Eve of Destruction

The other day I was engaging in one of my favorite pastimes - browsing the cutout bin at my local record store for bargains. I came across a brand new Rhino re-issue of "P. F. Sloan's Greatest Hits," still in its plastic wrapper, a lucky find. For those of you who aren't familiar with Mr. Sloan, he was one of the pioneers of the folk-rock scene in L. A. in '65 and '66; writer of such tunes as "Secret Agent Man" for Johnny Rivers,"Where Were You When I Needed You?" for the Grassroots, "Let Me Be" and "You Baby" for the Turtles, among others; he was the mystery vocalist on Jan and Dean's "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena," and an accomplished writer, producer and studio musician. He was also a performer; when I heard this album of tunes from the heyday of his career, they just knocked me out; they are still as relevant and fresh as they were over 40 years ago. Oh, and he also wrote this little ditty for Barry McGuire - you may have heard of it...