The Loved Ones emerged from California’s mod revival scene in 1990 with an appreciation for the Yardbirds, Chicago blues and the harder-edged side of ’60s R&B. Signing to Hightone in 1992, the Oakland-based quartet released a pair of LPs, toured the United States and Europe, and shared stages with blues legends John Lee Hooker and Junior Wells. While the band called it quits in 1995, its members hardly disappeared. Lead guitarist Xan McCurdy became a longtime member of Cake, bassist Michael Therieau and drummer John Kent played in Dave Gleason’s Wasted Days, and lead singer Bart Davenport forged ahead as a respected solo artist.
The Loved Ones periodically reunited for shows, but the prospect of making another album together evaded them for decades—until now. For Latest Hits! (SofaBurn/Lovemonk), the original lineup finally found their way back into the studio, with Grammy winner Nick Waterhouse (Leon Bridges, Ty Segal) producing and Paul Butler (Devendra Banhart, Michael Kiwanuka) contributing recording expertise. The new LP reconnects with the band’s roots while making room for influences that weren’t as prominent the first time around.
Here’s more from Therieau, McCurdy and Davenport.
1) “Don’t Turn Your Back”
Therieau: “I was talking to a friend of mine about a show I saw years ago. It was soul legend Howard Tate, who’d just put out a comeback record. The show was in Mill Valley, and there were lots of celebrities there. But the moment I was focused on was when Jerry Ragavoy, the legendary soul producer and songwriter, came onstage. Just the two of them performed ‘Get It While You Can’ with piano and vocal. Anyway, at the end of the chorus is the line, ‘Don’t turn your back on love’—and something in my brain said, ‘That’s a good song title.’ For some reason, I thought it might work well with a Spencer Davis-like groove. Xan added an appropriate fuzz-guitar lick, and we were off to the races.”
2) “I’m Hip”
McCurdy: “Bart had tasked me with making him a specific drumbeat to use for the demo of this one—and as soon as I finished making it, I was excited to hear what he was going to do with it. I wasn’t disappointed. In my mind, it’s sort of a groovier, slightly chilled-out take on a Yardbirds-y blues that could’ve been a second song in the film Blow-Up.”
3) “Love In Reverse”
Davenport: “Just what the world needs—another song about driving. Our driver is in a film-noir-type downward spiral and may never make it home unless they get that dang car out of reverse. I suppose it’s a bit of a downer … But, hey, that’s the blues, I guess. John’s drumbeat on this is one of my favorite things on the album. I dare any of you garage-nugget aficionados to trace our steps back and find that beat’s inspiration.”
4) “Caught By Surprise”
Davenport: “We couldn’t have done this without the reverb and compression expertise of Nick Waterhouse and Paul Butler. I wanted to get into a melancholy soul-ballad feeling, inspired by my favorite singer, Dusty Springfield. Lyrically, I took a more removed second-person perspective, but it’s like I’m singing to myself in the mirror. I’m detailing the time and place where heartbreak hits without warning. There’s an underlying bittersweet groove with a curiously upbeat organ riff implying movement. Someone who’s been the object of your desire is moving on—and so should you.”
5) “Down That Road”
Davenport: “Some unsolicited advice—not entirely dissimilar to ‘Love In Reverse’—for all those lone wolves out there: Most things in life are better with a partner. Romantic or platonic. We disbanded in the mid-’90s and played some reunion shows over the years but generally went our separate ways. I’ve been a solo artist for a long time now—and artistically speaking, that’s been great. Still, from time to time, I find myself wanting to return to my roots, and I’m grateful Xan, Mike and John seem to want that, too. ‘Don’t go it alone,’ indeed. Mike sings some Everly-ish thirds on this tune, while the harmonica solos sound British to me. The result is a sort of Mersey-Americana thing. And that’s really us in a nutshell: mods who’ll play your backyard Texas barbecue.”
6) “Baby Got Something”
Therieau: “This was our attempt at doing something funkier. On our first record, we had a Muddy Waters song called ‘She’s Into Something,’ so I’m thinking, ‘Let’s grab that and do something different.’ Xan had this funky bass line on an early demo that I’m not sure I ever grabbed completely—but I don’t think it matters. Hopefully, it’s all about the feel. One of the cool things about recording this record was that the studio, Palomino Sound in Los Angeles, had tons of fun old equipment. The standout may have been a vintage custom console from A&M Records with their logo on some of the VU meters. It was a custom baby-blue color. I also enjoyed getting our coffee and walking past the strange funicular, the early-morning market and the weird, abandoned movie palaces in the jewelry district.”
7) “Vagabond”
Davenport: “I have a thing for enigmatic characters. Our vagabond is someone who beguiles and inspires fascination. This song and ‘True Love Or Temptation’ both feature three-part harmonies—and that’s something we never did back in the ’90s. The tune might seem like a big departure from our usual R&B sound, but this sort of freakbeat thing harkens back to our teenage years in the ’80s mod scene—especially Mike’s first band, the Event, who recorded for Greg Shaw’s Voxx label when Mike was still in high school. Xan explores his inner Jimmy Page session-man vibes with aplomb. True story: The fuzz box he used said ‘Property Of Jeff Beck’ on it.”
8) “True Love Or Temptation”
McCurdy: “The song started with me trying to write a fairly straight, spooky little R&B/garage thing … like white kids in Wisconsin in 1965 but equally inspired by Arthur Alexander and Link Wray. Or something. I’m no lyricist, so I handed this to Bart. He added excellent words and melody, elevating the song far past what I could’ve done.”
9) “Mad, Bad Luv”
McCurdy: “Lots of soloing on this one. For some reason, I was thinking about some of the western-swing and rockabilly bands we used to play with. It just goes to show that, once the things that inspire you go through your own natural filter, you often end up with stuff that doesn’t sound much like your original inspiration at all. I also really like Bart’s rhythm playing on this one.”
10) “Over & Over”
Therieau: “This one has us going for a bit of an early Jamaican feel. We switched things up and had Bart play bass while I sang lead. Since we were recording to tape—which is pretty pricey these days—we tried to get it all down as one piece. I don’t know that we did, but it kind of sounds like it to me. We thought we had something good, then Nick asked me to write Christmas lyrics for an alternative version, something we could have as a bonus cut for later use. I think I may have written the most comically sad Christmas song. I was laughing in the vocal booth as we cut it. That version is on Bandcamp.”
11) “What Do They Know”
Therieau: “This is a track where Nick’s influence was probably starkest. What started as a slower, swampy blues changed into probably the most up-tempo cut on the record. Nick said he heard it as more of a Don And Dewey vibe. A Los Angeles duo who released singles on the Specialty label in the Little Richard style of rock ’n’ roll, they did the original version of ‘Farmer John.’ So we sped it up and made it more of a duet.”
12) “Head Full Of Blues”
Davenport: “I see this as both a return to form and a way forward for us. John’s got this country-funk half-time feel, with a four-on-the-floor kick drum that’s a new vibe for this band. Xan’s multiple sassy riffs are the bedrock of the song. The story I put on top is a sort of rundown of ‘how I got here’ with this ‘head full of blues.’ The title is a play on the Go-Betweens’ ‘Head Full Of Steam.’ Even at the demo stage, it seemed clear this song should either open or close the album. We chose the latter, so there’s this fade to black with blue overtones.”
