Customer Reviews

Bubblegum Classics Volume One

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ordered this CD solely because I wanted to hear "Abergavenny," a song I adored when I was in elementary school. I didn't even pay much attention to what other tracks were on the disc--I was just thrilled to find the one song I'd been looking for. I was very pleasantly surprised to discover quite a few other sixties oldies that I remember hearing in childhood, but had long since forgotten their existence. No musical masterpieces here, but lots of "happy nostalgic" tunes for those of you over 35.

I bought this just to get a clean copy of the Edison Lighthouse's "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Grows)." It's one of a number of 1970- 71 songs that form the foundation of my real entry to top-40 radio listenership, and my original 45 was just about gone.

I already had several of the other tracks on this compilation - some of which have been anthologized or made available on reissues or artist compilations. Some of the easier-to-find tracks include the Ohio Express' "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy", Boyce & Hart's "Alice Long (You're Still My Favorite Girlfriend)", The Cuff Links' "Tracy", The Fifth Estate's "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead", Tommy Roe's "Jam Up and Jelly Tight", Dawn's "Knock Three Times", 1910 Fruitgum Company's "Indian Giver", Bobby Sherman's "Julie, Do Ya Love Me?" and The Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You."

Even with all those duplicate tracks, they add together with the less familiar entries to make a very listenable compilation. On top of the musical selection, the chart and group info, plus the anecdotes in the liner notes make this a really worthwhile disc. I was especially interested to find out who the lead vocalist is on a lot of the studio-band tracks. E.g., I knew that The Cuff Links' "Tracy" was sung by Ron Dante (of Archies' fame), but I didn't realize that Dante had also fronted The Detergents on their single "Leader of the Laundromat." Similarly, I had never made the connection of Tony Burrows singing lead on the Edison Lighthouse cut, as well as The Pipkins "Gimme Dat Ding", White Plains' "My Baby Loves Lovin'" and Brotherhood of Man's "United We Stand."

The interconnections between writers, producers, singers and groups is really fascinating. According to the liner notes, Rupert Holmes took over as lead vocalist of the Cuff Links on their second album, and the tracks were simultaneously licensed to Decca (as the Cuff Links) and to Musicor (as Street People). It's surprising to find out that a few talented songwriters and producers churned out so many hit singles under so many different artist or band names.

Also included are an early Hudson Brothers' track, "Laugh, Funny Funny", under the name of Everyday Hudson, Keith's debut single "Ain't Gonna Lie" (it's no "98.6", that's for sure!), The Peppermint Rainbow's "Will You Be Staying After Sunday" (sounding an awful lot like Spanky & Our Gang), a really soulful-garage version of "Come and Take a Ride in My Boat" by Rare Breed (later a top-10 hit for Every Mother's Son), and Shannon's "Abergavenny" (most notable to me as having a lead vocal by Marty Wilde - father of Ricki "Teen Wave" Wilde and Kim "Kids in America" Wilde).

I have all 5 volumes of the Bubblegum Classics series. The first three are AM pop from late 60's early 70's. I certainly wouldn't consider all the songs "bubblegum", but they do all have a degree of youthful innocence. Some of the songs were hits in England, but not in the US; some are obscure non-hits.

The fourth volume is "soul" (Build Me Up Buttercup is soul! ). The fifth volume is a repackaging of lead singer Tony Burrows work (and repeats songs on the other volumes in the series).

Overall, they are consistently fun to listen to. Sure brings back memories of much more carefree times for me. I like Volume 3 the best and would give it 5 stars. Volume 4 probably has the most hits on it, but they are commonly available on other compilations.

The remastering/sound is very good. There are good liner notes with about a paragraph on each song/group.

Bubblegum Classics, Volume 1 is Fifty-two minutes and twenty seconds and was released on May 9, 1995. Only three of the Bubblegum Classics did not chart and only two hit #1. You get a wide range of artists on this CD; from The Partridge Family to Ohio Express and from Street People to Captain Groovy & His Bubblegum Army. Most of the songs are known while a few are unknown and made the charts. Bubblegum Classics, Volume 1 gets an AAA+++.

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy-Ohio Express
#4 U.S. Billboard Pop Singles
Alice Long (You're Still My Favorite Girlfriend)-Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart
#27 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
#16 Cashbox
Tracy-The Cuff Links
#9 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead-The Fifth Estate
#11 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
Abra-ca-dabra-The DeFranco Family Featuring Tony DeFranco
#32 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
Jennifer Tomkins-Street People
#36 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
Jam Up and Jelly Tight-Tommy Roe
#8 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)-Edison Lighthouse
#5 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
Laugh, Funny Funny-Everyday Hudson
Knock Three Times-Dawn
#1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
#2 U.S. Billboard Easy Listening
Sunshine Games-Music Explosion
#63 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
Ain't Gonna Lie-Keith
#39 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
Indian Giver-1910 Fruitgum Company
#5 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
Will You Be Staying After Sunday?-The Peppermint Rainbow
#32 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
Baby, Take Me In Your Arms-Jefferson
#23 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
Come and Take a Ride in My Boat-Rare Breed
Julie, Do You Love Me?-Bobby Sherman
#5 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
I Think I Love You-The Partridge Family
#1 U.S. Billboard Pop Singles
Abergavenny-Shannon
#47 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles
Captain Groovy & His Bubblegum Army- Captain Groovy & His Bubblegum Army

This CD describes itself as "the ultimate collection of pure pop music". That description is more accurate than the title "Bubblegum Classics". The compilers of this collection seem to have catagorized any lightweight pop song as "bubblegum". To me, "bubblegum" specifically refers to the productions of Jerry Kasenetz & Jeff Katz, plus a few other songs that imitate their signature sound. Having said that, this is a good collection of lightweight pop songs. The super rare "Capt. Groovy and his Bubblegum Army" is worth the price of the CD by itself. Recommended for fans of pure pop music.

The CD that I purchased exactly matched my expectations. It was well-packaged and arrived in mint shape. Also, the vendor sent my CD in a very prompt manner. I would definitely recommend this vendor to anyone. Thanks Amazon. You've always provided excellent service.

Excellent transaction. Would not hesitate to buy again from this seller. Product was delivered promptly and as described.