Save for a Rainy Day

Save For A Rainy Day is a Jan & Dean album in name only, really, for unfortunate reasons: Jan Berry had crashed his Corvette in 1966, and ended up in a coma for months, taking years to recover. Dean Torrence took it upon himself to keep things moving for the duo, and recorded this album, a curious concept collection about rain. Bringing in members of LA-based band, the Wrecking Crew, who’d been fundamental to Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound productions, Torrence essayed a lovely, understated album of sunshine pop; the core to Save For A Rainy Day, though, is the hymnal “Lullabye For The Rain,” a song of sacred simplicity, just an acoustic guitar, Torrence’s vulnerably sweet voice, and strings that dart and dive. Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3 and Spectrum covered it, beautifully, on the latter’s Indian Summer EP; that made sense, as he’s always been in search of the simple, perfect pop moment.