Tommy James & the Shondel [Import]

Tommy James and the Shondells | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 8, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Membran/Noble Price
• ASIN: B000FIHMK8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #453,700 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Crimson & Clover

2. Mony Mony

3. Hanky Panky

4. Crystal Blue Persuasion

5. Draggin' The Line

6. I Think We're Alone Now

7. Three Times In Lvoe

8. Getting Together

9. Say I Am

10. Sweet Cherry Wine

11. Mirage

Editorial Reviews

Crimson & Clover, the highest charting album by Tommy James And The Shondells (it made the Top 10), marked the arrival of the group's psychedelic style and featured the chart-topping title tune, "Crystal Blue Persuasion," which just missed the top of the charts, and the Top 40 hit "Do Something To Me." It's hard to believe that the elegant, eclectic pop recordings of this album were made by the same people who turned in the rockers "I Think We're Alone Now" and "Mony Mony." But James And The Shondells were pop professionals ready and willing to follow the Sgt. Pepper trend into experimentation, as long as it panned out commercially. Even the most dedicated hack gets lucky, however, and Tommy James was lucky more often than most. "Crimson & Clover" and "Crystal Blue Persuasion" retain a campy appeal ages after the '60s, and if the filler on the album is even sillier now than it was then ("Hello, banana, I am a tangerine," indeed!), it's no less fun. (Originally released in 1968 as Roulette 42023, Crimson & Clover was reissued in 1981 as Roulette 59028.) ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit disappointing, June 8, 2008

By 

Fefifofum "jp" (clouds of illusion) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tommy James & the Shondel (Audio CD)

Although Amazom lists this has having the long version, the CD I received has the short version of Crimson & Clover. The last five songs are live rather than the studio versions I was looking for. I think it's back to the drawing board for me. This is a fine, short best of CD, but I would recommend another compilation.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Yet another useless comp - press 'back' now for the real deal, March 1, 2007

By 

J P Ryan (Waltham, Massachusetts United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crimson & Clover (Audio CD)

First, for Collectables to call this unforgiveably skimpy (10 songs) collection "Crimson and Clover" is deceptive since that is the title of one of TJ & the Shondells' best known studio albums (from 1969, it reached the top 10 in "Billboard" and spent 35 weeks on the album chart), one that is still available on a Rhino two-fer CD, paired with the underrated followup "Cellophane Symphony." These are two of the group's best albums, and Rhino's "Crimson & Clover/Cellophane Symphony" is packed with 20 somgs, hits like 'Crimson & Clover' (in its long version), 'Do Something To Me', 'Crystal Blue Persuasion', 'Sugar On Sunday' (actually never released as a single, but a smash that same year thanks to the Clique's cover version - which can be found on that band's solid 1998 Verese Sarabande comp, along with both sides of a 1970 single Tommy James produced for them), along with tracks that could have been hits. "Crimson" is both psych and pop, with strong melodies and infectious upetempo grooves. Despite the bubblegum image, James was atb his peak, experimenting with a wide range of styles both in terms of material and production, usually successfully, yet with his pop instincts intact, hence the long string of hit singles.
The followup album is even more adventurous. "Cellophane's" nine-and-a-half minute moog-dominated title track is throbbing and hypnotic, a trippy instrumental that would have listeners calling to find out who that last band was were it played on some college radio's adventurous '60s show, and several other tracks on the same (largely forgotton) album are equally remarkable - haunting, soulful, well performed and (self-) produced. 'Evergreen', 'Loved One', and 'Love Of A Woman' are reminiscent (and worthy) of Brian Wilson's best work from the same period; 'Changes' is a slow, soulful simmering groove with fascinating textural details and a superb melody. "Sweet Cherry Wine", the gospel/psych top 10 hit is also included. Together, the two albums on the Rhino set are marred by perhaps 3 weak tracks (the 'comedic' ones, which are predictably flat and dated). For a "lightweight" singles oriented band, not bad.
The group's next and final album, "Travelin'" (1970) is an strong and enjoyable (if sometimes derivative, in a good way) set that returns to a more straightforward and rocking approach - I used to see scores of the original vinyl gatefold album for 99 cents in used record stores.
If you want a good career overview, the recent "Definitive Collection" (2 CDs with 30 tracks, all the hits from 1966 to '71 or so) is pretty inexpensive and likely (I just ordered mine) worthwhile for the new remastering job. In any case, forget this shabby, very brief collection (marred, of course, by the label's predictably mediocre mastering) that serves no good purpose and is another example of the Collectables label's indifference to the music it reissues.