Crimson & Clover/Kathleen McArthur/I Am A Tangerine/Do Something To Me/Crystal Blue Persuasion/Sugar On Sunday/Breakaway/Smokey Roads/I’m Alive
The biggest LP success for bouncy Ohio bubblegum pop outfit Tommy James & The Shondells came with the quasi-psychedelic Crimson & Clover. The title track topped the US single chart with Crystal Blue Persuasion peaking at No. 2. (US:8)
"Inconsistent but entertaining psych-pop. With the emphasis being on the pop side of the equation. The title track and a few others are really great but more often than not this is sort of mediocre. The psych's not out there enough and the pop's not catchy enough."
"Still inconsistent overall, but this one is a marked improvement over the totally commercial drivel of earlier releases. The better tracks feature strong psych influences and very catchy songwriting. Most are in a soft rock vein."
"So, what was this album, really? A bubblegum hit-maker's attempt to cash in on the trend of psychedelic music? Is it inauthentic because of the opportunism it reflects? True, the timing of the album makes it seem suspiciously opportunistic, but listen to it. It comes across as pretty sincere to me. And besides, what I like most about it is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. You take the melodic sense of Tommy James and meld it to psychedelic effects and Eastern musical sensibilities. What you end up with might not be a masterpiece, but it's a lot of fun to listen to."
"Okay, Tommy James and The Shondells ain’t Hendrix, but any album that contains Crimson & Clover, Crystal Blue Persuasion, Sugar On Sunday and the mesmerizingly hallucinogenic I Am A Tangerine deserves some respect as the epitome of psychabubbleishiousness."
"While historians today tend to focus on groups like The Velvet Underground and The Doors when tracing the 'psychedelic' music of the sixties, Tommy James and The Shondells brought the stuff to the top of the charts in '69 and hardly receive a mention. Crimson & Clover is a great album. I Am A Tangerine, Smoky Roads and Sugar On Sunday might not ring a bell, but before you toss out this group on its undeserved bubblegum reputation, give 'em a chance with this album."
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