Donnydale-Thank Goodness For The Rain/ Oh Yeah –Pioniyo Pio 1 (1970 US)
Late California bummer-in-the-summertime pop/rock from an L.A. duo whose stylistic atavism certainly ran deeper than their haircuts, smiles and paisley shirts...
While recent comparisons to Big Star aren’t necessarily off-base given the crunchy guitars, druggy production and label name (Pioniyo is the Native American term for sacred, ceremonial peyote), any attempt to brand Donnydale as early purveyors of Power Pop is definitely a revisionistic reach, miscasting the band as something they almost certainly were not.
This is not to say there is still not much to enjoy in the slightly cloudy downer sounds that make up Donnydale’s lone single (the mellotron is a really nice touch). It is, instead, to say that what these guys were likely aiming for was a sound more closely attuned to the styles of Laurel Canyon than say Ardent Studios, not that it matters and not that it makes Oh Yeah any less hummable. Thank Goodness For The Rain has its merits too, not least the similarity between its guitar line and the Move’s China Town. More coincidence, unless Donnydale are/were actually time-travelers...
Many thanks to Collin for the review and for alerting me to this jewel allowing a pre-emptive purchase!
Hear a full version of Thank Goodness For The Rain
Hear a full version of Oh Yeah
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