Do You Believe in Magic? The Music of John Sebastian and The Lovin' Spoonful
October 2007 Reviewed by: Joseph Taylor Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

For two years in the mid-‘60s, the Lovin’ Spoonful had the world by the tail. The band had seven top-10 hits between 1965 and 1967, including "Daydream," "Do You Believe in Magic?" and "Summer in the City." Do You Believe in Magic? provides a sketchy overview of the Spoonful through the use of original television performances by the band and reminiscence by its primary songwriter and lead vocalist, John Sebastian. Co-produced by American Public Television, the documentary has been used by local PBS stations during pledge drives. Its appeal, therefore, is to nostalgia and it has the lightweight, controversy-free approach of a Time Life television ad (a few of which Sebastian has appeared on).

Viewed as a series of performances from the ‘60s, Do You Believe In Magic? works well. It’s much less successful as a history of the band. The voice-over intro, provided by Rich Bartholomew, gives the briefest possible background about the formation of the band and glosses over the turmoil of the ‘60s, while at the same time using the Spoonful to tap into people’s memories.

John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky met in New York, where they were part of the Greenwich Village folk scene. They had been in a band there with Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, who decamped to the West Coast and later formed the Mamas and the Papas. Sebastian and Yanovsky started the Lovin’ Spoonful with Steve Boone on bass and Joe Butler on drums. Do You Believe in Magic? tells the story just about that briefly. As Sebastian points out in the DVD extras, the Mamas and Papas recounted events with more detail in their 1967 hit "Creeque Alley."

The eight Lovin’ Spoonful songs included in Do You Believe in Magic were performed in the ‘60s on various television shows, including Shindig, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Frankly, I’m guessing about a couple of those because the DVD gives credit to the Sullivan show and no others. Anyone who grew up during the middle or late ‘60s, during television’s transition from black and white to color, will find the Spoonful’s appearances both delightful and amusing. The band is clearly enjoying playing its bouncy, good-times hits, and the period details, such as the go-go dancer on Shindig and the oddly shaped, colorful props on the stages of other shows, will bring a rush of memories.

The Lovin’ Spoonful came to an ignominious end when Yanovsky and Boone were arrested for marijuana possession in 1966 and helped set up a friend to avoid prosecution -- an incomparable act of bad faith in the ‘60s. The public began boycotting the band’s records, and Yanovsky left in June 1967. The Lovin’ Spoonful carried on briefly, but was gone by 1968. Sebastian continued as a solo act, and two of his tunes are included here. His performance of "Darling Be Home Soon" is lovely, but I doubt I’ll be alone in wishing he’d skipped "Welcome Back."

You won’t learn about the drug bust or the band’s end from this DVD. Even with its extras, which include interviews with Yanovsky (who died in 2002) and Doherty (who died earlier this year), Do You Believe in Magic? has precious little to tell us about the Lovin’ Spoonful. Maybe it’s enough just to watch them play.

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