Tommy James & The Shondells - The Definitive Pop Collection

Tommy James and the Shondells | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 19, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Rhino
• ASIN: B000GH3QDK
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,734 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Hanky Panky

2. Say I Am (What I Am)

3. It's Only Love

4. I Think We're Alone Now

5. I Like the Way

6. Mirage

7. (Baby, Baby) I Can't Take It No More

8. Run, Run, Baby, Run

9. Gettin' Together

10. Real Girl

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Mony Mony

2. Somebody Cares

3. Do Something to Me

4. Crimson and Clover

5. Sugar on Sunday

6. Sweet Cherry Wine

7. Crystal Blue Persuasion

8. Ball of Fire

9. She

10. Loved One

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Tommy James & the Shondells' high-spirited sound remains one of the most distinctive hallmarks of the era and an essential part of the classic rock songbook.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars (Almost) All the Hits and Many of the Near Misses, September 23, 2006

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tommy James & The Shondells - The Definitive Pop Collection (Audio CD)

All of Tommy James & The Shondells top 40 hits are here--all fourteen of them, along with James' biggest solo hit, "Draggin' the Line." Beginning in 1966 with "Hanky Panky" through the end of the decade, The Shondells released a string of infectious hits. [Note: While "Hanky Panky didn't become a national hit until the summer of 1966, the original Shondells recorded the song on the Snap label in 1963 in Ohio where it became a regional hit when James was only 16!]

Essentially, this latest collection from Rhino is a re-release of their 1990 single-disc ANTHOLOGY. What THE DEFINITIVE POP COLLECTION does is add three songs and spreads it out over two discs. Since it lists for about the same price as the earlier collection, it's hard to complain; but there was certainly room for a more thorough coverage of the both the band and James' solo work.

For example, this new collection includes the band's final charting single, "Come to Me" from 1970; it reached only No. 47. In addition, James' solo "Nothin' to Hide" from MY HEAD, MY BED & MY RED GUITAR (which hit No. 41 in late 1971) is included. The only other track not found on ANTHOLOGY is James' own version of "Tighter and Tighter," which he had produced for Alive & Kicking. [Their version was the hit at No. 7 in 1970.] The only serious misstep is the omission of "I'm Comin' Home," James' follow-up single to "Draggin the Line", which reached No. 40. James had a string of solid solo albums which, given the space available on two CDs, should have been better represented. [Also missing is James' final chart entry, 1980's No. 19 hit "Three Times in Love," but that wasn't recorded for Roulette and obviously Rhino was unable to license the song.]

All told, this is a very thorough history of one of the great party bands of the Sixties. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shame on you Rhino! Excellent songs, but much too short for the price, November 26, 2007

By 

Willy (Santa Cruz) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tommy James & The Shondells - The Definitive Pop Collection (Audio CD)

As the previous reviewers have pointed out,this collection has essentially all of the Tommy J & The Shondells studio cuts that anyone could possibly want, including nearly all of their notable hits and a good number of quality misses. There is, however, a notable catch.

This is a 2CD collection and is priced as such. Unfortunately the collection features under 85 minutes of total music on those 2CDs. Given that a single CD is capable of holding up to 80 minutes of music, paying $20+ for this collection seems not just unwarranted, but a deliberate attempt by the once-excellent Rhino Entertainment Group to gouge it's loyal customer base while providing minimal content.

One might be tempted to judge this an aberration, but Rhino's recent "Definitive..." 2CD sets routinely suffer from this "problem". Sam & Dave's "Definitive Soul" is worth less than 82 minutes on 2 Discs, while Frank Valli & The 4 Seasons merit a slightly more generous 90minutes.

A collection of 2hrs+ is certainly warranted for Tommy James, particularly if one were to include live material with a generous array of B-sides and alternate takes. Since Rhino is producing and selling a 2CD set, they certainly have enough capacity to give their customers 160 minutes of content. Instead they have chosen to flagrantly fleece their customers with roughly half that.

There is no longer any compelling reason to purchase (newly produced) Rhino products - apparently all principles vanished with previous management.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tommy James & The Shondells Definitive, October 19, 2007

By 

B. Slovinec (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tommy James & The Shondells - The Definitive Pop Collection (Audio CD)

This is actually all their greatest hits. The only one miss is Gone, Gone,Gone, which I believe was one of their earlier songs, and may not have been a top 40. But this is without a doubt all their greatest hits, on 1 cd instead of 2. I really love it,and I hope you will too.

Most of the songs are really great and, and for me bring back great memories. Previously, I had to purchase 2 CD's to get the songs I wanted, which are now all on this CD. It's a keeper, for sure.