Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful

Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful
Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful
Studio album by the Lovin' Spoonful
Released	November 1966
Recorded	1966
Studio	Bell Sound Studios and Columbia Studios, New York City and in Los Angeles
Genre	Folk rock; pop;
Length	26:48 (original LP)
Label	Kama Sutra
Producer	Erik Jacobsen
The Lovin' Spoonful chronology
Singles from Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful
	"Summer in the City"; Released: July 4, 1966;

Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful is the third studio album and fourth overall by American folk rock band the Lovin' Spoonful, released in 1966 by Kama Sutra Records. It peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.

Background[]

Hums was a deliberate attempt by the band to record in a variety of styles. They composed and played in the pop, country, jug-band, blues and folk styles. It would ultimately be the last full project by the original lineup. It was recorded in New York with the exception of "Lovin' You' which was recorded in Los Angeles.^[1]

The album managed to spawn four charting singles for the band, including the No. 1 hit "Summer in the City". "Rain on the Roof", "Nashville Cats", and "Full Measure" also appeared on the Pop charts, all but the last making it to the Top 10. Bobby Darin had a Top 40 hit with a cover version of "Lovin' You". Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash later covered "Darlin' Companion" in 1969 on Johnny Cash at San Quentin. Principal songwriter John Sebastian said of "Nashville Cats" — which made No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 — "We thought our version would cross over to the country market. It never did. So we're always kind, gee, well I guess that tells us what we are and what we aren't." Flatt & Scruggs took "Nashville Cats" to No. 54 on the country charts as a single.^[1] Dolly Parton covered "Lovin' You" for her 1977 album Here You Come Again.

Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful was re-released in 2003 on the Sundazed label with bonus tracks consisting of four demos, instrumental tracks, and alternate versions/mixes of songs from the album, along with extensive liner notes. It was also released on CD along with Do You Believe in Magic? in 1995.^[2]

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[4]

William Ruhlman of AllMusic wrote of the album: "An emphasis on the parts of the album is a way of describing it as more a loose collection of disparate tracks than a unified effort, despite Sebastian's hand in all the compositions and his lead vocals on most of them. This was by necessity, but also by design, since Sebastian and co. went into the studio trying to sound completely different each time. They often succeeded..."^[3]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by John Sebastian except where otherwise noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Lovin' You"		2:29
2.	"Bes' Friends"		1:54
3.	"Voodoo in My Basement"		2:29
4.	"Darlin' Companion"		2:22
5.	"Henry Thomas"		1:43
6.	"Full Measure"	Steve Boone Sebastian	2:42
7.	"Rain on the Roof"		2:13
8.	"Coconut Grove"	Sebastian Zal Yanovsky	2:43
9.	"Nashville Cats"		2:35
10.	"4 Eyes"		2:53
11.	"Summer in the City"	J. Sebastian Mark Sebastian Boone ^[5]^[6]	2:45
Total length:			26:48

2003 reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Darlin' Companion" (John Sebastian Solo Demo)		2:23
13.	"Rain on the Roof" (Instrumental)		2:17
14.	"4 Eyes" (Alternate Vocal/Extended Version)		3:41
15.	"Full Measure" (Instrumental)	Boone Sebastian	2:43
16.	"Voodoo in My Basement" (Instrumental)		2:40
17.	"Darlin' Companion" (Alternate Vocal/Alternate Mix)		2:25

Personnel[]

John Sebastian – lead (1, 2, 4, 5, 7-12, 14, 17) and backing vocals, guitar, twelve-string guitar, autoharp, piano, organ, harmonium (2), ocarina (6, 15), pedal steel guitar (4, 7, 8, 13, 17), Irish harp
Zal Yanovsky – electric and acoustic guitars, backing and lead (3) vocals, banjo (2, 5), slide whistle (5)
Steve Boone – electric bass, double bass, piano, organ, percussion
Joe Butler – drums, backing and lead (6) vocals, percussion
Henry Diltz – clarinet (2)
Artie Schroeck – electric piano (11)
Larry Hankin – Jew's harp (5)

Production[]

Erik Jacobsen – producer
Roy Halee – engineer
Henry Diltz - photography

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful re-issue liner notes by Dennis Diken, January 2003.
^ Allmusic entry for Do You Believe in Magic and Hums re-release.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Ruhlman, William. "Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
^ "Summer In The City". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-08-30.
^ "Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-08-30.

External links[]

[liner-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful re-issue liner notes by Dennis Diken, January 2003.

[2] Allmusic entry for Do You Believe in Magic and Hums re-release.

[AM-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b Ruhlman, William. "Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2011.

[4] Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.

[allmusic-5] "Summer In The City". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-08-30.

[allmusic2-6] "Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-08-30.

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hide v t The Lovin' Spoonful
Steve Boone Joe Butler Mike Arturi Phil Smith John Sebastian Zal Yanovsky Jerry Yester
Studio albums	Do You Believe in Magic Daydream Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful You're A Big Boy Now Everything Playing Revelation: Revolution '69
Compilations	What's Shakin' The Best of The Lovin' Spoonful The Very Best of the Lovin' Spoonful Anthology Greatest Hits
Live albums	Live at the Hotel Seville
Singles	"Do You Believe In Magic" "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" "Daydream" "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" "Summer in the City" "Darling Be Home Soon"