The bonus tracks on this disc offers us demos of Laugh, Laugh, which sounds if anything better than the single cut and Just A Little, which also crops up in a couple of alternate takes. But they do make a good enough fist of what they turn their hands to here. In summary Introducing…is a breezy and pleasant enough way of spending half an hour, with perhaps The Beau Brummels yet to truly settle on a style of their own. That’s If You Want Me To is noticeably tougher and closing track Not Too Long Ago’s harmony vocals and guitar effects are pretty good. This and the tender They’ll Make You Cry are both pretty good, with the nasal vocal on the latter adding a touch of (intentional?) comedy. Aside from these single releases, a fast moving Ain’t That Loving You Baby was one of only two tracks not penned by the band themselves. Just A Little comes next, a really commercial sound that was a deserved hit. Laugh, Laugh is smart folk pop with just the merest hint of garage and Still In Love With You Baby sports a more beat/surf sound. The LP kicked off with both sides of the debut 7 inch. It eventually reached the number 15 position on the Billboard charts in the US, with perhaps only distribution issues stopping it going closer to the top.ġ965 brought the band’s debut album Introducing The Beau Brummels and their biggest hit single, Just A Little.
Soon the single Laugh, Laugh/Still In Love With You Baby was released and it was an instant success. The Brummels were quickly signed up by Autumn Records and sent to the studios to put together some early recordings with by one Sylvester Stewart, aka Sly Stone, behind the mixing desk. This was something the band’s management actively encouraged, given the value attached to UK acts in the USA at the time. They selected their name after coming across 18th century dandy George Bryan “Beau” Brummell, which led to the happy accident of people thinking they were actually some trendy British band. Having Ron was a crucial element, as with writing partner Bob Durand this gave them a built-in songwriting team which helped to put them ahead of the crowd. They formed in San Francisco in 1964 as a five piece, with singer Sal Valentino, John Petersen on drums, bassist Ron Meagher and Irishman Declan Mulligan on rhythm guitar joined by Sal’s friend Ron Elliott. The Beau Brummels were one of the key US bands to lead the charge of homegrown talent against the early 1960s “British Invasion”.
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