Customer Reviews

Egyptian Shumba: Singles & Recordings 1962-65

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If you had to ask me who I thought was the most underrated individual in the history of popular music I would say without even a moment's pause to think "Lou Christie".
He was more than a pop idol, he was a true pop visionary. What other white American popster would make a bizarre wonderfully twisted ska single in 1963 (Two Faces Have I)... Then people, including myself, rave about the giant steps being made by Brian Wilson and The Beatles in the 60s, but no one else 1965 made a record as modern or as individual as Lou's Lightnin'Strikes single. If you needed any more proof of how weird and wonderful Lou's brand of pop could be this is it. Egyptian Shumba is a collection of his early 60s work with girlgroup The Tammys. It's 100% gold but track 16,the title track is perhaps the greatest single pop recording I've ever heard by anyone. As revolutionary as Good Vibrations, it sounds like a mix of the melancholic beauty present in the best girl group recordings by The Cookies and Chiffons along side The Monks as manic studio session band with Joe Meek engineering (and possibly a pinch of Sun Ra)... then for complete contrast there is the naive, sensual and gentle angelic teen love ballad Gypsy, it'll touch your heart. Sounds good? Well believe me it's even better than that.

Tight pants. High falsetto. Smooth baritone.
Wild eyes. Pouting lips. Wicked moves. Gyrating hips.
Something extra. Something mysterious. Something special.
Welcome to the world of LOU CHRISTIE.

He has the surname of a savior,
the Gypsy green eyes of a visionary, the lyrical sense of a poet and the five octave voice of an angel.
LOU CHRISTIE has it all.

Five million-sellers. Twenty-eight chart items.
Ethnicity. Electricity. Sanctity. Sexuality. Fantasy. Reality.
The history and mystery of LOU CHRISTIE.

In the 1960's, The Pharaoh Of The Falsetto
frequently operated in Soulful synergy with chanting females.
Case in point: THE TAMMYS (Gretchen, Cathy and Linda).

Powered by such LOU CHRISTIE-penned anthems as
"Egyptian Shumba" and "Part Of Growing Up",
THE TAMMYS' edgy harmonies and extreme emotions found release on three hopelessly rare solo singles.
Years after their 1965 break-up, interest in THE TAMMYS was sparked anew, prompting this first-ever comprehensive compilation.

'"Egyptian Shumba" is easily the greatest pop song ever written about ancient Egypt. It sounds like a record that might have been made if Phil Spector had swapped brains with Sun Ra
for a session'.
~ The Phantom Creeper, The Goblins

'Genius thy name is Tammys!
This sarcophagus stomper couldn't have been any wilder
if Joe Meek produced it'.
~ Todd Abramson, Telstar Records

The testimonials are justified.
"Egyptian Shumba" is a mesmerizing monument of mythic proportions. The energy! The urgency! The pulsating primordial pounding! "Egyptian Shumba" begins with an insane cobra clarinet leaping and licking. Then The Tammys chant,
'Shimmy Shimmy Shimmy Shy-Yi Meece-E-Deece.
Last night I dreamed I was on the Nile...'

~~~

RPM CD 330
RELEASED JANUARY 29, 2002

22 Tracks

16 Page Fold-Out Poster / Booklet includes 5,500 word historical essay,
rare photos and much more

All Tracks Written by LOU CHRISTIE and TWYLA HERBERT except
#s 17 and 19 - 21.

All Tracks feature THE TAMMYS except #s 01 - 03.

LOU CHRISTIE:
01. THE GYPSY CRIED (Mono)
02. TWO FACES HAVE I (Stereo)
03. SUMMER SNOW (Mono)
04. OUTSIDE THE GATES OF HEAVEN (Mono)
05. GUITARS AND BONGOS
(Mono Single Version, First Time on CD)
06. MERRY-GO-ROUND (Mono)
07. MAKE SUMMER LAST FOREVER (Stereo)
08. BACK TRACK (Stereo)
09. HAVE I SINNED (Stereo)
10. POT OF GOLD (Stereo)
11. TOO MANY MILES (Stereo)

THE TAMMYS:
12. PART OF GROWING UP
(First-Time Stereo)
13. TAKE BACK YOUR RING
(First-Time Stereo)

RITCHIE & THE RUNAROUNDS:
14. DON'TCHA BACKTRACK (Mono)
15. LOST IN THE CROWD
(First-Time Stereo)

THE TAMMYS:
16. EGYPTIAN SHUMBA
(Single Version in First-Time Stereo)
17. WHAT'S SO SWEET ABOUT SWEET SIXTEEN
(First-Time Stereo)
18. GYPSY (First-Time Stereo)
19. HOLD BACK THE LIGHT OF DAWN (First-Time Stereo)
20. BLUE SIXTEEN
(Stereo, Previously Unreleased second Veep single)
21. HIS ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS (Stereo, Previously Unreleased second Veep single)
22. EGYPTIAN SHUMBA (Stereo, Previously Unreleased Alternate Take)

I paid an obscene amount of money for this CD because I happened to hear Egyptian Shumba once. It was worth every penny. I really don't know who is the evil genius behind this music- Lou Christie, Twyla Herbert, even the Tammys themselves maybe, but there is a liberal sprinkling of insanity here, from the over the top vocals to the apparent desire to jam as many hooks as possible into each song. Things that start off like standard early 60s pop suddenly twist into something else totally original and bizarre. This is doo wop on speed, girl group music on acid. It's incredibly creative, catchy, complex, funny and wonderful music and every record here (almost) should've been a huge hit. I do wish they had included the original mono mixes of some of these, but that's a quibble. I agree with everyone else, Lou Christie (and friends) is a terrifically underrated musician and he deserves a lot more attention and respect than he seems to get.

GREATEST ALBUM EVER. it blew my mind the first time i heard it. Lou Christie is criminally underrated & underappreciated for being incredibly strange & unlike anyone else & ahead of his time. a total proto-punk classic.