Merryweather — Merryweather 1969 (Canada, Heavy Psychedelic Rock)
Neil Merryweather (Dec. 27, 1945 — March 29, 2021) was a Canadian bassist, vocalist, and songwriter who emerged on the mid-’60s Toronto scene in a sequence of bands. After moving to Los Angeles, he fronted Merryweather for two 1969 albums on Capitol.
Merryweather partnered with singer Lynn Carey for the 1970/71 projects Ivar Avenue Reunion and Merryweather & Carey. They formed the soul-rock band Mama Lion and issued two albums in 1972/73. Concurrently, the musicians cut two albums as Heavy Cruiser.
He formed his own backing band, the Space Rangers, for two popular albums on Mercury: Space Rangers (1974) and Kryptonite (1975).1969: Merryweather and Word of Mouth In late 1968, Heather Merryweather opened for Chicago Transit Authority at the Whisky a Go Go. That performance impressed A&R John Gross, who signed them to Capitol Records under the shortened name Merryweather. After sessions wrapped on their first album, Lillie had a conversation outside the studio with another new Capitol signee, Linda Ronstadt of the Stone Poneys. In parting, she mistakenly called him “Neil Merryweather,” a name he adopted professionally and legally.
Merryweather’s self-titled debut album appeared in early 1969 on Capitol. It features 10 Neil Merryweather originals with a co-write apiece by Burt (“Feeling of Freedom”) and Roth (“We Try Softer”). The below-the-knee front cover folds out on top to reveal a poster-size vertical group photo.
In September 1969, Merryweather issued Word of Mouth, a double-album comprised of jams with assorted west coast musicians, including Steve Miller, Dave Mason (Traffic), keyboardist Barry Goldberg (Electric Flag), and harpist Charlie Musselwhite. Neil Merryweather disbanded the group soon after, but linked the other members with old pal Rick James, who hired them for his new band Salt ‘n’ Pepper. Meanwhile, Merryweather passed on an invite by Stephen Stills to join Crobsy, Stills, Nash & Young.
Tracks:
01. Mr. Rich Man — 0:00
02. Feeling Of Freedom — 3:40
03. Little Man (Nobody’s Home) — 7:02
04. Annie Don’t Let Me Down — 11:51
05. We Try Softer — 14:17
06. Curiosity — 18:47
07. Something — 22:13
08. Listen To Me — 25:38
09. What’s It All About? — 30:35
10. No Passenger Allowed — 33:23
Personnel:
Neil Merryweather (Robert Neilson Lillie) — lead vocals, bass David Colin Burt — guitars, cello, vocals Edward Roth — piano, organ, harpsichord, flute, ondiolin, vocals Coffi Hall — drums, marimba, boom bams, garbage can + John Gross — producer
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