''Turtle Soup'' is the fifth and final studio album by the American rock band the Turtles. It was released in 1969 on the

White Whale Records White Whale Records was an American independent record label, founded in 1965 by Ted Feigin and Lee Lasseff in Los Angeles, California, and probably best known as the record label of The Turtles and a handful of one-hit wonder bands. White Whale, i ...

label. The album was produced by Ray Davies of the Kinks – the first time he produced another artist's record. A 1993

Repertoire Records Repertoire Records is a German record label from Hamburg, Germany, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 1960s and 1970s. The chairman is Thomas Neelsen. See also * List of record labels File:Alvino ...

CD-issue included 8 bonus tracks. A 1996 Sundazed Records reissue included two bonus tracks. ''Turtle Soup'' peaked at number 117 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Albums chart. Two singles from the album also earned a place on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart: "You Don't Have to Walk in the Rain" (number 51), and "Love in the City" (number 91).

Recording and release

The Turtles hired Ray Davies of the Kinks to produce ''Turtle Soup'', having admired his production of the Kinks' latest album, ''

The Village Green Preservation Society "The Village Green Preservation Society" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks from their 1968 album '' The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society''. Written and sung by the band's principal songwriter Ray Davies, the song is ...

'', which was released in the United States in February1969. Recording for ''Turtle Soup'' took place at

United Recording Studios United Western Recorders was a two-building recording studio complex in Hollywood that was one of the most successful independent recording studios of the 1960s. The complex merged neighboring studios United Recording Corp. on 6050 Sunset Boul ...

in Los Angeles over two weeks, on 12–17April and 24June to .

Chuck Britz Charles Dean Britz (November 7, 1927 – August 21, 2000) was a recording engineer who worked with Jan and Dean, Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, P.F. Sloan and The Grass Roots on numerous albums between 1962 and 1967. Biography Britz was bor ...

served as

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

for the sessions, and

Ray Pohlman Merlyn Ray Pohlman (July 22, 1930 – November 1, 1990) was an American session musician and arranger who played both upright bass and bass guitar, and also did sessions as a guitarist. He is credited with being the first electric bass player in ...

, the musical director of the musical variety series '' Shindig!'', provided string and horn arrangements. Of the six songs recorded in April, "House on the Hill" was considered for release as a single, but the label withdrew its release after making promotional copies. "You Don't Have to Walk in the Rain"

backed with The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

"Come Over" was instead issued by

in the US in May and by

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

in the UK on June 3.

Track listing

All tracks written by Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman,

Al Nichol AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

Jim Pons Jim Pons is an American bassist, author and singer who most notably played for the Leaves, the Turtles, and the Mothers of Invention. Biography Jim Pons was born in Los Angeles. In 1964, he joined The Leaves and stayed in the group until 1967. ...

and John Seiter, except as indicated.

Side A

#"Come Over" – 2:18 #"House on the Hill" – 2:58 #"She Always Leaves Me Laughing" – 2:46 #"How You Love Me" – 2:56 #"Torn Between Temptations" – 2:45 #"Love in the City" – 3:37

Side B

#"Bachelor Mother" – 2:38 #"John and Julie" – 3:10 #"Hot Little Hands" – 4:10 #"Somewhere Friday Night" – 3:20 #"Dance This Dance" – 3:30 #"You Don't Have to Walk in the Rain" – 2:42

Repertoire Bonus tracks

"Chicken Little Was Right" (Single version) – 2:53 #"Lady-O" ( Judee Sill) – 2:53 #"The Last Thing I Remember" – 3:25 #"The Owl" – 4:26 #"To See the Sun" – 4:12 #"If We Only Had the Time" – 5:09 #"Can I Go On" – 3:00 #"Dance This Dance" – 3:17

Sundazed Bonus tracks

"Lady-O" (Sill) – 2:54 # "The Last Thing I Remember" (1986 Chalon Road LP Version) (hidden track with 1969 radio commercial starts at 3:30) – 4:28

Manifesto Bonus tracks

"Goodbye Surprise" ( Alan Gordon, Gary Bonner) – 2:55 # "Like It or Not" (Gordon, Bonner) – 3:41 # "There You Sit Lonely" (Kaylan, Volman) – 3:42 # "Can I Go On" – 2:59 # "You Want to Be a Woman" – 3:25 # "If We Only Had the Time" – 5:11 # "Dance This Dance With Me" (demo) – 3:17 # "Come Over" (demo) – 2:22 # "How You Love Me" (demo) – 3:39 # "Strange Girl" (demo) – 2:45 # "Marmendy Mill" (demo) – 3:13 # "''Turtle Soup'' Radio Spot" – 0:55

References

Sources

* * The Turtles albums 1969 albums White Whale Records albums Albums produced by Ray Davies {{1960s-rock-album-stub