Tommy James & The Shondells - Crimson & Clover 1969

Crimson & Clover, the highest-charting album by Tommy James & the Shondells (it made the Top Ten), 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 & the Shondells were pop professionals ready and willing to follow the Sgt. Pepper's 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. AMG.

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