Classics IV--Interesting but Probably Not Classic

Classics IV was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1965, and first achieved a modicum of commercial success with the release of Spooky in 1968. From there, the group went on to record a relatively small body of work that was a unique fusion of pop, blues and jazz. Although much of the band's music sounds a little dated today, musicians as talented as Stevie Ray Vaughn expanded upon the possibilities of some of the music of Classics IV--his version of Spooky where he substitutes his blues guitar for the saxophone used by Classics IV shows the listener precisely that despite the "lightweight" feel of some of this group's music, it did have enormous possibilities.

I really don't know a lot about the history of Classics IV, or their personnel. The only interesting or odd thing that I can tell you is that when this group was first formed, their frontman was Dennis Yost, the drummer, who played his drum kit in the front of the group at live performances. Thankfully, the group later hired another drummer, and Yost was allowed to strut his stuff as any legitimate lead singer should--in front of the group and unhindered by a set of drums.

The Very Best Of Classics IV consists of only ten tracks (remember, I said that the band had a small body of work), and it'll take you about twenty-six and one-half minutes to listen to it. Based upon what I recall about the music of Classics IV, I believe this collection to be very representative of the work of this band.

As I said earlier, Spooky was this band's first big hit, and it features that pretty cool musical fusion that I referred to earlier--the saxaphone solo adds to the mood, giving this pop piece a good jazz-blues inflection. Mary, Mary Row Your Boat is bland and forgettable, and Soul Train is an extremely weak effort at recycling the success of Spooky. Every Day With You Girl and Traces are memorable efforts by Classics IV--both songs have catchy melodies and an AM radio appeal that perfectly fitted the era of this band.

Change Of Heart and Something I'll Remember use strings to dress up pop melodies, but these tunes probably sound as dated as can be, with the exception of 24 Hours Of Lonliness, which sounds absolutely mired in the sixties. Stormy is a redemption of sorts--it successfully uses the formula that made Spooky a hit, without sounding like a knock-off.

Perhaps the most interesting cut on this collection is this band's cover of Bobby Hebb's Sunny--this version is a little jazzier than Hebb's version, but it lacks the soul that Hebb gave the song. The sax solo makes up for the lack of feeling in the vocals, and the song works with that Classics IV spin on it.

This is a brief review, but both the career and body of work of Classics IV were brief too. Why did I review this album? I was just going through my collection and realized I had it. I put it in the player, the memories flooded back, and voila!--here's the review!.

Should you buy this album? Well, that depends upon who you are and what you like. On the one hand, it's pretty dismissable as sugary pop, but on the other hand it has just enough blues and jazz inflections to make it interesting. Classics IV probably won't be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame anytime soon, and I don't think I've ever heard any other group say that Classics IV was one of their major influences. Still, it provides a nice slice of AM radio pie, and deserves a listen, even if infrequently.

Thanks for reading.