Castaways -Collection Vol.1

Slogging it out on the club circuit with hundreds of others during the '60s beat boom was a beat group with a difference: Tony Rivers And The Castaways. Granted, they had the same R&B/rock 'n' roll roots as their contemporaries but it was a penchant for close harmony that set them apart from most. More than just Beach Boys clones, Rivers and his ever-changing line-up developed from beat group to accomplished five part harmonisers during a career spanning 1963 to 1968. Unable to secure the elusive breakthrough single, they eventually underwent a name-change to become the more commercially successful Harmony Grass.
Rivers' admiration for West Coast harmony is reflected in the choice of material, with a quartet of Brian Wilson compositions (including a more intricate vocal harmony arrangement of "Girl Don't Tell Me") plus the Four Freshmen's "Graduation Day" occupying pride of place. While the thundering first single "Shake Shake Shake" certainly betrays the group's beat origins, later releases demonstrate a grasp of complex vocal harmony more commonly found in California than in their native East London! A companion Harmony Grass retrospective appears as THE TONY RIVERS COLLECTION VOL 2.