Action! The Songs of Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart [Import]

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 4, 2012)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Ace (U.K.)
• ASIN: B008L1H0LC
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,534 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. I WONDER WHAT SHE'S DOING TONIGHT - Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart

2. VALLERI - The Monkees

3. ACTION, ACTION, ACTION - Keith Allison

4. I'M NOT YOUR STEPPING STONE - The Flies

5. TOMORROW'S GONNA BE ANOTHER DAY - Sir Raleigh & The Cupons

6. WORDS - The Regents

7. LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE - The Standells

8. (HE'S GONNA BE) FINE, FINE, FINE - The Ikettes

9. P.O. BOX 9847 - The Monkees

10. SHE - Del Shannon

11. COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER - Jay & The Americans

12. THE DUM DUM DITTY - The Shangri-Las

13. I CAN'T GET HIM OUT OF MY MIND - Sandra Gee

14. HURT SO BAD - Little Anthony

15. THANK YOU FOR LOVING ME - The Sapphires

16. IF YOU'RE THINKIN' WHAT I'M THINKIN' - Dino, Desi & Billy

17. SEVEN DAYS IN SEPTEMBER - Ginger & The Snaps

18. NEVER AGAIN - The Royalettes

19. I GOTTA FIND CUPID - Gary Lewis & The Playboys

20. BEVERLY JEAN - Curtis Lee

See all 26 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

UK collection of songs penned by hit songwriting duo Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. Friends since the late 1950s, Boyce and Hart began writing together in earnest in 1963. They made their breakthrough the following year with 'Lazy Elsie Molly' (a Top 40 hit for Chubby Checker) and 'Come A Little Bit Closer' (a #3 record for Jay & the Americans). The twosome reached the apex of their success and creativity in 1966, writing for and producing the Monkees; three of their best recordings are here. A further six songs popularized by the group are featured in less frequently heard but equally good mostly pre-Monkees versions, including 'I'm Not Your Stepping Stone' (by UK fuzz-beat combo the Flies) and 'She' (an almost hit for Del Shannon). The set kicks off with one of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart's own recordings, 'I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight', a power-pop precursor from 1967 and the pair's biggest hit as performers. Ace.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars back to the 60s November 18, 2012

By Jeffrey L. Giltenboth

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a history lesson, this is a typically great entry from Ace. As a disc to put in rotation it fails. While there are some truly wonderful songs on this- - - Valerie [Monkees], I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight {the authors themsleves}, Hurt So Bad [Little Anthony] and be My Guest [Fats Domino] are some---this disc shows that Boyce & Hart are not Leiber & Stroller. Most likely they not Goffin/King either.

The conclusion is if you're not into The Flies doing I'm Not You're Stepping Stone or The Standells doing Last Train to Clarksville skip this disc. Me, I'm glad I bought it but it won't get much play.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not All The Hit Versions Of Their Songs - But Comprehesive January 26, 2013

By AvidOldiesCollector TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD

I can perhaps understand the disappointment of one reviewer who laments the choice of artists on several songs in this compilation, namely: (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone by The Flies which came out in 1966 in the U.K. on Decca F.12533; Words by The Regents, a 1966 release on Penthouse 502; The Last Train To Clarksville by The Standells from their 1966 Tower LP "The Hot Ones" (ST-5049); Action by Paul Revere & The Raiders from their 1966 Columbia LP "Just Like Us!" (CL-2451); and Peaches `N' Cream, rendered here as Dicci Come Fini by an Italian girl-group called The Honeybeats.

The last two, both written by Tommy Boyce and Steve Venet (not all were Boyce-Hart compositions obviously) were huge hits for, respectively, Freddy Cannon (a # 13 Hot 100 in August 1965 on Warner 5645, and The Ikettes(# 28 R&B/# 36 Hot 100 in April 1965 on Modern 1005, while the others, of course, were Boyce-Hart hits for The Monkees: (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone, # 20 Hot 100 in late 1966/early 1967 as the B-side of the monster # 1 (7 weeks) I'm A Believer on Colgems 1002; Words - # 11 Hot 100 in August 1967 as the B-side of the # 3 hit Pleasant Valley Sunday on Colgems 1007; and The Last Train To Clarksville, their first hit and a # 1 in Sept/Oct 1966 on Colgems 1001.

Of their other two hits written for The Monkees, you do get the March/April 1968 # 3 Valleri (Colgems 1019), but not Tear Drop City which ended up at # 56 in March 1969 on Colgems 5000. Other Monkees tunes included are P.O. Box 9847 from their 1968 RCA Victor LP "The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees" (SF-7948), and (The Theme From) The Monkees from their October 1966 # 1 Colgems LP "The Monkees" (COS-101)....

But reducing it to 3 stars is a bit harsh considering the usual Ace attention to excellent sound reproduction and their always-informative liner notes/discographies, especially as they include these hard-to-find "Girl Group" entries: (He's Gonna Be) Fine, Fine, Fine by The Ikettes (Modern promo 45 1008 circa 1965); The Dum Dum Ditty by The Shangri-Las from their 1965 Red Bird LP "The Shangri-Las - 65!" (RB 20-104); Thank You For Loving Me by The Sapphires (ABC-Paramount 10590 in 1964); Seven Days In September by Ginger & The Snaps - who alsao recorded as The Honeys (MGM 13413 in 1965); and Never Again by The Royalettes as the B-side of their late 1965 # 26 R&B/# 72 Hot 100 I Want To Meet Him.

Top 40 hits included are: their own I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight? which reached # 8 Hot 100 in December 1967/Jan 1968 on A&M 893; Come A Little Bit Closer by Jay & The Americans, a # 3 Hot 100 Sept/Oct 1964 on United Artists 759; Hurt So Bad by Little Anthony & The Imperials, a # 3 R&B/# 10 Hot 100 Feb/March 1965 on DCP-1128; Be My Guest by Fats Domino, a # 2 R&B/# 8 Hot 100 Dec 1959/Jan 1960 on Imperial 5629; and Lazy Elsie Molly by Chubby Checker, a # 40 Hot 100 June 1964 on Parkway 920 (note that Billboard had suspended the R&B charts from late 1963 and throughout 1964). A lesser charted entry is If You're Thinkin' What I'm Thinkin' by Dino, Desi & Billy, a 1966 # 128 Hot 100 Bubble Under on Reprise 0544.

Non-charting singles are: Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day by Sir Raleigh & The Coupons on Jerden 760 in 1965; She by Del Shannon on Liberty 55939 in 1967; I Can't Get Him Out Of My Mind by Sandra Gee on Cheltenham 1002 in 1965; Beverly Jean by Curtis Lee as the B-side of his Nov 1961 # 46 Hot 100 Under The Moon Of Love on Dunes 2008; and Too Many Teardrops by Bobby Hart on Infinity 017 in 1963. Other album cuts here are: Action, Action, Action by Keith Allison from the 1966 Columbia LP "In Action" (CL-2641); and I Gotta Find Cupid by Gary Lewis & The Playboys from their 1965 Liberty LP "Everybody Loves A Clown" (LST-7428). Read more ›

5.0 out of 5 stars Love It! March 9, 2013

By Caroline

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

a great compilation of some oldies but definitely goldies some of my favorite songs that weaved my younger years and still great today

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars nice cd for collection January 9, 2013

By bruce nygaard

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

got thsi cd because of the song by these songwriters they do themselves called "wondering what she doing tonight".very good cd all the way around of their songs done by a nice collection of artists

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing December 31, 2012

By BRONXGIRL10

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

A lot of these songs were not the versions I'm familiar with. I realize that ACE is a British reissue label, but, please, just because they included some "original" versions of hits, that doesn't mean that the versions are good.