Outside chance. Perfect pop from The Turtles

'Nuggets' is the famous two album collection of garage rock and pop songs compiled in the early 70s and re-issued in a four cd box by Rhino. Many a treasure can be found on this collection. Some totally over the top psychedelic relics, others proto punkrock and some examples of great pop records that for one reason or another never made it into any record collection, let alone chart lists. One of the biggest treasures on 'Nuggets' is Outside chance by The Turtles.

The Turtles is a band compiled around the vocal strength of Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, two well sized young men in the 60s. A band that is famous for a few songs, best known for the hit single 'Happy together' of course, but also for 'She'd rather be with me' and the more than beautiful ballad 'Eleanor' (with the great joke in the background just before the last chorus repeat: "One more time".) Songs that still come by on the radio every once in a while.

The Turtles' breakthrough in the U.S. came with a Bob Dylan cover, 'It ain't me, babe'. Leading to several hits up to 1970, after which the band disbanded. Around Kaylan and Volman many players came and went through the years. The best known names being John Barbata on drums who later played in Jefferson Starship and Jim Pons on bass who followed Flo and Eddie to Frank Zappa's The Mothers of Invention in 1970. Leading to one of Zappa's most hilariously outrageous records 'Live at the Fillmore East'.

Musically The Turtles can be placed between the folk pop acts that broke big in 1965, and 1966 like The Byrds, Loving Spoonful and The Mamas and The Papas. Even the first incarnation of Jefferson Airplane. All with great singing and melodic strength. Songwise The Turtles looked to others to write its material. Songwriters Gary Bonner and Alan Gordon e.g. are responsible for its greatest hit 'Happy together'.

The single 'Outside chance', written by Warren Zevon, never charted, but contests with 'Eleanor' for the best The Turtles track easily. It kicks off with a The Byrds like 12 string Rickenbacker sounding intro and a loud, tight cowbell that kicks in next. It is all an intro to superb vocals. The lead singing is harsh and sheer rejection. This is not a love song. A girl is made made clear that there is nothing to win here. The singer has "a heart of stone". "Stone walls surround me", he sings. At the same time there are the exact sort of harmonies of John Phillip's vocal group, the sweet, loving sounds of The Mamas and the Papas. ("Leave me alone, yeahhh".) The Turtles try hard to reach for The Beatles levels here and nearly succeed. The rejection sounds through in the loud cowbell and fierce rhythm and edged on by the repetitive, driving guitar strokes in the part in the chorus. In the meantime Kaylan and Volman and the band harmonise together in a beautiful way. The harmonies just go higher and higher in the background.

The few lead notes of the electric guitar are not only bluesy, but also shows that The Turtles have heard the sign of the times when recording Outside chance. A good lead guitar is a good thing to have. In the driving rhythm and guitar of the chorus and outro is a clear The Rolling Stones of 1965-66 influence. This successful blend of vocally incorporating The Beatles with east and west coast folkpop, while musically mixing west coast folkpop with hints of the most hated musical group of 1966, by parents that was, makes Outside chance one of the better tracks of the mid 60s. A great song by all standards.

What makes 'Outside chance' also so intriguing is the dichotomy between music and lyrics. The song is upbeat, like many a pop love song in 1965-66. The nearly happy sounding, pounding straight through the song, cow bell just sprays happiness on the listener (and driving hammer blows unto the sung to girl). Like the organ solo is all optimism. The melody is full of positive vibes. The lyrics, no matter how enthusiastically The Turtles sing them, are all about turning somebody down: "You don't stand an outside chance". The singing itself is harsh and full of rejection, with hardly any sign of empathy for the girl. At the end of the song the lyrics take a strange turn though. The girl is told to keep on trying and is even spurred on. "Get an outside chance", sounds quite different, doesn't it? So is the singer just playing hard to get?

At 2.08 minutes it's all over. Point made and a great pop anthem is faded out. The Turtles, that is Kaylan and Volman, is touring still under the name The Turtles. Do they still play this wonder of 60s pop?

Wo.

You can listen to 'Outside chance' here.