The Leaves ● All the Good That's Happening

The story of the Leaves is a cautionary one, a tale of minor label success and major label disappointment. The band was signed to tiny Mira Records when its version of "Hey Joe" cracked the Billboard Top 40—this was just prior to the Jimi Hendrix version of the song—and Capitol Records wasted little time in adding the California-based quartet to its roster. Sadly, by the time of All the Good That's Happening's 1967 release, the Leaves had all but dissolved, the band's lone hit relegated to garage-rock collector status. That the group's only major label release failed to score commercially is hardly a surprise. Aside from a couple of impressive mid-tempo rockers in "Twilight Sanctuary" and "One in the Middle," All the Good That's Happening is a relatively mediocre collection of watered-down folk-rock and aimless psychedelic pop. The severely dated "Lemmon Princess" represents the band at its worst—inexplicable lyrics strewn over a backdrop of harpsichord and unusual vocal effects—and although a couple of cover songs hold up well (Donovan's "To Try for the Sun" is pleasant enough), the album as a whole is a largely uninspired affair. In the end, some good did happen: Bassist Jim Pons hooked up with the Turtles before joining Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, while guitarist Bobby Arlin formed an obscure two-record band called the Hook.

Notes: Check out the band's version of "Hey Joe" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNmu3z8XEzw.