History:

Motherlove wasn’t a band, but a collective of musicians who worked on the soundtrack to a musical play. The play, “A Perfect Place For Gentle People”, was about a young girl who witnesses the world for the first time after being confined to a mental asylum. The first showing of the play was at Georgetown Prep in Maryland, however the group was based out of the Philadelphia Suburbs (specifically Media). The project was written, conceived, and arranged by bassist Jim “Murf” Murphy and pianist Frank Dineen. The two recruited several musicians to put the soundtrack on wax.

In 1971, Dineen and Murphy added Mike Fagnan on drums and Don Maxwell on organ to the performing lineup. Recording sessions for “Motherlove” commenced soon after. Tino Nee was a last minute guitarist addition to the lineup. He only played on the album and didn’t perform live with the group. Ann Robinson and Sheryl Metzner also appear as special guest vocalists. The finished album, produced by Murphy and Dineen, was released on Wrong Way Records the same year. It contains showtunes, pop, and light progressive rock songs. No other information is available about the musicians or the play.

Review:

MotherLove (1971, Wrong Way Records)

Rating: 4/10 

Most of the album is poor showtunes but four good tracks are performed by this rag tag assembly of Philadelphians. The opener “The Perfect Place For Gentle People” is a solid rock track with good vocals and nice piano. “Outside World” is similar but mediocre. The track “Love Mechanic” has some great piano and vocals and is a funny euphemism (car workshop to sex). The killer track though is “She’s A Lovely One”. Awesome dueling between the piano and guitar, excellent vocals, and great lyrics. Beautiful track. “Young Girl”, a solo piano vocal, is nice too.