''The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands'' is the fourth studio album released by the American rock band

the Turtles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. Produced by

Chip Douglas Douglas Farthing Hatlelid (born August 27, 1942), better known as Chip Douglas, is an American songwriter, musician (bass, guitar and keyboards), and record producer, whose most famous work was during the 1960s. He was the bassist of the Turtle ...

(who returned to work with the Turtles after a brief stint shepherding

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

' transition into a live band), it was released in November 1968 by

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 ...

. It includes

John Barbata John Barbata (born April 1, 1945) is an American drummer who was active especially in pop and rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer. Barbata has served as the drummer for The Turtles, Crosby, Stills, ...

's final recorded performances with the band; he left shortly after its release to join

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...

. Barbata's eventual replacement, former

Spanky and Our Gang Spanky and Our Gang was an American 1960s sunshine pop band led by Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane. The band derives its name from Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' comedies of the 1930s (known to modern audiences as ''The Little Rascals''), because of the si ...

drummer

John Seiter John Seiter (born August 17, 1944) is an American musician. He is best known for his work as a drummer for Spanky and Our Gang and The Turtles. Biography Seiter's first official credit came on a 1972 recording of ''Peter and the Wolf'' for U ...

, also contributed to the album. Some issues of the album were retitled ''Elenore''. It is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, with the band pretending to be a series of different groups, playing in varying styles.

Music

''The Battle of the Bands'' is a pop and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

album which encompasses multiple styles of music, including

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

, and R&B. As part of the album's concept, The Turtles adopted 12 different band names, and recorded 12 songs, each in a different genre or style, representing different groups competing in a mock Battle of the Bands. The outer cover shows the Turtles in evening dress, playing hosts of the "show", while the inside gatefold shows them in different costumes for each song. The entire album is filled with puns and hidden jokes. (According to liner notes on various Turtles CDs, White Whale Records was in reality, a one-artist label and they were consistently pressuring The Turtles to come up with another "Happy Together," which resulted in "

Elenore "Elenore" is a 1968 song by the Turtles, originally included on ''The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands''. Although written by Howard Kaylan, its writing was co-credited to all five members of the band: Kaylan, Mark Volman, Al Nichol, Jim P ...

," a humorous reworking of the classic "happy pop" single.) "Kamanawanalea" was a made-up

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

an idol ("the god of lust and perversion") with a pun name. The lyrics of "Food" included a recipe for brownies, with a special ingredient. "Surfer Dan" was billed as being by The Cross Fires, a nod to the Turtles' previous incarnation as a surf-music band known as The Crossfires before it had signed with White Whale Records. "

You Showed Me "You Showed Me" is a song written by Gene Clark and Jim McGuinn (later known as Roger) of the Byrds in 1964. It was recorded by the Turtles and released as a single at the end of 1968, becoming the group's last big hit in the U.S. The song ...

" was written by

Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician. He is best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Byrds. As a ...

and

Gene Clark Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

, and became the last major Turtles hit. The final song, "Earth Anthem," was recorded at 3:00 A.M. by candlelight, to capture the exact mood the Turtles wanted. "Can't You Hear The Cows" was supposed to be on the album but was rejected by the label for the photo of the band wearing cow heads. "I'm Chief Kamanawanalea" has been

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

in many tracks, such as "

Say No Go "Say No Go" is a single by De La Soul from their influential 1989 album ''3 Feet High and Rising''. It reached number 18 in the UK charts. The tune is heavily based on sampling the hit song "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" by Hall & Oates. Ba ...

" by

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

and " Jimmy James" by the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

. It was also used in an episode of the TV show "Life on Mars" (US version) in a discotheque scene.

Charts and awards

The album peaked at #128 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Albums chart, but its singles were more successful. "Elenore" and "You Showed Me" both reached #6 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart.

Track listing

Personnel

;The Turtles *

Howard Kaylan Howard Kaylan (born Howard Lawrence Kaplan, June 22, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with bandmate and friend Mark Volman, a member of th ...

- lead vocals *

Mark Volman Mark Randall Volman (born April 19, 1947) is an American vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with his bandmate and friend Howard Kaylan, a member of the 1970s rock duo ...

- vocals, special effects *Al Nichol - guitars, organ, piano,

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

, vocals *

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. ...

- bass, vocals *

Johnny Barbata John Barbata (born April 1, 1945) is an American drummer who was active especially in pop and rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer. Barbata has served as the drummer for The Turtles, Crosby, Stills ...

- drums, percussion, vocals ;Additional personnel *

- producer *Jim Hilton - engineer *anonymous - strings, woodwinds, banjo on "Chicken Little Was Right" *

Lee Michaels Lee Eugene Michaels (born Michael Olsen, November 24, 1945) is an American rock musician who sings and accompanies himself on organ, piano, or guitar. He is best known for his powerful soulful voice and his energetic virtuosity on the Hammo ...

- organ on "Buzzsaw" *Arrangements by The Turtles and Chip Douglas *Album layout designed by The Turtles *Photography by

Rod Dyer Rod Dyer (born in South Africa) is an American graphic artist, illustrator, photographer and restaurateur. Career Dyer has been described as a "prominent graphic designer who created many of the album covers for Capitol Records in the 1960s." L ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands 1968 albums The Turtles albums White Whale Records albums Concept albums