Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 11/04/2008
Run Time: 46:52
The Millennium's
Begin can truly be described as a bona fide lost classic. The brainchild of producers
Curt Boettcher and
Gary Usher, the group was formed out of the remnants of their previous studio project,
Sagittarius, which was preceded by yet another aggregation,
the Ballroom. On
Begin, hard rock, breezy ballads, and psychedelia all merge into an absolutely air-tight concept album, easily on the level of other, more widely popular albums from the era such as
The Notorious Byrd Brothers, which share not only
Usher's production skills, but similarities in concept and construction. The songwriting, mostly by
Joey Stec and
Curt Boettcher, is sterling and innovative, never straying into the type of psychedelic overindulgence which marred so many records from this era. For example,
"It's You," by
Stec, is as powerful and fully realized as the era ever produced, easily on par with songs by
the Beach Boys and
the Byrds -- and, yes, even
the Beatles. At the time the most expensive album
Columbia ever produced (and it sounds like it),
Begin is an absolute necessity for any fan of late-'60s psychedelia and a wonderful rediscovery that sounds as vital today as it did the day it was released. [Disc three of the 2001
Sundazed three-CD release
Magic Time: The Millennium/Ballroom Recordings includes everything from the
Begin album, as well as the unreleased
"Blight"/
"Just About the Same" single that was added to the 1990
Begin reissue, and the single versions of
"It's You," "I Just Want to Be Your Friend," "5 A.M.," "Prelude," "To Claudia on Thursday," and
"There Is Nothing More to Say." The other two CDs have tracks from other acts
Boettcher was involved with during the late '60s (most of them by his prior group,
the Ballroom), as well as previously unreleased instrumental versions of three songs from the
Begin album:
"It Won't Always Be the Same," "There Is Nothing More to Say," and
"To Claudia on Thursday."]
~Matthew Greenwald, All Music Guide
Listen
