Orpheus
Boston's Orpheus made four albums in the late '60s and early '70s that were something of an antecedent to soft rock. Although some of the members had roots in the folk scene, and although they were lumped in with the heavier and more psychedelic bands that comprised the short-lived "Bosstown sound," Orpheus were in fact much closer to the "sunshine pop" of the late '60s heard on AM radio. Producer Alan Lorber (who also worked with Ultimate Spinach and other local bands) gave their light-harmony pop tunes elaborate orchestrated arrangements that hinted at Baroque classical music.
Jack McKenes and Eric Gulliksen of Orpheus had played together in a pop-folk group, the Minutemen, and McKenes and Bruce Arnold formed the pop-folk duo the Villagers before the three of them plus drummer Harry Sandler linked up to form Orpheus. Relying largely on original material, mostly written by Arnold and Gulliksen, Orpheus cut three LPs for MGM (the primary home of Bosstown sound bands) in the late '60s. The group's harmonies and songwriting were similar to bands such as the Fifth Dimension and the Association, even with echoes of the Lettermen in places and with some traces of folk and psychedelic music on some tracks.
When Orpheus made their fourth and final album for Bell in 1971, only Arnold was left from the original band, although the LP had songwriting and vocals from Steve Martin (not the same as the Steve Martin who sang lead for the Left Banke), who had written some material on Orpheus' MGM recordings. The double-CD Big Beat compilation The Best of Orpheus (1995) has almost everything from the MGM LPs, as well as a couple of songs from the Bell LP and some previously unreleased material.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
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Intergalactic Rhodemap
Dance - Erschienen bei Invision Records am 01.07.2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Do It This Way / Beautiful Lady
Soul - Erschienen bei Athens Of The North am 14.08.2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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The Journey
Jazz - Erschienen bei Galileo Music Communication am 26.06.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
1998 (Original Mix)
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei Pharmacy Music am 02.10.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roads Untraveled
Alternativ und Indie - Erschienen bei Infeksius Records am 04.03.2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Adriatic Guitar
Klassik - Erschienen bei Croatia Records am 09.09.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orpheus - Distorted EP
Trance - Erschienen bei DNA Records am 02.02.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Heartbeat EP
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei Pharmacy Music am 30.05.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Congress Alley
Alan Lorber Orchestra & Chorus, Orpheus
Pop - Erschienen bei Iris Music Group am 21.01.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orpheus
Jazz - Erschienen bei Andromeda Black Hole am 22.01.2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music for Sleeping, Vol. 1
Entspannung - Erschienen bei Music For am 01.11.2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Songs for the Apocalypse
Elektronische Musik oder Musique concrète - Erschienen bei Orpheus am 02.02.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Black Bunny
Rock - Erschienen bei 3310900 Records DK am 15.09.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sleepy Land EP (Original Mix)
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei Pharmacy Music am 16.02.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -