''Leaving It All Behind'' is the fifth studio album by the American rock band

the Grass Roots The Grass Roots are an American rock band that charted frequently between 1965 and 1975. The band was originally the creation of Lou Adler and songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. In their career, they achieved two gold albums and ...

, released in November 1969 by

Dunhill Records Dunhill Records was started in 1964 by Lou Adler, Jay Lasker, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts as Dunhill Productions to release the music of Johnny Rivers on Imperial Records. It became a record label the following year and was distribute ...

. Following the departure of

Creed Bratton Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider; February 8, 1943) is an American actor and musician. A former member of the rock band the Grass Roots, he is best known for playing a Creed Bratton (character), fictionalized version of himself o ...

, who left in April 1969, seasoned musician Dennis Provisor joined the group, solidifying the new direction of the band. Terry Furlong and Brian Naughton became alternating touring guitarists for the group. In a return to grace for the group member composers, it contained six songs written by the group. The album was intended to move the group further in a soulful direction that was being rewarded by more charting singles. The A- and B-side singles released were " I'd Wait a Million Years", "Heaven Knows" b/w "Don't Remind Me", and "Walking Through The Country" b/w "Truck Drivin' Man". At the end of this run "Something's Comin' Over Me" was released as a B-side to "Come On And Say It", a charting single written by the group that appeared on the band's next compilation album, ''More Golden Grass''. The album charted at No. 36, making it the group's highest-charting studio album.

Songs

The songs featured unique horn-punctuated touches by arranger

Sid Feller Sidney Feller (December 24, 1916 – February 16, 2006) was an American conductor and arranger, best known for his work with Ray Charles. He worked with Charles on hundreds of songs including ''Georgia on My Mind'' and worked as Charles' conduc ...

. However,

Jimmie Haskell Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman; November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steely D ...

provided the arrangements for the songs "I'd Wait a Million Years" and "Heaven Knows." The group contributed heavily to this album, as for the first time since ''

Feelings According to the '' APA Dictionary of Psychology'', a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations, thoughts, or images evoking them". The term ''feeling'' is closel ...

'', the majority of songs were written or co-written by group members. Drummer Rick Coonce sang lead vocals on a self-penned song, "Truck Drivin' Man". The remainder of the songs were written by new outside composers and the competing songwriting duos of Price & Walsh and Lambert & Potter. Dunhill Records executives liked the established soulful direction and the group was rewarded with success in the charts and given more creative input for seeing it through.

Artwork, packaging

The original release of ''Leaving It All Behind'' is on Dunhill ABC in

stereo Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

. The record came in a gatefold sleeve featuring photos of the band in concert, as well as a photo of the group posing with a pickup truck (the latter of which would later be used on the cover of 1971's gold-selling compilation '' Their 16 Greatest Hits''). The front cover was designed by Gundelfinger/Schnepf, with photos taken by Tom Gundelfinger. Original LP releases list the song "Hold on to What You Got" on the rear of the LP jacket; however, the song is not featured on the actual LP and to this day remains unreleased, although the CD release from 2004 even has a leaflet containing among others the lyrics of this lost song, crediting it to Warren Entner. It may be considered a lost recording due to parent company MCA "purging" all unnecessary media in the late 1970s.

Track listing

All songs produced by

Steve Barri Steve Barri (born Steven Barry Lipkin; February 23, 1942, New York City) is an American songwriter and record producer. Career Early in his career, Barri was a staff writer with Dunhill Records. He produced such huge hits as " Dizzy" by Tommy R ...

Personnel

The Grass Roots * Rob Grill – vocals, bass *

Warren Entner Warren Entner (born 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, organist and guitarist for the rock and roll band The Grass Roots. He subsequently became a manager for several successful heavy metal/rock groups. Overview Entner is best known ...

– guitar, vocals * Rick Coonce – drums, percussion, vocals * Dennis Provisor – keyboard instruments, vocals Additional personnel *

– producer *Phil Kaye –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

– arrangements *

–

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

s *

Session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

s – various instruments

References

{{Authority control 1969 albums The Grass Roots albums Albums arranged by Jimmie Haskell Albums arranged by Sid Feller Albums produced by Steve Barri Dunhill Records albums