The Aerovons

(scott) John N sends me this, sounds interesting, although I am unfamiliar with it......I'll attach an Amazon customer review which also includes the tracklist.
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Ahh good ol' Cherry Red Records has done it again. This album was released on RPM, a division of theirs, and with it's release continues a great trend of putting hard to find/forgotten music within us fans' hands.

The Aerovons lived a dream that quite a few American bands who were their contemporaries would have killed for. They were on the Beatles label, worked in the Beatles Abbey Road studio and were touted as a possible "future" Beatles of sorts. Having heard this record I can see where people would have gotten that idea; their talent is very evident, and the production and song writing is all very good.

The record was engineered by Geoff Emerick, Alan Parsons and Jeff Jarratt... all gifted engineers during their time. The production is excellent; they successfully captured the aesthetic feel of The Beatles' Abbey Road-Era sound. Everything is crisp, the music is tight and the orchestration brings to mind some of the Beatles' best work. Sped up violins, horns echo here and there, etc. There are also the occasional sound effects, (like birds and ocean waves), which I personally don't care for too much. Still, it isn't terribly done.

Vocally they also do a good job... though they don't attain Lennon/McCartney's level of excellence they come close here and there. I think their vocals are more comparable to a "lighter" sounding Harrison then any of the other Beatles. Lyrically, some of the songs could have been in the Beatles' cannon, while others were most definitely derivative and not entirely original. (Resurrection is basically an "Across the Universe" send-up while Say Georgia bears a striking resemblance to "Oh Darling").

The album feels like an amazing "skeleton"; they got everything down that a great (nei' legendary) record needs but for some reason didn't add enough meat and potatoes to get it over that last hurdle. What I mean in simple terms is if they had the funding and clout that their idols the Beatles had, then it isn't too hard to IMAGINE what this record could have ended up being. Still it isn't bad by any stretch, especially if you're a Beatles fan looking for a musical fix.

Track by Track:

1. World of You - With piano, catchy backing orchestration (that sounds like something Jeff Lynnes ELO would have done) and an echo drenched vocal... the album opens on a good note. A decent song that is sung very well.

2. Resurrection - An obvious Across the Universe derivative track... even the chorus coincides with that Lennon song. Still, it isn't a bad song... just unoriginal.

3. Say Georgia - Again, an obviously derivative track... this time of the Beatles Oh! Darling. Again, it isn't a bad song, just unoriginal.

4. With Her - Sounds like a Chad and Jeremy track, or maybe an early Beatles McCartney ballad. Decent, but not great.

5. Quotes and Photos - A bluesy song accentuated with some nice bass playing and lead guitar break. The music also goes from side to side with the stereo mix.

6. Words From A Song - Another song that reminds me of something Chad and Jeremy could have done during their "Distant Shores" era... if they had consistent amazing production, that is. Vocally the band does a great job on this track.

7. Bessy Goodheart - Ditzy little track that bounces along with a "Sgt. Pepperish" feel to it. Very "period piece" of music; I think every band during that era did a song like this.

8. Something of Yours - Very McCartneyish ballad type song with nice little oohs and ahhs in the background.

9. She's Not Dead - Great song that has a similar feel to some of The Moons' tracks. The chord structure to the song is quite interesting and the band does a good job with it.

10. The Years - Chad and Jeremy part 2? Give this song a listen and then go give some of their stuff a listen and you decide.

11. Everything's Alright - Has a catchy melody and some nice counter-vocals. It sounds what the Beatles might have sounded like had they tried to recreate some of their 1964 pop songs with Abbey Road-era production.

12. The Children - Is setup like 2 songs in one. The first part is a pop/psychish number that segues into a poppy and jangly ditty about children. It then goes back into the psych tune, highlighted by some Beatle-esque "la la la's" that remind this listener of the long chorus at the end of "Hey Jude". Well done track.