Despite epitomizing the platinum selling Californian soft rock sound that dominated the US airwaves throughout the mid-1970s, both Jim Seals and Darrell “Dash” Crofts originally hailed from Texas. Formed in 1969 in Los Angeles, Seals and Crofts released their self-titled debut the same year, followed by ‘Down Home’ in 1970.

Warner Bros. Records were the ideal home for their mellow, acoustic based sound, with whom they signed in 1971 for ‘Year Of Sunday’. Seals and Crofts and Warner Bros. finally struck gold with 1972’s ‘Summer Breeze’, a worldwide smash that year, which was subsequently covered and a global hit for The Isley Brothers.

The title track to 1973’s ‘Diamond Girl’ maintained their upward trajectory with another platinum hit, even if their stance exemplified on 1974’s ‘Unborn Child’ divided their fan base.

By 1974 Seals and Crofts were established enough to hold their own alongside the biggest hitters of the decade - Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, ELP, Eagles - at one of the biggest festivals of the 1970s, the California Jam. By 1978 the influence of disco could be heard in the grooves of the danceable ‘Takin’ It Easy’.

Deciding to call it a day following their final Warner Bros. album in 1980, Seals and Crofts went their separate ways, occasionally reuniting for successful reunion shows.

Although unfairly maligned in the ensuing years, the growth in interest for the smoother sounds and platinum hits of the 1970s, plus the cult success of the Yacht Rock series presented Seals and Crofts to a whole new audience in the 21st Century.

Disc One: SEALS AND CROFTS (1969)
1. See My Life 2. Sea Of Consciousness 3. Seldom’s Sister 4. Not Be Found 5. Birthday Of My Thoughts 6. In Tune 7. Cows Of Gladness 8. Earth 9. Seven Valleys 10. Jekyll And Hyde 11. Ashes In the Snow 12. See My Life (Reprise)

Seals & Crofts have such a great catalog of hits. So much so that most listeners of pop/rock are familiar with them. However, before the string of hits that brought them into the limelight, their real masterpiece, in my opinion, was the self-titled album SEALS & CROFTS.

With beautifully haunting melodies and harmonies, the spiritual lyrics and lovely music evoke a spirit of that late 60’s period of peace, love, and harmony for all.

Fantastic tunes abound here. In Time is a fine piece of Pop music played at a brisk pace and those glorious harmonies put this one right over the top. Was this ever a single? Well, if it wasn’t, it should’ve been one. Cows of Gladness is real gem, and the orchestration fits in well here mixed right alongside the voices and percussion. Sea of Consciousness, still sounds wonderful. The vocals soar here, and it’s all over too soon.

DOWN HOME (1970)
13. Ridin’ Thumb 14. Hand-Me-Down Shoe 15. Purple Hand 16. Robin 17. Hollow Reed 18. Gabriel Go on Home 19. Tin Town 20. Today 21. Cotton Mouth 22. Granny Will Your Dog Bite? 23. Leave

The production values are great here on Down Home. I was very surprised as this was a 1970 album and I was expecting it to sound hissy, fuzzy or scratchy. Not so, it could have been recorded today. Each instrument is clear and clean. I love the variety as few bands use flutes and mandolins the way Seals & Crofts do. And the harmonies and offset voices are pure and distinct.

This early creation showcases their artistry. Their vocal harmonies are like no other. Check out the use of the Hammond organ and Dash Croft’s aforementioned mandolin. It’s a unique combination and worth a listen. Oh, and Jimmy Seals may be the most under-rated musician in music of that time period.

Disc Two: YEARS OF SUNDAY (1971)
1. When I Meet Them 2. ’Cause You Love 3. Antoinette 4. High On a Mountain 5. Year Of Sunday 6. Paper Airplanes 7. Irish Linen 8. Springfield Mill 9. Ancient Of the Old 10. Sudan Village

Off to a brisk start with the minor hit, we first get When I Meet Them, where you will notice that many musical styles jump right out at you. Pop, folk, country and jazz can all be heard present in the span of a single tune.

These instrumental elements added to the finest mesh of the two greatest voices since the mid-sixties heyday of Simon & Garfunkel make this music something really special. For me, Year Of Sunday shows off this duo at the peak of their powers.

SUMMER BREEZE (1972)
11. Hummingbird 12. Funny Little Man 13. Say 14. Summer Breeze 15. East Of Ginger Trees 16. Fiddle In the Sky 17. The Boy Down the Road 18. The Euphrates 19. Advance Guards 20. Yellow Dirt

The songwriting here on Summer Breeze is just terrific. Hummingbird and Summer Breeze deserved to be the hits they were. The Euphrates, Say, and East of the Ginger Trees are as strong as those two songs, and everything else is close to that level.

The playing is superb, the arrangements are gorgeous, and the vocals, particularly the harmonies, are wonderful. There aren’t many soft rock albums from the 70’s that hold up as well as this one, mostly because the whole album is so tastefully executed in every way.

Disc Three: DIAMOND GIRL (1973)
1. Diamond Girl 2. Ruby Jean And Billie Lee 3. Intone My Servant 4. We May Never Pass This Way (Again) 5. Nine Houses 6. Standin’ On a Mountain Top 7. It’s Gonna Come Down (On You) 8. Jessica 9. Dust On My Saddle 10. Wisdom

My brother owned this 8-Track when I was a kid and, like all 8-tracks, it played on an endless loop. Sure it had a couple big hits, the title track and We May Never Pass This Way, Again but also weird mystical hippie cuts (Intone My Servant and Nine Houses), folkie love tunes (Jessica, Rubie Jean & Billie Lee) and even a Marty Robbinseque cowboy tune in Dust On My Saddle.

The final song on the album is an instrumental jazz-rock fusion cut called Wisdom and Seals really cooks here. As a whole, the entire album is worth checking out but Wisdom alone is worth the cover charge.

UNBORN CHILD (1974)
11. Windflowers 12. Desert People 13. Unborn Child 14. The Story of Her Love 15. Dance By the Light of The Moon 16. Rachel 17. King Of Nothing 18. 29 Years from Texas 19. Ledges 20. Follow Me 21. Big Mac

It was 1974 and Seals & Crofts were at their commercial peak. Diamond Girl was their 1973 masterpiece and Summer Breeze was the LP that really jump-started their career. Things were really going their way ... or were they?

I bought this album in late January of 1974 and thought at the time that Unborn Child was somewhat of an odd title for an album. The cover was sort of eerie with those sad, forlorn eyes looking out of a silhouette of blue skies and a odd-shaped rainbow.

I had loved Diamond Girl so much, I couldn’t wait to get this one on the record player. All I can say is that I loved this album too after only one play. Even on the first listen-through, I liked it better than Diamond Girl and much better than Summer Breeze.

Disc Four: I’LL PLAY FOR YOU (1975)
1. I’ll Play for You 2. Golden Rainbow 3. Castles In the Sand 4. Blue Bonnet Nation 5. Ugly City 6. Wayland The Rabbit 7. Freaks Fret 8. Truth Is but A Woman 9. Fire And Vengeance

OK, now this is an amazing album with Philly soul/psychedelic soul/sympho-rock influences. Somewhat Roy Ayers vibes with a gifted songcraft I was really impressed. In truth, I’ll Play for You was, and still is, an underrated mid-1970’s gem. Highlights for me are Golden Rainbow (which has Jeff Porcaro on drums) and the brilliant Wayland the Rabbit.

SUDAN VILLAGE (1976)
10. Sudan Village 11. Advance Guards 12. ’Cause You Love 13. Baby I’ll Give It to You 14. Thunderfoot 15. East Of Ginger Trees 16. Put Your Love in My Hands 17. Arkansas Traveller 18. Eighth Of January

When a voice announces ‘Ladies & Gentlemen Seals and Crofts’ atop an intro of marimba whistles and assorted percussions and the title track commences one perceives they did nail some Afro guitar rhythm and polyrhythmic stuff which will alternate with lush soft-rock passages, that this is a well performed setting and that it could actually have been used as an inspiration by Paul Simon some years later.

And yet they soon go into a saccharine country-Rock ballad, then into a Bee Gees like pool, when they enlist the help of Carolyn Willis to reach the high pitched part of the aural spectrum and finally add that extra Disco emphasis with strings and all, in a sort of Saturday Night Fever preview, glossily arranged but so hollow that it had to be faded out in spite of its “live recorded” condition.

The second half of the album, however, is a breath of fresh air, or should I say a welcomed thunderstorm? The 9 minutes long instrumental only “Thunderfoot” that occupies half of what would be Side B’s length, is an infectious slab of solid fusion, sax and guitars screaming against killer riffs or indulging in searing solos, jazzy Rhodes passages and Moog flights atop rolling and bouncy bass lines and syncopated and punchy drumming.

The ensuing “East of Ginger Trees” is a passable Rock ballad with Progressive aspirations, and “Put Your Love in My Hands” opens up with C.S.& N. styled vocal harmonies and pulsation before going the Disco Soul route (yes, Willis is back on board)and finally into a Santana-esque instrumental and enthusiastic crowd reaction.

Disc Five: GET CLOSER (1976)
1. Sweet Green Fields 2. Get Closer 3. Red Long Ago 4. Goodbye Old Buddies 5. Baby Blue 6. Million Dollar Horse 7. Don’t Fail 8. Passing Thing

For me, Get Closer was one of the best albums I had come across in their catalog thus far back in 1976. Great arrangements with lots of 70’s soft rock songs. The whole album is solid and very consistent. It is just dripping with 1970’s soft rock sugar. To me the soft rock songs and ballads are where they really excel. They kind of lost me when they experimented with heavier rock tracks, but each to their own.

TAKIN’ IT EASY (1978)
9. Takin’ It Easy 10. One More Time 11. Midnight Blue 12. You’re The Love 13. Sunrise 14. Breaking In a Brand New Love 15. Magnolia Moon 16. Nobody Gets Over Lovin’ You 17. Forever Like the Rose 18. A Tribute To ’Abdu’L-Baha’

By the time Takin’ It Easy was finally released, it seems that the record buying public had lost a lot of interest in the duo. Compared to the several gold-selling albums that preceded it, Takin’ It Easy was a commercial disappointment, peaking at (coincidentally enough) number 78 on the Billboard album charts.

One gets the sense that even during the recording of Takin’ It Easy, there was concern of how Seals & Crofts would be received in the midst of the changing musical climate, and there are some clear attempts at keeping up with the times.

The most notorious example is the disco-fied Top 20 hit You’re The Love, which Dash Crofts himself claims that he hated it! I mean, that’s a somewhat understandable, albeit harsh and unfair critique, because it’s not really THAT much of a disco tune, and beyond that, the song is upbeat, insanely catchy, and downright fun.

They also take a half-hearted stab at a New Wave-ish rocker with the album-opening title track. It’s a passable tune, and it was a minor hit in its own right, but the guys don’t sound like their hearts are really in it, and the result feels forced. Note that neither of these two songs were at all written by the duo (You’re The Love was written by David Batteau and their producer Louie Shelton).

Apart from the two aforementioned singles though, Seals & Crofts basically stick with the tasteful soft-rock approach of their ’76 masterpiece album Get Closer, and they offer up a bunch of great songs in the process.

Official Purchase Link

Seals and Crofts – Gold And Rainbows: The Warner Bros. Years 1969–1978 5CD [Trailer]