The Explorers Club are an American pop rock band originally from the coast of South Carolina, United States. They feature a rotating cast of musicians led by Jason Brewer. The band managed to release two albums last year and now have a third called “Rarities Volume 1”.
It`s a collection of long-lost singles and various outtakes originally recorded between 2011 -2013 during the sessions for The Explorers Club’s second album, “Grand Hotel, Including some superb cover versions of sixties classics. “I have this vision of creating classic sounds that send people on a musical vacation,” says the album’s creator, Jason Brewer, the brainchild behind The Explorers Club.
The album opens with a cover of `Hitchin’ A Ride` which was a million seller for English pop/rock band Vanity Fare in late 1969. It would be hard for you to tell the difference between this and the original as it retains all that is good about the original with a swirling organ and what sounds like recorders. A superb song well covered. On the face of it `Anticipatin’ (under construction mix)` starts as a straight Rhythm and Blues track with churning organ and guitar but at the chorus there`s a slight Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons vibe. A number that`s quite a chameleon as it chops and changes along the way but preserves that subtle retro texture.
The introduction to `Run Run Run (under construction mix)` had me thinking we were veering into the “champagne soul” mid-sixties hit `Up, Up, and away` by 5Th Dimension but it drifts quickly to a dreamy sixties love aria with shaking tambourines and wistful harmonies. There`s a cover of Classics IV`s 1968 hit `Stormy`, the band credited for establishing the soft southern rock sound. It`s an updated version that maintains that feel of warm, lazy summer evenings but seems to replace the saxophone solo with a guitar solo towards the end of the number.
`Sweet Delights (under construction mix)` so reminded me of `Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head` from the superb Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid film. Although there are similarities, this track does enjoy the same uplifting, things will be alright sensibility. I felt an aching longing with `It’s No Use (under construction mix)` a composition that seems to reflect the pain of an unrequited relationship and the subsequent fall out.
Next up is a cover of the classic `Walk On By` composed by Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Hal David. A song for me that I love by the polar opposites of Dionne Warwick and punk stalwarts The Stranglers over a decade later. I have to say I felt it was brave of the band to even attempt a song like this, but I have to give credit and say it`s a delightful adaptation. Strings, piano, organ, and percussion with a heart-breaking vocal all come together to ensure it`s a gratifying release. We have an almost Latin feel to `Weight Of The World (under construction mix)` which sort of sways to and fro as it unfolds, a song that I could imagine Elvis Presley blasting out in one of his many sixties’ movies.
`Summer Days, Summer Nights (under construction mix)` is another laid back, mellow, easy listening not quite ballad but a sort of love ode. In the last minute, it swings off into a melange of bossa nova beats. The penultimate track is a reinterpretation of The Wildweeds `No Good To Cry` a hit for this Hartford Connecticut band back in 1967. It`s a superbly uplifting soul outing that enjoys a magnificent wall of brass, organ and pounding drums. A sheer delight.
We close out on `Don’t Waste Her Time (orchestral version)` a number that could have been culled from the Beach Boys `Pet Sounds` sessions. A tender ballad with falsetto lead vocal that even Mr Wilson would have been proud of.
I`d never had the pleasure of Jason Brewer and his wonderful The Explorers Club until this release which is a mix of interesting covers and reimagining of songs that have previously graced his “Grand Hotel” and “Together” albums. The album is a joy to behold and I found it hard to remain seated while listening and just wanted to get up and dance or jump around.
“Rarities Volume 1” is just the right sort of pick me up for these current difficult times we`re enduring. A ray of sunshine radiating through an opening in the clouds.
Rating 9 /10
