THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,779) The Foundations — “Baby, I Couldn’t See”
Believe me buttercup, this exuberant soul number is just as good as any of their hits. Derek Johnson wrote in the New Musical Express at the time that:
For their last release, the Foundations experimented with ballad material — it was a good and thoroughly competent disc, but It just didn’t catch on. So now the group has adopted the obvious course of reverting to its former happy-go-lucky effervescent style. And although the boys have now dissolved their partnership with the Tony Macaulay-John Macleod team, I must say this is very much in the mould of their previous smash hits. The spirited solo vocal is backed by enthusiastic chanting, a driving beat and a bustling orchestra scoring — the tune is quicker to register, too. It could well put them back In the Chart.
https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/1969/New-Musical-Express-1969-11-08-OCR.pdf
Well, it did reach #8 . . . in the Netherlands. (https://www.top40.nl/tipparade/1969/week-49)
Bruce Eder writes of the Foundations:
At the time of their debut in mid-1967, they were hailed as being among the most authentic makers of soul music ever to emerge from England — the best practitioners of the Motown sound to be found on the far side of the Atlantic — and were also accepted in jazz circles as well. “Baby Now That I’ve Found You,” “Build Me Up Buttercup,” and “In the Bad, Bad Old Days” were the biggest hits for this multi-racial octet, made up of Londoners and West Indians. The Foundations were formed in January 1967 . . . gathered together through advertisements in Melody Maker. Lead singer Clem Curtis was a former boxer from Trinidad, while lead guitarist Alan Warner had been making his living in the printing trade . . . . Flutist/ saxman Pat Burke hailed from Jamaica, tenor saxman Mike Elliott had played . . . in . . . the Cabin Boys, as well as in several jazz bands, and trombonist Eric Allan Dale was another jazz veteran. Tony Gomez (keyboards), Peter Macbeth (bass), and Tim Harris (drums) rounded out the lineup. . . . It was at their regular spot at a much smaller club called the Butterfly — where they played one legendary gig on the last night of the Stax/Volt European tour — that led to their breakthrough. They were spotted by record dealer Barry Class, who was impressed enough . . . to become their manager. He arranged a meeting with Pye Records producer/songwriter Tony Macaulay, who was working with Long John Baldry with some success, but also was desperately looking for a new act to break for the label. He’d written a song with his partner John Macleod called “Baby Now That I’ve Found You,” which seemed to suit the Foundations. The resulting single, issued in the summer of 1967, got no reaction from the public or on the airwaves until it got picked up by the BBC’s newly founded Radio 1 . . . . The station wanted to avoid any records being played by the pirate radio broadcasters, and looked back at recent releases that the pirates had missed. “Baby Now That I’ve Found You” was the immediate beneficiary . . . [B]y November, the single held the number one spot on the British charts. . . . The Foundations were hailed for being the first British band to come up with an authentic soul sound . . . . Their performances revealed a seasoned, well-rehearsed, exciting stage presence and a bold, hard soul sound that most British bands managed to imitate only in the palest manner, if at all. Meanwhile, their debut single got to number 11 on the American charts . . . and it was equally well received in the rest of the world, selling something more than three and a half million copies. . . . The debut album never made the British charts, but it remained in print for years, a perennial seller that held up well over time. Unfortunately, a follow-up single, “Back on My Feet Again,” didn’t crack the British Top Ten, despite very heavy airplay and promotion, and barely made the U.S. Top 50. . . . Its relative failure led to the beginnings of a split between the group and Macaulay, as both songwriter and producer, exacerbated by the latter’s decision — as their producer — not to permit the group to record any of their own songs, even as B-sides. Additionally, they felt that Macaulay reined in their “real” sound, making them seem more pop-oriented than they were. . . . It [also] seemed to Curtis . . . that some of the other members . . . weren’t putting out the same effort they’d been giving to the group when they were still struggling. Curtis was persuaded to pursue a solo career . . . . [S]axman Elliott quit as well, and was never replaced. Cutis was succeeded by Colin Young, a good singer in his own right who fit in perfectly with the group’s sound, and the reconstituted group hit once more in early 1969 with “Build Me Up Buttercup,” written by Macaulay with Mike D’Abo, which reached number two in England and number one in America. “In the Bad, Bad Old Days (Before You Loved Me)” was yet another hit, reaching the U.K. Top Ten and the U.S. Top 30. The band’s success finally faltered when Macaulay exited Pye Records. . . . With his departure, the group was cut off from the only composer who’d written all of their hits. Additionally, the sounds of soul were changing faster than the group could assimilate it all — they tried for a funkier, James Brown-type sound on their last recordings together in 1970 but failed to attract any attention. The Foundations split in 1970 . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-foundations-mn0000067900#biography
Here is Quincy Conserve (New Zealand):
Here is Os Selvagens (Brazil):
Here is the Pop’s (Brazil):
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