Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina

by The Left Banke

Overview

While the rise of folk-rock acts like the Byrds and the Lovin' Spoonful brought 12-string guitars and autoharps into the rock & roll vocabulary, and the Beatles' "Yesterday" and "Eleanor Rigby" opened the door for a more artful use of strings in pop music, the Left Banke pioneered something new with their debut single, 1967's "Walk Away Renee," which incorporated a small string section, harpsichord, and woodwinds to give the song a light yet dramatic Baroque flavor that was unique in rock at the time, and a perfect complement to the song's bittersweet tale of unrequited love. The Left Banke's follow-up, "Pretty Ballerina," was even more striking, and while the group started to fall apart almost as soon as they achieved success, their debut album, named for the two hit singles, was one of the best LPs released in a year full of innovation in pop music. Michael Brown, the group's keyboard player, wrote most of the songs, and with producer and arranger Henry Lookofsky (who was also Brown's father) he helped brainstorm the unusual sound of the Left Banke's material, but vocalist Steve Martin-Caro also played a major role in these sessions; his vocals, which could go from the wistful "Barterers and Their Wives" to the full-on rock shouting of "Lazy Day" at the drop of a hat, are impressive, and he helped write three of the album's best songs, "She May Call You Up Tonight" and "I Haven't Got the Nerve," and "Shadows Breaking Over My Head." Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina is hardly unusual for a rock album of the era in that most of the tracks were dominated by session musicians rather than actual bandmembers, and in many respects, this album was a triumph for the producers and arrangers (among them Steve Jerome and John Abbott, along with Lookofsky) as much as the band, but they also gave this LP a remarkably diverse feel, from the Baroque sound of the hit singles and the formal-dress psychedelia of "Shadows Breaking Over My Head," to the country-rock accents of "What Do You Know," and the straightforward rock of "Lazy Day" and "Evening Down." If the Left Banke's moment of stardom was fleeting, Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina reveals, for a brief and exciting moment, they were one of the best and most innovative American bands in rock & roll. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	05/31/2024
Label:	Common Folk
UPC:	0097037070069
Rank:	190173

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Left Banke   Primary Artist
Buddy Saltzman   Drums
Joe Mack   Bass
Al Rogers   Drums
Tom Finn   Bass,Vocal Harmony
Jeff Winfield   Guitar
Steve Martin-Caro   Vocals,Vocal Harmony
George Hirsh   Guitar
John Abbott   Bass,Guitar
Warren David-Schierhorst   Drums
Harry Lookofsky   Strings
Rick Brand   Guitar
Hugh McCracken   Guitar
Al Gorgoni   Guitar,Guitar (12 String Acoustic)
George Marge   Oboe
Seymour Barab   Bass,Cello
Michael Brown   Piano,Vocals,Clavinet,Harpsichord,Piano (Electric),Electric Harpsichord
George Cameron   Drums,Vocals,Percussion,Tambourine,Vocal Harmony

Technical Credits

Steve Martin   Composer
Bill Jerome   Producer
Michael Lookofsky   Composer
Scott Schinder   Liner Notes
Eric Schou   Design
Clark Besch   Photo Courtesy
Jere Real   Liner Notes
Tony Sansone   Composer
Tim Livingston   Project Manager
Tom Feher   Composer
Tony Sansome   Composer
Cookie Dakes Wrublewski   Photo Courtesy
Steve Martin-Caro   Composer
Brendon Ford   Project Manager
John Abbott   Arranger
Thomas Feher   Composer
Bill Levenson   Project Manager
Harry Lookofsky   Producer
Stephanie Kennedy   Production Coordination
Steve Jerome   Engineer,Producer
Bob Irwin   Mastering
Bob Calilli   Composer
Mike Brown   Composer
Al Quaglieri   Photo Courtesy
Bert Sommer   Composer
Michael Brown   Composer
George Cameron   Composer,Photo Courtesy