969)
17. Born to Live, Born to Die (Pye single 7N 17809, 1969)
18. Why Did You Cry (Pye single 7N 17809, 1969)
19. Baby, I Couldn't See (Pye single 7N 17849, 1969)
20. Take a Girl Like You (Pye single 7N 17904, 1970)
21. I'm Gonna Be a Rich Man (Pye single 7N 17904, 1970)
22. Who Am I (Pye single 7N 17956, 1970)
23. In the Beginning (Pye single 7N 17956, 1970)

CD 3

Rocking The Foundations (Stereo) (Pye LP NSPL 18227, 1968)

1. Love Is All Right (The Horse)
2. People Are Funny
3. Harlem Shuffle
4. Comin' Home Baby
5. Tomorrow
6. Am I Groovin' You
7. Back on My Feet Again
8. Any Old Time You're Lonely and Sad
9. Things Get Better
10. The Look of Love
11. Top Her On Sight (S.O.S.)
12. We Are Happy People

Plus:

13. 96 Tears (Live) (from French Pye EP PNV 24199, 1967)
14. Where the Fire Burns (first issued on Baby Now That I've Found You, Sequel CD NEECD300, 1998)

Selections from The Foundations (Marble Arch LP MALS 1157, 1969 (Stereo))

15. Build Me Up, Buttercup (Stereo)
16. Back on My Feet Again (Stereo)
17. Any Old Time You're Lonely and Sad (Stereo)

Plus:

18. Mountain Over the Hill - Clem Curtis (Pye single 7N 45070, 1971)
19. Time Alone Will Tell - Clem Curtis (Pye single 7N 45070, 1971)
20. I've Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do) - Clem Curtis (Pye single 7N 45150, 1972)
21. Point of No Return - Clem Curtis (Pye single 7N 45150, 1972)
22. Stand by Your Man - Clem Curtis (first issued on Build Me Up, Buttercup, Castle CD CMETD 961, 2004)
23. Something for My Baby - The New Foundations (Pye single 7N 45533, 1975)
24. I Need Your Love - The New Foundations (Pye single 7N 45333, 1975)