It Ain’t Me Babe – THE TURTLES***

Wanderin’ Kind/It Was A Very Good Year/Your Maw Said You Cried/Eve Of Destruction/Glitter & Gold/Let Me Be/Let The Cold Winds Blow/It Ain’t Me Babe/A Walk In The Sun/Last Laugh/Love Minus Zero/Like A Rolling Stone

It Ain’t Me Babe was the debut album from the Los Angeles pop group The Turtles. It is a mixture of covers and less than inspired originals with the title track a US No. 8 hit single. Fortunately their songwriting would improve. (US:98)

"In 1965 The Turtles had an almost Byrds style approach to their debut which they filled with some Dylan covers and a few originals. Unlike The Byrds however, The Turtles covers of Dylan are really lacking and bring down the album. The highest point of the album is the wonderfully written P.F. Sloan song Let Me Be. There is some songwriting promise on this record, but don't let me over state any of this. It is a very basic and primitive folk rock record leaving plenty to be desired.”

"Throughout their career The Turtles were a band with serious identity issues. It Ain't Me Babe represents their beginnings, aurally and conceptually miles away from their later hits. For in the beginning, The Turtles were a serious folk rock group. The result is an interesting stab in a direction the group would soon abandon. It Ain't Me Babe caries a strong set of material, the songwriting is embryonic, but is still fairly pleasant, although they do sound fairly mannered and anonymous on some cuts.”

“This was The Turtles first album; It Ain't Me Babe is a cover version of a Bob Dylan song, and the rest of the album is folk rock in that vein. There are two other Bob Dylan covers here, which are decent, if uninspired. There are four other folk rock covers, which are good efforts. There are four original songs, the songwriting would later improve, but these are good early efforts.”

“The Turtles' first album is very unlike the good-timin', sardonic approach of their later work. Here The Turtles go for more of a direct folk/protest rock approach. The album's title song was a big hit, but your enjoyment of this album is likely to be based on how much you like this genre.”

"They were obviously influenced by Bob Dylan and others and they cover folk songs like Glitter & Gold and make them electric and poppy even.”