The Forum.... A long-lost piece of the soft pop/psych pop puzzle on eccentric LA label Mira records, home of the Leaves, satirical gay duo Teddy and Darrell, some of LA's best ever soul records, and Bobby Jameson aka Chris Lucey!Put together and produced by musicologist, film composer and exoticameister (he discovered and produced both Yma Sumac and Martin Denny) Les Baxter, the Forum were inspired by the crossover success of Brazil '66, and Bob Crewe's "Now Sound". The idea being to bring the innovations of west coast soft pop into the showbiz mainstream, as Crewe and Herb Alpert had those of instrumental rock. The result lay somewhere between The 5th Dimension and the eccentric vocal groups put together for live work by the legendary Esquivel! A unique sound which scored them a big hit first time out with "The River Is Wide" in 1966 backed by the cream of 1960's LA's Wrecking Crew sessionmen, Baxter produced an unknown masterpiece of soft pop, grooving at the Playboy Mansion, Flower Power in a Ratpack friendly way. Bonus tracks include all their non-LP singles, radically different alternate takes of their hit, "The River Is Wide" (with completely different arrangements) and three UNRELEASED and unheard until now instrumental tracks of the great LES BAXTER conducting the cream of LA's "Wrecking Crew" session men.......a collision between Exotica and Spector that has to be heard to be believed! This is the first ever reissue of The River Is Wide anywhere and never before has it been released on CD It contains the complete 1967 "River Is Wide" album, all their hit singles, plus bonus tracks and extensive liner notes tell the complete story of the Forum. This is a must for collectors of both soft pop and Exotica rarities
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