Osmonds/Homemade CD - Import

Igniting the 7Ts label's celebrations of the Osmonds' 50th anniversary, these two albums remind listeners just what late starters the brothers were. By the time they came to record The Osmonds, their full "official" LP, more than a decade had elapsed since they first started working together. Of course, a string of albums did appear during this period -- Songs We Sang on the Andy Williams Show, We Sing You a Merry Christmas, All-Time Hymn Favorites, and The New Sound of the Osmond Brothers -- but even the most devoted '70s-era fan steered clear of such offerings. After all, when five-year-old Little Jimmy was the first of the clan to score a hit single (the Japanese smash "My Little Darling"), you know you're in trouble! But a change in style and approach brought the Jackson 5-alike "One Bad Apple" into U.S. chart contention; Donny's "Sweet and Innocent" followed, and the Osmonds' self-titled debut album was off and running. In truth, it remains a far cry from the peaks that the band would so soon be scaling, a succession of chirpy performances that are so close to bubblegum that you can feel your teeth rotting while you listen -- their sickly sweet mistreatment of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" is especially execrable. Neither did things improve across the sophomore Homemade, with which the debut is twinned on this package, as the Osmonds react to their sudden hit status by simply churning out more of the same. You can take the boys out of the cabaret circuit, but you cannot take the cabaret out of the boys. Looking back on this pair, it's hard to believe that they ever developed into the leviathan they would become. ~ Dave Thompson

2008 release featuring these two classic Osmonds albums on one disc, available for the first time on CD. The Osmonds may have existed in one form or another before and after their massive '70s success but this is the first time in over 30 years that their musical legacy can be experienced in full. The Osmonds and Homegrown were both released in 1971 and both hit the American Top 20. This CD features hits like 'One Bad Apple', 'Double Lovin'', 'Sweet And Innocent' and many more. Original LP artwork is complimented by in-depth liner notes and pictures of many European single sleeves. 7Ts.