Do You Believe in Magic

The Lovin' Spoonful's 1965 debut set the tone for their entire career: summery good-time music with it's roots in Greenwich Village's Jugband Folk scene of the early '60s. However, besides the massive hits of the title track and the slyly funny "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?," a good chunk of this brief album consists of snappy, slightly electrified versions of traditional American folk songs like "Blues in the Bottle" and "The Sportin' Life." The combination of these slices of juiced-up trad Folk and Brill Building Pop, like the Mann/Weil hit "You Baby," works better than one might expect, because John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky, the leaders of the group, seem to make no distinctions between the two styles. Later albums would be even poppier, but DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC has a folk-rockin' charm all it's own. The Lovin' Spoonful: John Sebastian (vocals, guitar, autoharp, harmonica); Zal Yanovsky (vocals, guitar); Steve Boone (vocals, piano, bass); Joe Butler (vocals, drums). Producer: Erik Jacobsen. Reissue producers: Bob Irwin, Rob Santos.