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The Remains
The Remains
(Epic/Legacy)
First Appeared in The Music Box, August 2007, Volume 14, #8
Written by John Metzger
Once the British Invasion hit American shores, every boy in the country
formed a band, set up shop in his parents’ garage, and began writing songs. A
few of these outfits obtained regional fame. Some even flirted, to varying
degrees, with national recognition. Chicago had Shadows of Knight, New Orleans
had The Palace Guards, San Francisco had The Beau Brummels, Los Angeles had The
Seeds, and Boston had The Remains. Led by guitarist Barry Tashian, the latter
group quickly became a local favorite, and it subsequently scored enough
attention to land a slot supporting The Beatles on its tour of the U.S. in 1966.
This tidbit alone was enough to build a cult-like following around The Remains,
and Tashian’s contributions to Gram Parson’s GP as well as his lengthy
stint with Emmylou Harris in the ’80s further solidified his base of fans.
The Remains lasted a mere two years. Signed to Epic Records, the group culled
together only one album from a handful of sessions that were held in New York
and Nashville. Oddly enough, its self-titled affair was issued after The Remains
had disbanded. The set was remastered and remixed for its CD debut in 1991 under
the moniker Barry & The Remains, but although it doubled in size, its
contents were jumbled. The latest incarnation of The Remains’ lone endeavor
restores its historical accuracy. Not only is the outing presented in its proper
running order, but also the extra material — which, with the exception of an
alternate version of Say You’re Sorry, includes everything from Barry
& The Remains — is given more consideration in how it is sequenced.
The lingering problem with The Remains’ eponymous endeavor, however, is that
40-odd years later it doesn’t sound terribly special. Although the ensemble’s
original compositions fit neatly alongside its well-chosen cover tunes, the
album boasts nothing that wasn’t done better by the British Invasion acts that
The Remains was emulating. Not surprisingly, the Rolling Stones serves as the
band’s most obvious influence, which dominates everything from Tashian’s Thank You to its covers of Don Covay’s Mercy, Mercy and Chuck Berry’s
I’m Talking about You. Although the group recasts Charlie Rich’s Lonely Week-End as a soul tune in the spirit of Wilson Pickett, it still
exudes a Stones-ian flair.
When The Remains does deviate from this framework, it steers its material in
other very familiar directions. It turns The Beatles’ Do You Want to Know a
Secret? into When I Want to Know; it gives Billy Vera’s Don’t Look
Back a snarl that is worthy of Eric Burdon & The Animals; it connects Do
Wah Diddy Diddy back to the source of Manfred Mann’s inspiration (the Bo
Diddley/Willie Dixon tune Diddy Wah Diddy); and it draws from The Kinks
and The Yardbirds on You Got a Hard Time Coming and Once Before,
respectively. Although The Beach Boys-style introduction that is affixed to
Petula Clark’s Heart is interesting, it also doesn’t sit quite right with
the song’s garage-rock ambience. In addition, the cut doesn’t fare very well as
the album’s opening track.
For what it’s worth, everything on The Remains’ eponymous affair is
well-executed, but as Jon Landau famously pointed out in Crawdaddy, it
barely scratches the surface of the band’s capabilities. In a sense, The Remains
played it too straight and too safe for its own good. Beneath the surface,
however, there are hints of why the ensemble was regarded so highly. Even within
the tightly scripted constraints of the outing, it’s apparent that the group was
exceptional in concert, where it could turn its exuberance into an inescapable
and irresistible rush of adrenaline-soaked fun. Unfortunately, as it stands, The
Remains’ self-titled endeavor is nothing more than an interesting artifact from
another place and time, albeit one that is thoroughly enjoyable. 
The Remains is available from Amazon.com.
To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
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For UK orders, please
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2007 The Music Box
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