Tuesday 1 March 2022

Shopping Bag - THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY***

Girl You Make My Day/Every Little Bit O' You/Something New Got Old/Am I Losing You/Last Night/Its All In Your Mind/Hello Hello/There'll Come A Time/If You Ever Go/Every Song Is You/Its One Of Those Nights

Shopping Bag was the last big hit album from The Partridge Family as David Cassidy’s solo career moved into gear. Future bubblegum teenybop groups would struggle to meet the quality of their best songs. Includes the US top 20 hits Am I Losing You and Its One Of Those Nights. (US:18 UK:28)

“The ABC of bubblegum pop: A for 'abhorred by most', B for 'bubblegum', C for 'commercial'. I like it.”

“To call it vanilla implies too much flavour. To call it AM gold suggests too much shine. There are some nice songs, but no highlights. Nothing leaps out of the elevator. It's all a breezy blend of teen dream vocals, strings, horns, and lovey-dovey lyrics. Am I Losing You and It's One Of Those Nights are the only memorable songs here.”

“I loved these Partridge Family albums as a young teenager. Even though the cast members didn't really sing, other than David Cassidy and Shirley Jones, the music is excellent pop bubble gum.”

“When listening to these tunes today you notice that little of it is cute or novel pop. What we do hear are really intense songs of love, hope, desire and loss all wrapped up in unforgettable chord structures, perfectly orchestrated studio production and songwriting, which is all but a lost and dying art form since the 70s. So, in retrospect, on nearly all the Partridge LP's we get the very best of pop writing, song ballads and rock-oriented tunes performed by supremely seasoned veterans.”

“Their earlier albums did have stronger songs and a certain more mature pop sound to them. Starting with this album the quality of songs diminished a little but I still find this one a true pleasure from beginning to end. Granted there weren't as many hits on it but songs put on greatest hits collections don't necessarily represent the best work.”

“This album is very uplifting and makes you want to sing-a-long with David Cassidy. All in all, this should be purchased by all fans of 70s pop. It should put a smile on your face if you listen with an open mind and heart. David Cassidy deserves a lot of credit for his contribution to all these overlooked, classic songs that were never taken too seriously by the general public.”

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