It's New To Me: From Us Unto You by Eternity's Children (2005)

Image by Michael Vanderbyl from the L.J. Skaggs and Mary C. Skaggs Foundation Annual Report, 1982

It's not like I ever hear people ragging on '60s sunshine pop, but I feel naturally defensive of my affection for it. Found somewhere in the Venn diagram of baroque pop, light psychedelia, and bubblegum, sunshine pop is probably best represented by California acts like the Mamas & the Papas and the Association, but there were lots of other groups in the late '60s doing shiny-happy harmony-laden pop.

One of the best and most slept-on groups from this scene was Eternity's Children. Unlike most of the other sunshine groups, Eternity's Children were from the deep south, and their Mississippi heritage gave their music some interesting quirks. The band only recorded two albums together through a set of fluctuating lineups, scoring a minor hit with "Mrs. Bluebird" before imploding entirely. From what I've read, the talented singers and songwriters that made up Eternity's Children were not good fits for the band format, and the frustration of not being able to find success led them to pursue careers on their own. This is too bad, though, because Eternity's Children could do a variety of things very well, as you can hear listening to From Us Unto You, a complete collection of their singles.

As good as it is, From Us Unto You isn't a perfect survey of Eternity's Children's strengths because it includes too much. It starts with the band's first single, recorded (I believe) before Linda Lawley joined the band, and it isn't a strong start. The collection also includes some of the solo singles released by Lawley and Charles Ross III (the band's other lead vocalist) after each of them went solo - only Ross's "A Railroad Trestle in California" is essential of these solo tracks. But the middle of the collection is fifteen prime cuts of sunshine pop, ranging from the bouncy "Rumors" and the fuzzed-out "Sunshine Among Us" to the hilarious faux-psych of "Rupert White". My favorite track is the oddly-titled "From You Unto Us", written by Curt Boettcher, the great sunshine-pop producer. the song was the b-side to the band's last single, and it shows some of the things that Eternity's Children were best at. Based on a light organ riff, it has some great harmony vocals and a spaced-out bridge with goofy hippie lyrics. The band's label folded shortly after the single was released so the song didn't really have a chance and faded into obscurity with the rest of the band's work.

"From You Unto Us" by Eternity's Children