''Everything Playing'' is the fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by the Canadian-American folk-rock band

the Lovin' Spoonful The Lovin' Spoonful is a Canadian-American folk-rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1964. The band were among the most popular groups in the United States for a short period in the mid-1960s and their music and image influ ...

, released in December1967.

History

''Everything Playing'' was the first album featuring guitarist Jerry Yester (replacing

Zal Yanovsky Zalman Yanovsky (December 19, 1944 – December 13, 2002) was a Canadian folk-rock musician and restaurateur. Born in Toronto, he was the son of political cartoonist Avrom Yanovsky and teacher Nechama Yanovsky (née Gemeril), who died in 1958. ...

who left shortly after recording "Six O'Clock") and the last commercial album as a quartet; principal songwriter and lead singer

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who founded the rock band the Lovin' Spoonful in 1964 with Zal Yanovsky. During his time in the Lovin Spoonful, Sebastian wrote and sang some of the ban ...

would leave the group in June 1968 for a solo career. This album also features the only known track to feature bassist

Steve Boone John Stephen Boone (born September 23, 1943) is an American bass guitarist and music producer, best known as a member of the American folk-rock group the Lovin' Spoonful. Boone co-wrote two of the groups' biggest hits, " You Didn't Have to Be So ...

on lead vocal: "Priscilla Millionaira". Three of the songs made the Top 40: "Six O'Clock," "She Is Still a Mystery," and "Money". John Sebastian sang "Younger Generation" in his unscheduled appearance at

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

, dedicating it to an audience member whose wife or girlfriend had a baby at the festival.Fornatale, Pete
''Back to the Garden: The Story of Woodstock.''
Touchstone, 2009, p. 51–52. . The songs were recorded at Mirasound Studios in Manhattan using a prototype

16-track Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive who ...

tape recorder An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...

which was custom built for the studio by

Ampex Ampex Data Systems Corporation is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff as a spin-off of Dalmo-Victor. The name ''AMPEX'' is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excell ...

. This was one of the earliest recordings to use 16-track technology. ''Everything Playing'' was re-issued on CD in 2003 with three bonus tracks — alternate versions of songs from the original recording.

Reception

In his

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review, music critic William Ruhlman wrote of the album "When Sebastian wasn't at the mic, the singing could be mediocre, and the group was often all over the map in its attempt at musical sophistication, but the record was saved by Sebastian's writing and singing."

Track listing

All songs by

unless otherwise noted. Side one # "She Is Still a Mystery" – 3:00 # "Priscilla Millionaira" – 2:20 # "Boredom" – 2:23 # "Six O'Clock" – 2:38 # "Forever" (Steve Boone) – 4:24 Side two # "Younger Generation" – 2:40 # "Money" – 2:01 # "Old Folks" ( Joe Butler) – 3:04 # "Only Pretty, What a Pity" (Butler, Jerry Yester) – 3:04 # "Try a Little Bit" – 3:04 # "Close Your Eyes" (Sebastian, Yester) – 2:44

Personnel

– vocals, guitar, cover art *

– bass, vocals * Joe Butler – drums, percussion, vocals * Jerry Yester – guitar, banjo, vocals, keyboards *

- guitar on "Six O'Clock"

References

Sources

* * {{Authority control The Lovin' Spoonful albums 1967 albums Kama Sutra Records albums Albums produced by Joe Wissert