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My Head My Bed & My Red Guitar

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After charting fourteen Top 40 hits with the Shondells, Tommy James began a solo career on the heels of a temporary group hiatus that turned permanent. His second solo release, Christian of the World, yielded two big hits ("Draggin' the Line" and "I'm Comin' Home"), but this third solo effort - recorded in Nashville, produced by Elvis' guitarist Scotty Moore, and featuring the talents of Music City's finest studio players - didn't catch on with either pop or country radio. And that's a shame, because it may be James' most fully realized album. With a band that included Moore and Ray Edenton on guitar, Pete Drake on steel, Pig Robbins on keyboards, Charlie McCoy on harmonica and DJ Fontana and Buddy Harmon on drums, James cut a dozen originals, mostly co-written with co-producer Bob King, and a cover of Linda Hargrove's "Rosalee" that features some fine fiddle playing by Buddy Spicher.

There are numerous country touches in the instruments and arrangements, but also the sort of country-soul B.J. Thomas, Joe South and Elvis recorded in the late `60s and early `70s. James didn't re-fashion himself a nasally country singer, instead finding the soulful style he'd developed on the Shondells' Travelin' fit perfectly with the textures created by the studio players and the gospel-styled backing vocals of the Nashville Edition. James' voice is easily recognized as the one that graced the Shondells' hits, but it sounds just as at home in this twangier setting. The productions are remarkably undated (except, perhaps, Pete Drake's talking guitar on "Paper Flowers"), and though not up to Nashville's current classic rock volume, they still feel surprisingly contemporary.

James and King wrote songs of faith, romance, lost-love and lovable scoundrels, but in the pop idiom rather than the country, so while their topics fit Nashville norms, the words didn't ring of 17th Avenue. In James' hands, even the Nashville-penned "Rosalee" sounds more like Memphis or Muscle Shoals than Music City. The religious and spiritual themes of Christian of the World are revisited in songs contemplating the hereafter, the call to community, and the sunny warmth and peaceful satisfaction of belief. Unlike the preceding album, however, none of these songs managed to grab the ear of radio programmers or singles buyers. Perhaps no one was ready for James to fully graduate from his career with the Shondells, but in retrospect, divorced from the pop and bubblegum hits that led him to 1971, one can readily hear the new level of artistry he achieved.

Collectors' Choice's straight-up reissue clocks in at nearly 44-minutes, making this the longest of the four Shondells/James reissues in a batch that also includes I Think We're Alone Now, Gettin' Together, and Travelin'. The six-page booklet features full-panel reproductions of the album's front- and back-cover, and newly struck liner notes by Ed Osborne that includes fresh interview material with James himself. While Shondells/James neophytes might pick a greatest hits album (such as Anthology or The Definitive Pop Collection) as a starter over the Shondells' original albums, anyone who enjoys country-rock with a soulful backbone should check out James terrific accomplishments on this release. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

This one features a great mix of countryfied rock done with top notch session men and rock. Even a bit of psych rock mixture is here making this a uneven james album but it still has some fantastic songs like 'paper flowers"
and 'forty days and forty nights' why neither of these were released as singles is beyond me. but you see that with james catalog many great songs that should have been hits weren't released as singles. This disc also probably hurt tj's career pretty badly because the other songs can be more country orientated than those. His fans since 1966 hAD seen him go from garage rock to teen pop rock, to psych rock , to rock pop you name it but none of those include country music. If james had released those songs and at least put out a second record that year that was rock many fans would have stuck with him harder. It's like kiss with their unmasked cd which is a good pop cd , fans wanted metal though and they could have gotten away with it if they put out a hard rocker in the same year. but they didn't and neither did james put out a rocker that year. In fact he didn't put out a solo record for years? after this which was a disaster because the man can write some of the best pop rock out there, even today with his new release 'hold the fire' he proves that. He did have a top forty hits here though 'tell them willie boys a comin' and another minor hit. but he missed the boat on those two classic songs that I named earlier. this cd is worth owning for those songs alone. However rock fans will want his 1968-71 output more than this one. and pop rock fans will love his 66-67 output for it's bubblegummy flavor , although his first one is straight out good ole frat rock and worth owning too. (hanky panky). James was always writing good songs throughout though and these are good songs that should have been straight forward rock and pop rock.

For his third solo album Tommy James decided to shake things up a bit. Co-produced by James, long standing partner Bob King and guitarist Pete Drake,1972's "My Head, My Bead and My Red Guitar" was recorded in Nashville with the cream of the city's sessions players including Elvis sidemen D.J. Fontana and Scotty Moore. On the surface that background might have led to the conclusion this was going to be a country album a-la Dylan's "Nashville Skyline". Not to worry, while James was more than willing to soak up the city's atmosphere and while tracks like 'Tell `Em Willie Boy's A-Comin'', 'White Horses' \, and 'Walk A Country Mile' reflected distinctive country touches, the overall sound remained firmly rooted in James patented brand of top-40 pop. True, with the possible exception of ''Rosalee' and 'Forty Days and Forty Nights' there was nothing as instantly memorable as 'Draggin' the Line', but on a song-for-song basis the result was one of James most consistent and enjoyable collections. James actually seemed to enjoy the opportunity to work with the all-star cast of Nashville players, taking the opportunity to turn in some of his best work - which bounced all over the musical spectrum ranging from true country ('Walk a Country Mile') to light psych-pop ('Paper Flowers').

- Opening with 'Nothing To Hide' the song started with a distinctive Gospel lilt, but quickly morphed into a nice pop song that would not have been out of place on one of the earlier solo releases. Typically catchy James chorus which probably explains why it was tapped as the leadoff single ... rating: *** stars
- In spite of country touches such as Pete Drakes 'pedal steel and Buddy Spichler's fiddle, 'Tell `Em Willie Boy's A-Comin'' was very much a pop song. rating: *** stars
- The breezy mid-tempo 'White Horses' was one of those songs that originally didn't do a great deal for me - one of the few tracks that had a real country feel to it, but I have to admit that after a couple of spins this one became a surprising favorite. Great give and take between James and the backing chorus and Charley McCoy turned in a fantastic harmonica solo (and I'm not a big harmonica fan). rating: **** stars
- The first disappointment, 'The Last One to Know' was one of those faceless, overblown and bland ballads that were crafted for radio airplay. Slapping pedal steel guitar and a heavenly chorus on the arrangement really didn't do much to make it more palatable. Yech. rating: ** stars
- I'm a sucker for strumming 12 strings so his cover of Linda Hargrove's 'Rosalee' nailed me from the opening. Even the pedal string and Dave Kirby's blistering guitar couldn't detract from the fact this was one of the most commercial songs on the album. rating: **** stars
- There's little doubt that James had the best 'la la las' in the business and that talent was seldom displayed as on 'Paper Flowers'. Totally unlike the rest of the album, this one sounded like something from his Shondells catalog. In fact the waivery vocal delivery bore a distinctive resemblance to the 'Crimson and Clover material. Nice voice-box guitar in the background ... My favorite performance on the album. rating: **** stars
- Side two started with the song that was probably the 'truest' country song (and I using that description in a broad fashion) - 'Walk a Country Mile'. Pretty forgettable. rating: ** stars
- 'Who's Gonna Cry' was another Shondells-styled mid-tempo pop number with another 'la la la' chorus. Quite commercial with one of those then popular 'uplifting' lyrics. rating: *** stars
- Even though it featured a Buddy Spichler fiddle solo, the rocker 'Forty Days and Forty Nights' gets my nod as the standout track. Fantastic tune that was tailor made for top-40 airplay. rating: **** stars
- 'Kingston Highway' was a pretty ballad that again sounded more like a Shondells effort than anything off his solo work. The treated effect on the backing vocals was kind of cool. Interestingly, with the exception of Pete Drake's pedal steel solo, this one really didn't have much of a country feel. rating: *** stars
- A rollicking blues-flavored number, this was actually one of the bigger surprises. You've heard dozens of tunes that sounded like this and the 'I'm a lovin' man' lyric was about as original as a Xerox machine, but James turned in one of his most energetic performances on this one. Very nice ... rating: **** stars
- As much as I wanted to like 'Fortunada', ultimately it just never kicked into high gear. When it actually started rolling it sounded like it had been pieced together from a myriad out other tunes and the kazoo, country hoe-down ending was mega cheesy. rating: ** stars
- One of the better pop tracks the upbeat pop number 'Dark Is the Night' actually would have made a better single than 'Tell `Em Willie Boy's A-Comin''. rating: *** stars

Roulette also tapped the album for a pair of singles:

- 1972's 'Nothing To Hide' b/w 'Walk a Country Mile' (Roulette catalog number R-7115)
- 1972's 'Tell `Em Willie Boy's A-Comin'' b/w '' (Roulette catalog number )

Certainly one of his best solo efforts and an added bonus comes in the fact you can still find this one on the cheap.

"My Head, My Bed and My Red Guitar" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Nothing to Hide (Tommy James) - 2:43
2.) Tell `Em Willie Boy's A-Comin' (Tommy James - Bob King) - 2:47
3.) White Horses (Tommy James - Bob King) - 3:41
4.) The Last One to Know (Tommy James - Bob King) - 4:29
5.) Rosalee (Linda Hargrove)- 2:49
6.) Paper Flowers (Tommy James - Joey Dee - Ritchie Cordell) - 4:37

(side 2)
1.) Walk a Country Mile (Tommy James - Bob King) - 2:10
2.) Who's Gonna Cry (Tommy James - Bob King) - 4:25
3.) Forty Days and Forty Nights (Tommy James - Bob King) - 2:57
4.) Kingston Highway (Tommy James - Bob King - Morris Levy)- 3:09
5.) I Live to Love a Woman (Tommy James - Bob King) - 2:52
6.) Fortunada (Tommy James - Bob King - Arnie Silver) - 3:41
7.) Dark Is the Night (Tommy James - Bob King) - 3:08