Beg, Borrow & Steal

Chronique

While the Ohio Express became one of the great bubblegum "bands" with hits like "Yummy Yummy Yummy" and "1, 2, 3, Red Light," they began as a jack-of-all-trades garage band, as this album they cut in 1968 for Cameo shows. Maybe that's because the album is actually made up of recordings made by three different bands and all bundled together under the Ohio Express name by producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz. The duo cut the song "Beg, Borrow and Steal" in 1965 with a New York band called the Conquests, who they renamed the Rare Breed. Though it was a fun "Louie Louie" ripoff, the single flopped. They had faith in the song, however, and put it out again under the name Ohio Express. This time the song was a small hit and Kasenetz and Katz wanted to find a real band to become the Ohio Express, and maybe have some more hits. They drafted in the Ohio band Sir Timothy & the Royals, brought them to N.Y.C., and quickly cut an album that's filled with some really strong songs and performances, including sweetly sung soft pop ballads ("And It's True," "I Find I Think of You"), a couple urgent folk-rockers ("Had to Be Me," "Stop Take a Look Around"), a very Turtles-y sounding song ("I Know We'll Be Together"), and some stomping garage rock ("Hard Times" and a take on the Standells' "Try It," which was co-written by Joey Levine, the future voice of the Ohio Express). The negatives (a not too soulful version of "Soul Struttin'" and the way too groovy "It's Too Groovy," which points out the dangers of letting the drummer write a song to fill out the album) don't detract from the positives very much and the album ends up as an enjoyable garage pop nugget. Oh, that third band! For some reason Kasenetz and Katz decided to bolster the songs recorded with the guys from Sir Timothy & the Royals with songs recorded by another Ohio-based garage band, the Measles. They featured a young Joe Walsh on guitar (though not on these songs) and were responsible for the two aforementioned ballads on the album. All this wheeling and dealing behind the scenes was typical of the times and makes the album kind of fascinating in a weird way. While it's not exactly a lost classic, it's a fun diversion as well as a vital piece of the bubblegum puzzle.

© Tim Sendra /TiVo