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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Do It This Way / Beautiful Lady
Soul - Lançado por Athens Of The North em 14/08/2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Orpheus
Pop - Lançado por Iris Music Group em 01/03/2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ascending
Pop - Lançado por Iris Music Group em 01/03/2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Journey
Jazz - Lançado por Galileo Music Communication em 26/06/2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
1998 (Original Mix)
Miscellaneous - Lançado por Pharmacy Music em 02/10/2017
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roads Untraveled
Alternative & Indie - Lançado por Infeksius Records em 04/03/2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Adriatic Guitar
Classical - Lançado por Croatia Records em 09/09/2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orpheus - Distorted EP
Trance - Lançado por DNA Records em 02/02/2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Heartbeat EP
Miscellaneous - Lançado por Pharmacy Music em 30/05/2016
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Congress Alley
Alan Lorber Orchestra & Chorus, Orpheus
Pop - Lançado por Iris Music Group em 21/01/2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orpheus
Jazz - Lançado por Andromeda Black Hole em 22/01/2024
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music for Sleeping, Vol. 1
Relaxation - Lançado por Music For em 01/11/2018
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Songs for the Apocalypse
Experimental - Lançado por Orpheus em 02/02/2012
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Black Bunny
Rock - Lançado por 3310900 Records DK em 15/09/2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sleepy Land EP (Original Mix)
Miscellaneous - Lançado por Pharmacy Music em 16/02/2015
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -