Pop band’s swansong muscles up heavy rock and soul
By the time of this album’s 1970 release, Tommy James and the Shondells had morphed from the garage/frat-rock of “Hanky Panky†to the bubblegum of “I Think We’re Alone Now†to the pop psych of “Crimson and Clover†to the gospel-soul of “Sweet Cherry Wine.†For this last album as a group – James would fly solo with a self-titled album later in the year – they reduced the psychedelic quotient from Crimson & Clover and experimental flights of Cellophane Symphony and muscled up some heavy rock ‘n’ soul. The album is surprisingly funky and progressive, especially when compared to what the band had been recording just a few years earlier.
Opening with the near-instrumental title tune, the sound is funky progressive rock, complete with a lengthy syncopated organ-and-drums breakdown and even a short drum solo. The heavy sounds continue with James effectively refashioning himself into a soul shouter and blues crooner. Mike Vale propels the album’s second single “Gotta Get Back to You†with his bass line, and arranger Jimmy “Wiz†Wisner deploys a backing chorus to terrific effect. The band’s mid-60s garage-rock roots turn up in the “Little Black Egg†riff of “Moses & Me,†but topped with a processed vocal that’s very end-of-the-decade, and the bluesy “Bloody Water†borrows the guitar hook of “Tobacco Road†and roughs it up nicely.
The album’s pre-release hit, “She,†is also the tune that fits least with the album’s heavy vibe. Co-written with Richie Cordell and bubblegum kings Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz, the lush ballad is a throwback to the Shondells’ earlier work. James and Bob King’s originals were significantly more grown-up and gritty than the pop songs the group recorded a couple of years earlier, and suggested the expanded horizons James would explore in his solo career. Traces of the group’s earlier studio experiments are still to be heard here, but with the psychedelic fog lifting, the focus is more firmly on song craft. Casual listeners may want to start with the hit anthologies Anthology or The Definitive Pop Collection, but fans will want to hear the distance the group traveled to this final collaborative album.
Collectors’ Choice’s straight-up reissue clocks in at under 34-minutes, leaving one to wish they’d doubled-up with a second album (or add bonus tracks), as they did for recent reissues of Jackie DeShannon, Waylon Jennings, B.J. Thomas and others. The six-page booklet includes full-panel reproductions of the album’s gatefold front cover (with a terrific Ron Lesser western painting depicting James and Shondells’ stagecoach being chased on horseback by Roulette label head Morris Levy), but the thematic inside cover panels aren’t included. The track list restores the album’s intended ordering, swapping the two album sides and leading off with the album’s title track. Newly struck liner notes by Ed Osborne include fresh interview material with James himself. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com] 