David Cassidy - Cherish (1972) + Bonus Track

(U.S 1969 - 2017)
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For a glorious moment in the early 1970s, teen heartthrob David Cassidy – who died last Wednesday (22nd Nov) from multiple organ failure at the age of 67 – was the biggest star in the world.

His face and half-naked torso graced a million girls’ bedrooms. He was the king of the lunchbox back in the 70's.

His 1974 tour of Australia was typical of his life then. According to his pal and photographer Henry Diltz, “[it was a] collection of mad rushes from cars to hotels, hotels to venues, venues back to hotels”.

“All serenaded by screaming pubescents who kept vigil outside his hotels 24 hours a day.”

Appearing at the Logies he met fellow actor Gina Lollobrigida, then regarded as one of the most beautiful women in the world. She spirited him away so she could take photos of the star naked. Just another day at the office.

At a concert at Sydney’s Randwick Racecourse, the fans pulled the stage down halfway into the set. The stage itself buckled under the weight of koalas and underwear from the 33,000 fans.

Cassidy had fond memories of Australia: “There’s a spirit about the people here that I have never forgotten. They love to have a good time. Um, they love the sun. They love to drink. They love to gamble. They love to smoke, they love horse racing.”

All of this hysteria flowed from Cassidy’s role as Keith Partridge in the TV sitcom The Partridge Family. The plot was a single mum, played by Cassidy’s real-life stepmother Shirley Jones, Keith and three younger children form a band and go on the road.

The Partridge Family, which launched in 1970, was the nice alternative to the scruffy Woodstock generation. Like the Monkees before them, they had a number of hits including "I Think I Love You", "Doesn’t Somebody Want to Be Wanted", "I Woke Up in Love This Morning" and "Come On Get Happy". They had six gold albums in two years. David had a No.1 solo hit with Cherish.
[Extract from thenewdaily.com.au]

Album Review
This was David's first solo album. It hit no. 15 on the US charts on Feb. 19, 1972, and stayed on the charts for eight weeks. In Britain, where it peaked at no. 2.

The most interesting thing about this album is that it is really a Partridge Family album done solo. The same pop hooks and sounds as well as the same personnel and many of the same writers (Tony Romeo, Wes Farrell, Bobby Hart etc) appear. None of this is surprising given this was Cassidy’s first solo LP and a hit formula was never, not going to be followed.

Cassidy would, over the next couple of albums, start to develop his own sound which is not to dissimilar from this musically but at least it is individual, distinct and more thoughtful. Thematically his music would move dramatically away from the love / lost love breakup songs here and deal with issues of fame, celebrity and love in a slightly more cynical way.

Cassidy, here, writes one song by himself and all the rest are written for him or are covers. The album is produced (again) by Wes Farrell and session musicians include: Hal Blaine on piano and Tommy Tedesco and Larry Carlton amongst others on guitars. Though not credited on the album apparently others Wrecking Crew session men play also.

Track Breakdown:
Being Together – a big beat ballad about falling in love…..filler at the start of an album?
I Just Wanna Make You Happy – another big beat ballad about falling in love – this one better.
Could It Be Forever – filler
Blind Hope – romantic and disposable.
I Lost My Chance – romantic but not quite disposable
My First Night Alone Without You  –  the lonesome ballad.
We Could Never Be Friends (‘Cause We’ve Been Lovers Too Long) – mainstream pop …but catchy. Not that different to The Archies.
Where Is the Morning – superior kiddie pop.
I Am a Clown – very maudlin but catchy and with the spoken intro it’s dramatic and silly, much like “Are you Lonesome Tonight” and it’s spoken section. That doesn’t mean it’s bad ….actually it’s quite good, as is “Are You Lonesome” ….
Cherish – another pure pop song and another good one. Well, it is the title tune after all ….
Ricky’s Tune – a song by David about his dog and one of the best songs on the album – less pop and more west coast rock with country overtones ….think Crosby Stills and Nash.
All I Wanna Do Is Touch You - Bonus non-album B-Side to "Cherish". Should have been track 3
[extract from whatfrankislisteningto]

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I'm posting this 'out of character' album as a tribute to someone who I grew up listening to and unashamedly admired while he was a member of the Partridge Family, one of the many musical T.V shows that molded my teenage years in the 70's.

The post includes MP3's (320kps) ripped from my vinyl copy which turned up in a box of records I acquired at a garage sale many years ago. The single "Cherish" was later found inside the cover, thus the opportunity to provide the non-album B-Side single "All I Wanna Do Is Touch You" as a bonus track.

I hope this album 'makes you happy' as it did me when I listened to it - RIP David 'Partridge' Cassidy

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Track Listing:

01 Being Together 2:53

02 I Just Wanna Make You Happy 2:18

03 Could It Be Forever 2:16

04 Blind Hope 3:14

05 I Lost My Chance 2:38

06 My First Night Alone Without You 3:34

07 We Could Never Be Friends ('Cause We've Been Lovers Too Long) 2:50

08 Where Is The Morning 2:53

09 I Am A Clown 4:35

10 Cherish 3:46

11 Ricky's Tune 3:24

12 All I Wanna Do Is Touch You  (Bonus B-Side Single)  2:54

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David Cassidy Link (90Mb) New Link 18/12/2023

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W.O.C.K On Vinyl - The Partridge Family: EP (1971)

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Before things get too serious at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song at the end of each month, that could be considered to be either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.
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In 1970, the Partridge Family was among the top-selling recording acts, not to mention one of the top-rated TV shows of its time. Either way, it made David Cassidy a successful teen idol until the show's cancellation in 1974. The Partridge Family consisted of Shirley Partridge (keyboards, vocals) and her five kids: Keith (lead vocalist and guitar), Laurie (keyboards, vocals), Danny (bass guitar, vocals), Chris (drums), and Tracy (tambourine). Rounding out the cast was their on screen manager, Reuben Kincaid.
With the exception of Shirley Jones and David Cassidy, none of the actors on the show actually sang or played on the group's records. In fact this was done by professional studio musicians and singers, with the family lip-synching to the tracks on camera. In fact, David Cassidy was originally hired for his looks, but when the producers found out that he could sing they realized that they could use him in the real band.

Many of the episode plots draw upon the comedic relationship between Reuben (Dave Madden) and Danny (Danny Bonaduce). These two were good friends both on and off the set. Other plot devices were Keith's good looks and popularity at school, Laurie's 70's style activism and some of the strange encounters that the family had when on the road in their bus.

The Partridge Family was true wholesome family programming. At the time Shirley Partridge was one of the the first single mother's to be featured on a television show. Originally the scripts called for her to be divorced, but this was changed to describe her as a widow.And of course, unlike other shows on TV at that point, "The Partridge Family" was a built-in hit machine fueled by the good looks and bubble gum charm of Cassidy.

The "group's" first No. 1 hit single, "I Think I Love You," was released to coincide with the debut of the show. Only Cassidy and Jones sang on the song and were backed by several famed studio musicians including Hal Blaine and Louis Shelton.
On Aug. 31, 1974, the curtain came down on "The Partridge Family."
In 2010, Cassidy, whose poster image was pinned up in thousands of teenage girls' bedrooms in the 1970s, toured in concert in America and worldwide -- and was a guest on the Oprah show in the same year.
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OK - I'll admit that I was a big fan of the Patridge Family back in the early 70's when it aired on Australian T.V, but more because of the cheeky antics that Danny got up to each week, especially while teasing  manager 'Reuben Kincaid'.  The Patridge Family's music was catchy and I, like so many other young teenagers at that time enjoyed their big hit "I Think I Love You".
Needless to say, the show was Korny but at the time it was accepted and like the Monkees or the Banana Splits, T.V shows mixing music, comedy and sitcom were popular. If you don't agree with the Korny label for this WOCK posting, then the K can stand for Reuben Kincaid instead.
The Post is a 320kps MP3 rip from my 7" Vinyl EP which I've owned all these years and includes artwork and label scans. Condition of the vinyl is fairly good considering it is over 40 years old !
Oh, and if there are any enterprising producers out there reading this month's WOCK on vinyl, thinking about trying to make a "Partridge Family" reunion happen, take note that you'll need to go through their longtime manager, Reuben Kincaid first. 
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Side A
01 - I Think I Love You
02 - Doesn't Somebody Want To be Wanted
Side B
03 - I'll Meet You Halfway
04 - I Woke Up In Love This Morning
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The Patridge Family Link (30Mb) Link Fixed 19/11/2024
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