The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette
| The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by The Four Seasons | |
| Released | January 1969 |
| Genre | Psychedelic pop, rock |
| Length | 44:50 |
| Producer | Bob Gaudio |
The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette is a 1969 psychedelic pop album by American band the Four Seasons. With musical influences changing in the late 1960s, the Four Seasons teamed up with Jake Holmes to create a concept album that placed their traditional pop stylings into the psychedelic era.[1] Instead of love songs, the group tackled subjects such as war and racial tension.[2]
The album's packaging was also very unique, with the cover being stylized as a newspaper and the sleeve containing an eight-page newspaper-like insert. This unique packaging inspired John Lennon and the band Jethro Tull to use the concept for later albums of their own. [3]
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
In a review for AllMusic, Donald A. Guarisco says the album "lives up to its reputation as the most bizarre album in the Four Seasons' catalog", describing it as "a concept album that casts a satirical eye on American life." He calls it "relentlessly inventive, skillfully constructed, and never dull" and "a stunning example of the artistry of the Four Seasons at their most ambitious."[4]
Track listing
- All tracks written by Bob Gaudio and Jake Holmes, except as noted.
- American Crucifixion Resurrection
- Mrs. Stately's Garden
- Look up Look Over
- Something's on Her Mind
- Wall Street Village Day
- Saturday's Father
- Genuine Imitation Life (written by Jake Holmes)
- Idaho
- Wonder What You'll Be
- Soul of a Woman
References
- ↑ Chapman, Rob (2015). Psychedelia and Other Colours. Faber and Faber.
- ↑ Kaplan, James (2016). Sinatra: The Chairman. Knopf Doubleday. p. 798.
- ↑ "'The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette': The Four Seasons' unheralded masterpiece of vocal psych pop". DangerousMinds. 2014-08-06. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
- 1 2 Guarisco, Donald A.. The Four Seasons – The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
