During 1966, the Left Banke released the singles "
Walk Away Renée" and "
Pretty Ballerina", which peaked at number 5 and number 15 respectively on the
Billboard Hot 100. Written by keyboardist
Michael Brown, the son of producer and jazz violinist
Harry Lookofsky, both singles and their B-sides were incorporated into the album. Early recording sessions for
Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina started in December 1965 in the small World United Studio at
48th and
Broadway in
Manhattan, with sessions for the singles taking place in March and then November 1966. The remaining album sessions took place in January 1967 at Mercury Studios in New York. Most tracks on the album featured lead singer
Steve Martin Caro, with harmony vocals by bassist
Tom Finn and drummer Cameron; most tracks are also augmented by session musicians, with keyboardist Brown being the only band instrumentalist to appear on every song. However, the band itself does play on the tracks "Let Go of You Girl" and "Lazy Day". "What Do You Know", featuring lead vocals by Brown, is an early example of
country rock, contemporary to similar efforts by
the Byrds, the
International Submarine Band, and
Buffalo Springfield. ==Critical reception==