By Eleni P. Austin
If you came of age in the ‘60s or early ‘70s, chances are you heard The Cowsills. A family band that originated in Newport, Rhode Island, they served as the inspiration for The Partridge Family, a hit TV series that aired after The Brady Bunch on the ABC network.
Along with the rest of America, the oldest Cowsill brothers, Bill, Bob and Barry were heavily influenced by The Beatles’ appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in early 1964. Less than a year later the wildly talented trio formed the first iteration of The Cowsills, Bill and Bob tackled lead vocals and guitars, Barry played drums. Pretty quickly, younger brother John was conscripted for drums and Barry moved to bass. They began making a name for themselves on the local scene. Once he retired from the Navy, their dad, Bud, began managing the band.
After a few false starts, the four-piece signed with MGM Records. Bud insisted their Mom, Barbara, join the line-up right before they recorded their first hit single, “The Rain, The Park & Other Things.” When the song was released in 1967, the only thing that kept it from reaching #1 on the Billboard charts was The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer.”
Over the next three years, the band, which increased its numbers with the addition of younger siblings Paul and Susan, wound up recording five albums for MGM. They hit the Top 10 three more times with their own composition, “We Can Fly,” the saccharine “Indian Lake” and their iconic take on “Hair,” which was produced and arranged by Bill and Bob. Left to their own devices, the brothers had become accomplished songwriters, creating music that was equal parts Sunshine Pop and sly Psychedelia.
After one too many clashes with his controlling father, Bud kicked Bill out of the band. Bob reluctantly became de facto leader and the family relocated to Santa Monica. TV executives attempted to build a sitcom around the talented family, but when the producers insisted that actress Shirley Jones would play their mom, rather than their own mom, Barbara. Bud vetoed the deal, and the network hired singing actors (including future teen heartthrob David Cassidy) to play the kids.
Despite playing around 200 shows a year, the Cowsills discovered they had nothing to show for all their relentless touring Their finances were in a tangle thanks, mostly to Bud. The siblings quietly called it quits. Bill moved to Canada and achieved a bit of success with his band The Blue Shadows. In the ensuing years, Susan has sustained a career in music, performing with Dwight Twilley, then as part of a ramshackle super group, The Continental Drifters, which included future sister-in-law, Vicki Peterson of The Bangles, along with her first husband, ex dB, Peter Holsapple. She’s recorded a couple of well-received solo albums and collaborated with celebrated singer-songwriters Freedy Johnston and Jon Dee Graham as The Hobart Brothers And Lil Sis.
John is a working musician, for about 20 years, he pounded the drum kit for Mike Love’s touring version of The Beach Boys. His wife, Vicki and Susan have performed on and off as The Psycho Sisters, releasing an album, Up On The Chair, Beatrice, in 2014. Barry released a solo album in 2004 and both Bob and Paul have continued to perform.
The family has endured their share of heartache. Barbara died from emphysema in 1985, Bud lost his battle with Leukemia seven years later. Tragedy struck in 2005, Susan, her husband Russ, and their kids managed to escape New Orleans while Hurricane Katrina raged, but Barry decided to ride out the storm and went missing. His body was recovered months later. As the family gathered for Barry’s memorial in early 2006, they received word that Bill had succumbed to a variety of health issues and had passed away.
For the last several summers, siblings Bob, Paul, Susan and occasionally John, have come together as part of Happy Together, an annual package tour that features The Turtles and several vintage ‘60s bands. 2022 saw Bob, Paul and Susan return to the recording studio to create a brand-spanking new record, Rhythm Of The World. It was warmly received by critics and fans alike. But plenty of fans are still obsessed about the one that got away. Referred to as their “Lost” album, Global was originally released on a tiny label and almost immediately went out of print. By 2022, the CD occasionally popped up for sale on ebay for hundreds of dollars. Luckily, the cool kids at Omnivore Recordings were paying attention and decided to reissue the album themselves.
The record crackles to life as clangorous guitars connect with reedy keys, wily bass lines and a walloping beat on “What About Love.” Gossamer harmonies coalesce around Bob’s lead vocals as lyrics bemoan a hollow, loveless existence: “I got my money, yeah, I work real hard, I live the good life, but when I think about it, I got nothin’ to hold, so goes the good life, what about love?” A bit of a basher, the action revs at the bridge and a cyclonic guitar solo corkscrews across the break and just before the song shudders to a close.
Although The Cowsills are definitely a product of the 1960s, the music they created on Global hopscotches across decades. Take “You’ve Got No Time,” this anthemic rocker wouldn’t seem out of place on ‘70s AOR radio. Mandolin notes lattice driving electric guitars, brawny bass lines, carnival keys and a thunky beat. Lyrics rail against a withholding girlfriend: “Well, here’s my body when you want it, here’s my mind that you can feed it, oh, that’s right, you’re on the ‘you don’t see me’ trip, guess you want me to suffer cause you should be the one I call for, when you’re all alone I’ve got a love that won’t fade away.” An epic guitar solo uncoils on the break as cunning keys dot the melody’s margins, mirroring the lyrical angst.
Meanwhile, “What I Believe” actually does echo their ‘60s heyday. Shimmery guitars, crushed velvet keys, flinty bass lines and a propulsive beat wrap around sunshiny harmonies. Lovestruck lyrics like “What I believe is love comes around to help me make it through, and I believe in God up above, then I believe in you, everybody wants to talk about a hard time, I listen but I don’t pay much mind, helps me to remember I love that look in your eye,” are optimistic without being cloying.
“Rescue” exhibits a Punky edge, as throbbing bass, buzzy guitars and spiky keys collide with a marauding beat. Marital ennui gets the once-over-twice with lyrics like “When I get home, got a situation, you can be in the same room and it’s just like I’m not there, you think I’m gonna leave, I say ‘no, no, no,’ I work on keepin’ the lid on so I don’t explode, what is there I can do? All I want’s, a love that’s true/I want to rescue everything, I wanna rescue every little…I wanna keep our love alive.” A jagged guitar solo rides roughshod on the break, magnifying the emotional abyss.
The best tracks here feature Susan front and center. “Cross That Line” kicks into gear as stacked harmonies envelope the chorus, acapella style. Scratchy, shang-a-lang guitars and moody keys sketch out a nimble melody, as vroom-y bass and a tumbling beat color outside the lines. Susan’s full-throated vocals land somewhere between the warm humanity of Bonnie Raitt, and the Bluesy grit of Lucinda Williams. Wearing her heart on her sleeve, candid lyrics lay it all on the line: “I want a love who’s not afraid to do things I need done for me, I wanna be someone else’s dream and hold all the secrets within, I wanna give you all the love inside, I wanna show you what it feels like, but if you want it all and more, you gotta cross that line.” Muscular instrumentation on the break, from the rangy guitar runs and tensile bass, to the scattershot rhythm, somehow manages to belie the lyrics’ emotional fragility.
“Under The Gun” gently flips the script as lyrics paint Susan as a woman not ready to settle down. Her keening contralto floats atop stripped-down guitars, lithe keys, elastic bass and a stutter-step beat. She quietly confesses “Ain’t no way, nowhere, no how, I’m gonna get out of this quandry… He wants everything from me, all the feelings that I hold inside, I don’t know if I really want to, I don’t know if I can even try/But what if love’s the only answer, what if love is the only way out, maybe someday, somewhere, somehow I’ll find out.” The arrangement accelerates slightly on the break as swiveling keys and wily guitar riffs are buoyed by an infectious, handclap rhythm.
Back when terrestrial radio was all we had, “Far Away” could have sandwiched nicely between Fleetwood Mac and The Rolling Stones. A full-throttle rocker, it’s powered by searing guitar licks, knotty bass lines, shadowy keys and a whipcrack beat. Susan’s exasperation feels palpable as lyrics long for a little independence: “Well, it’s said lost love can’t be recaptured, and it hurts to know I’ll be making you sadder, but I’ll be happier, I’m gonna find, I’ll get to a place where my troubles are far away.” Fraternal harmonies hug the hairpin turns on the chorus and a stinging guitar solo on the break leaves no room for equivocation.
Finally, the hard-charging “She Said To Me” is a jittery plea for a bit of carnal knowledge. Sinewy guitars partner with angular bass, antsy keys and a jackrabbit beat. The hook-driven chorus is anchored by lush harmonies and a rollicking arrangement. On the break, bruising guitar solo sidles around a dropped backbeat as wordless harmonies crest atop the sonic maelstrom.
Other interesting tracks include the see-sawing emotions of “I Be Low” and the jingle-jangle goodness of “Is It Any Wonder.” The record originally closed with the autumnal grace of “Some Good Years.” Sun-dappled guitars line up next twinkling keys, fluid bass lines and a tick-tock beat. Perspicacious lyrics chart the peaks and valleys that this family band endured: “It went on just like an ocean, made you feel so good, but then just like it rose, then it was falling, guess that nothing lasts the way it should, all I can say—how the good shines through, they were some good years.” As their effortless and ethereal harmonies intertwine, wiggly keys and rippling guitars echo and sway. It’s a poignant finish to a great record.
Except…that’s not quite the end. Three original songs written during the recording, inexplicably didn’t make the cut back in 1998. Restored for the reissue, they offer a more complete picture of Global, adding this rambunctious trifecta of tracks. “Free Fall” is an irresistible Garage Rock Rave-Up fueled by supersonic guitars, candy-coated keys, and a blitzkrieg beat. Then there’s the snotty J’accuse of “Maybe It’s You.” Gaslighting lyrics attempt to deflect blame as snarled guitars strafe across liquid keys and a pile-driving beat. The album ends on a frenetic note with “Shine.” Pounding piano and ringing guitars are bookended by chunky backbeat. Sounding like a long-lost AOR classic, it echoes antecedents like Cheap Trick, The Raspberries and The Who. There’s a bit of a freak-out on the break, allowing The Cowsills to truly claim their Hard Rock bona fides, offering up an energized conclusion to a long-lost gem.
The record features a wolf-pack of well-known players, including Robby Scharf, Vicki Peterson, Mary Jo Cowsill, Peter Holsapple, and (wait for it….) John Stamos. Bob produced the album and wrote all the songs with his wife, Mary Jo. Finally, 26 years after the fact, Global is back. Even if it doesn’t conquer the world, it confirms that The Cowsills music remains irresistible.
