Biography of The Lovin' Spoonful

The Lovin' Spoonful, a major '60s folk-influenced quartet led by John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky, made a fair bid to become New York's answer to The Byrds but never overcame their Top 40 radio image and several internal problems. Their catalog had been badly abused until 1990 (lost tapes, etc.), but the best-of collection and the early albums reveal flashes of sophistication, humor, and style of near-Beatlesque proportions. ~ Bruce Eder