Do You Believe in Magic (album) explained

Do You Believe in Magic
Type:studio
Artist:the Lovin' Spoonful
Cover:Do you believe in magic.jpg
Recorded:June–September 1965[1]
Studio:
Genre:
Length:30:03
Label:Kama Sutra
Producer:Erik Jacobsen
Next Title:Daydream
Next Year:1966

Do You Believe in Magic is the debut album by the folk rock group the Lovin' Spoonful. It was released in the United States in November1965, on the Kama Sutra label. Release in the United Kingdom followed in March1966. The album features the hits "Do You Believe in Magic" (U.S. No. 9) and "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" (U.S. No. 2).

Do You Believe in Magic was re-released on CD in 2002 with five bonus tracks.

Release and reception

Do You Believe in Magic first went on sale on October23, 1965, when the Lovin' Spoonful held an autograph session outside a White Front department store in Pleasant Hill, California.[4] Kama Sutra Records issued the album across the United States in November, one month after the title track peaked at number nine on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart.[5] In conjunction with the release of the album, the label issued the non-album single "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice". The album entered Billboard Top LPs chart on December 4, 1965, and it initially ran on the chart for 19 weeks, peaking in February1966 at number 71. After the album fell off the chart in April,[6] Kama Sutra issued another single from it, "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?", which peaked at number two on the Hot 100 in June. That same month, Do You Believe in Magic re-entered the Top LPs chart,[7] and it spent 16 more weeks on the chart, reaching a new peak in August at number 32.

Pye International Records issued the album in the United Kingdom in March1966,[8] but it did not chart.[9]

In a review for The Village Voice, the critic J. R. Goddard wrote that though the Lovin' Spoonful was made up of talented musicians, the album was "so dull and poorly engineered".[10] Writing in retrospect for AllMusic, the critic William Ruhlmann wrote, "The album elaborated upon Sebastian's gentle, winning songwriting style... The album also revealed the group's jug band roots in its arrangements of traditional songs... The Spoonful would be remembered as a vehicle for Sebastian's songwriting, but Do You Believe in Magic was a well-rounded collection that demonstrated their effectiveness as a group."

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Sebastian, except where noted.

Note

Charts

+Weekly chart performanceChart (1965–66)Peak
position
US Billboard Top LPs[11] 32
US Cash Box Top 100 Albums[12] 71
US Record World 100 Top LPs[13] 67

References

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Edmonds . Ben . Do You Believe in Magic . . 2002 . Liner notes. . 74465 99730 2.
  2. Book: Segretto, Mike. 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. 2022. 1965. 70. Backbeat. 9781493064601.
  3. Billboard review panel. Album Reviews. Billboard. November 20, 1965. 68.
  4. Anon.. Autorama Begins Today at Store. October 22, 1965. 10. Contra Costa Times. Newspapers.com. The Lovin' Spoonful... will be at the Autorama... on Saturday [October 23] to sign autographs. Their first L.P. album, 'Do You Believe in Magic' will be on sale for the first time at the Autorama..
  5. The Lovin' Spoonful Chart History (Hot 100) . . October 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221121215619/https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-lovin-spoonful/chart-history/hsi/ . November 21, 2022 . live.
  6. Billboard Top LP's. April 9, 1966. Billboard. 40.
  7. Billboard Top LP's. June 11, 1966. Billboard. 42.
  8. Anon.. News Extra: Spoonful LP. Melody Maker. April 30, 1966. 15.
  9. Web site: Lovin' Spoonful . . October 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220816014342/https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/12420/lovin-spoonful/ . 16 August 2022 . live.
  10. News: Goddard. J. R.. Records: One Spoonful's Enough. The Village Voice. November 25, 1965. 7, 15. Google Books.
  11. The Lovin' Spoonful Chart History . . August 11, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221121215619/https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-lovin-spoonful/chart-history/hsi/ . November 21, 2022 . live.
  12. Cash Box Top 100 Albums. July 9, 1966. Cash Box. 45.
  13. 100 Top LP's. July 16, 1966. Record World. 18.