Search - :: Ultimate Spinach III

A rose by any other name?

12/23/1998

(3 out of 5 stars)

"After the release of "Behold and See", Ultimate Spinach ceased to exist, as Spinach creator / frontman Ian Bruce-Douglas left the band, opting for sanity rather than fame. Problem was, Ultimate Spinach still owed MGM Records another album. Producer Alan Lorber quickly assembled a pick-up band, consisting of Spinach members Barbara Hudson and Russ Levine, Ted Myers and Tony Schueren from the recently-disbanded Chamaeleon Church, and guitarist Jeff Baxter to work under the name.Myers was a credible pop-rock songwriter, but lacked the musical knowledge and vision of Bruce-Douglas. This album isn't as good as the "real" Spinach, or even Chamaeleon Church, but does include some good numbers, such as "Reasons" and "The World Has Just Begun". The album didn't sell though, and Baxter left for Steely Dan, ending the Spinach for good. One song, the countryish "Sincere" is missing from this CD, for unknown reasons."