Since
the Lovin' Spoonful managed to release three studio albums of original material in a one-year period between the fall of 1965 and the fall of 1966, it is remarkable that they also had the time and inspiration to write and record two film soundtracks, one for
Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily? and the other for
Francis Ford Coppola's You're a Big Boy Now. The two resulting soundtrack albums have been combined on this CD reissue. In his liner notes, Daniel J. Moriarty suggests that the band was offered the Allen film on a Monday when they were preparing to leave for England on the following Wednesday. While they probably had a little more time than that, their score does come off as having been thrown together quickly. There is the zany, group-written "Pow" and lead singer
John Sebastian's "Respoken" and adaptation of the traditional "Fishin' Blues," but the other tracks are instrumental versions of those three tunes or jams.
You're a Big Boy Now seems a more deliberate effort, with all of its tracks credited to
Sebastian. There are four actual songs -- the title tune, the raucous "Wash Her Away," "Girl, Beautiful Girl," and
the Lovin' Spoonful's recent single, the turgid ballad "Darling Be Home Soon." Most of the other tracks are alternate or orchestral treatments of the melodies of these songs, and it's worth mentioning that, while the film credited
Robert Prince for the musical score, his name has never appeared on any version of the soundtrack album, including this one. These two soundtracks must be considered addenda to
the Spoonful's record catalog, containing a few good songs, but, from a strictly listening perspective, heavily padded. As such, a two-fer is the most economical way to acquire them.