Turtle Soup

Turtle Soup is rightly considered to be the band's finest album. With all the material self-penned, they were now calling their own shots, including their choice of Ray Davies as producer. This was Davies' first non-Kinks work and the band came up with songs that were right up the Englishman's alley. The sound bears more than a passing resemblance to The Kinks, with acoustic guitars, plucked basses, and simple but sturdy drumming (John Barbata had departed and this was John Seiter's debut with the band). While Turtle Soup didn't yield hits as big as previous, it's a broader, richer recording. Their preceding album, PRESENT THE BATTLE OF THE BANDS, had hinted at their interest in tackling a fuller album statement, which Turtle Soup completely accomplished. Sadly, this was the final album The Turtles completed before disbanding (though WOODEN HEAD, compiled from unused tracks, was a fine posthumous release).