Ball Of Fire/Crystal Blue Persuasion/Mony Mony/(Baby Baby) I Can’t Take It No More/Hanky Panky/Crimson & Clover/Sweet Cherry Wine/Sugar On Sunday/Mirage/I Think We’re Alone Now
Compilation album from the lightweight US pop group Tommy James & The Shondells. Although a lot more popular in America they did achieve a British No. 1 with Mony Mony. (US:21)
“Frat Rock? Garage rock? Bubblegum rock? Call it what you will, but Tommy James and The Shondells put out a string of infectious hits during the second half of the sixties that are mainstays of classic rock radio stations around the country. And for good reason - these are terrific pop songs.”
“Everybody has probably heard at least a few of the tracks on this record, but every single one is worth listening to. If you like good, well-executed and catchy tunes then you will be extremely pleased with the purchase.”
“This guy and his band were the whole package on a top shelf level. He is a superb writer, and was way ahead of his time in the use of electronics effects. James has a clean well controlled voice that he uses with an edge, and guitar and keyboard effects are catchy even forty odd years later.”
“From the definitive garage rock of their first hit record, the all-ages appealing, Hanky Panky, to their expanding forays into psychedelia in Crimson & Clover, and Sweet Cherry Wine, Tommy James and The Shondells released a string of AM radio favourites that brought a sense of maturity to the power pop teen market of the era.”
“In the late 60s, Tommy James & The Shondells were the absolute antithesis of what any 'serious' fan of rock & roll thought that music ought to sound like. The derisive term 'bubble gum music' seemingly was invented to describe and disparage this band's output. So now, here we are many years later, and some people apparently think that they made some kind of noteworthy contribution to 60s music. They're wrong. This music was, and is, lightweight commercial fluff.”
“Apart from the hits Hanky Panky, Mony Mony and Crimson & Clover, the rest of the songs on this compilation do not make any impression on me. Individually they may seem nice and well done, but they lack an overall profile, and it can be both tiring and enervating to hear one uninteresting pop song after another.”
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