Tommy James & The Shondells - Gettin’ Together 1967

The title track to the Tommy James & the Shondells album Gettin' Together -- resplendent in its Spencer Davis Group-meets-Every Mother's Son flavors -- reached the Top 20 in September of 1967, the fourth chart song for the group that year. Ritchie Cordell and Bo Gentry follow up the I Think We're Alone Now project with light pop material initiated on "It's Only Love," the hit from the Shondells' second effort, only this time around with a bit more maturity to it, not to mention riffs culled from the Top 40 of 1966 and 1967 radio. There's nothing here on the level of "Mirage" or "Mony Mony," but the album still has merit. Songwriter G. Illingsworth brings one co-write, a very '60s-sounding "There's So Much Love All Around Me" -- he would return with three more collaborations on Mony Mony listed as G. Illingworth. The pretty "Real Girl" by Darlene and Darla Landen also fits in very well with its surroundings. Ritchie Cordell writes or has a hand in half of the 12 songs, and boy are they compact -- "Some Happy Day" clocks in at two minutes and 16 seconds, the interesting Cordell solo piece "Sometimes I'm Up, (Sometimes I'm Down)" clocks in at under two minutes at one minute and 55 seconds, and the Tommy James/Mike Vale composition "Wish It Were You" (one of four titles the singer and bassist helped put together) is a mere two minutes and one second long. The duo's "You Better Watch Out" lifts liberally from the Yardbirds' summer of 1966 hit "Over, Under, Sideways, Down" and gives a hint as to where the band was heading creatively -- not to mention which groups were truly influencing the Shondells' music. Despite the quintet's growth, this album and that which followed, Mony Mony, were teen-oriented bordering on bubblegum, though "Some Happy Day" here does have the experimentation started by "Mirage" and is one of the more clever pieces. "Love's Closin' in on Me" is an up-tempo and fun excursion by producers Gentry and Cordell along with Tommy James and Mike Vale. Short and sweet confection is the rule coloring the third of four albums with Ritchie Cordell's participation. On their own a little over a year later, James and the boys would write, arrange, and produce the classic "Crimson & Clover" 45 rpm and long-player with only one outside song, "Do Something to Me," by the songwriters who wrote the second track on this LP, Calvert, Marzano, and Naumann. The creative sparks on Gettin' Together are a good study in the evolution of a pop star as well as a unique look at '60s record production. It's a listenable and important piece to the Shondells' puzzle. AMG.

listen here

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.

listen here

Tommy James & The Shondells - Cellophane Symphony 1969

Cellophane Symphony, credited to Tommy James & the Shondells, came only seven catalog numbers after the Crimson & Clover album, but oddly got a Top Ten hit in between the four hits that the earlier disc spawned. "Sweet Cherry Wine" is as good a pop song as one will ever hear, hitting the Top Ten in April of 1969, five months after "Do Something to Me" and five months before "Sugar on Sunday," both from Crimson & Clover (though it was the Clique who clicked with their version of "Sugar on Sunday"). This beautiful song, "Sweet Cherry Wine," is the epitome of peace, love, and '60s understanding, with a sound that is very much like TJ's own version of "Sugar on Sunday."  The radio attention to a single on the highly experimental Cellophane Symphony is equally extraordinary because the album is very much like Tommy James doing his own Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. There are oddities, like side one's closer, "Papa Rolled His Own," which could be "When I'm Sixty Four" meets "You Know My Name, Look up the Number"; two Beatles offbeat ditties; and the almost as wacky "On Behalf of the Entire Staff & Management," which ends side two. In between is some lovely pop music, which one finds after they trip their way through the amazing nine and a half minutes of the title track. The instrumental song "Cellophane Symphony" is early Pink Floyd meets "20,000 Light Years From Home" when the Stones gave Satanic Majesties Request. It is the only title credited to the entire band, followed by two of five Ritchie Cordell/Tommy James co-writes the poppy and excellent "Makin' Good Time" and the beautiful "Evergreen." Covered in keyboards and acoustic guitar, "Evergreen" is Tommy James being the folky and the pop star, a unique look at this underrated and important artist. It's a perfect setup to "Sweet Cherry Wine," which is the standout track, the subtle intro exploding into a chorus of the best type of anti-war sentiment: "Let's just get along." Pete Lucia writes two songs with James, one being the amazing "Changes," which opens side two, while Mike Vale helps James on "Loved One," making this a very special collection of ten songs wrapped up in a stunning black-and-white psychedelic cover of a hatch shell, empty benches, and cool '60s photography. Though Tommy James is all over the book Bubblegum Music Is the Naked Truth, he is beyond just an artist who hit with that genre. He's an artist whose value is evident on his country album, My Hed, My Bed, and My Red Guitar, as well as other catalog treats, like this disc with its strong compositions "Loved One," "The Love of a Woman," and the Richard Grasso/Tommy James hit that is a true pop classic, "Sweet Cherry Wine." AMG.

listen here or here

Tommy James & the Shondells - Something Special 1968

It's hard to conceive that seven of these 12 titles were Top 40 hits because "Gettin' Together," "I Like the Way," "Say I Am (What I Am)," and even the Shondells title track to their second album "It's Only Love" are not as radio memorable as "Mirage," "I Think We're Alone Now," and "Hanky Panky" (rumor has it some may have been "jukebox hits," added to jukeboxes but not necessarily radio play lists). The nearly a cappella "Out of the Blue" is a strange opener and shows the group's vocal prowess, a serious rock band coming off like a bubblegum Beach Boys. One can't quip with producers Bo Gentry and Ritchie Cordell crafting a sound for this group; they worked on everything here except "Say I Am (What I Am)" and "Hanky Panky" off the first Bob Mack/Henry Glover-produced disc (Mack co-wrote the second hit, "Say I Am" with James -- or so it says on the original disc; it is credited to George & Barbara Tomsco on this compilation) and Henry Glover's two productions from the second album, Tommy James' original "Don't Let My Love Pass You By" and the Ritchie Cordell hit "It's Only Love." 
The Top 25 "I Like the Way" is a wonderful slice of '60s-style British pop and had this follow-up hit to "Mirage" given the band a Small Faces direction, it may have helped to avoid the bubblegum stigma songs like "Love's Closin' in on Me" helped them obtain. It sounds more like Tommy Roe than Tommy James, but, despite having been written by James, bassist Mike Vale, and producers Gentry & Cordell, it still rocks straight from the Paul Revere & the Raiders school of power pop. Power pop over bubblegum is the solution, and side two hits you with "I Think We're Alone Now," "Mirage," and "Hanky Panky," their majesty interrupted by the summery "Real Girl" and the two songs from the second album. Not bad material, but a greatest-hits disc is supposed to help the fans get all their faves right in a row. At least the flip side to "Mirage," Ritchie Cordell's "Run, Run, Baby Run," is on side one and doesn't throw the flow. Tommy James' original "Don't Let My Love Pass You By" is the chorus to Every Mother's Son's "Come on Down to My Boat" from 1967, and James' lawyers should have gone after that one if he had the earlier copyright, but then again, Cordell's "It's Only Love" is derivative as can be, merging the traditional "This Old Man" with songs you know you've heard. Sure, Something Special! The Best of Tommy James & the Shondells was a premature Roulette marketing ploy, but it also shows what these times were all about. The Tee Vee International 20 Greatest Hits is more definitive but not as precise as The Best of Tommy James & the Shondells, which lives up to the title. This album is a good historical artifact nonetheless, and what true music lover can avoid the three irresistible classics included her. AMG.

listen here

Tommy James & The Shondells - I Think We're Alone Now 1967

"I Think We're Alone Now" was the first Top Five hit for Tommy James since his 1966 chart-topper "Hanky Panky," and a redemption of sorts for/from the album that came in between, the sugary It's Only Love. Ritchie Cordell is in total control here, writing the first eight songs on the disc, including all three that charted: "I Think We're Alone Now," the exquisite "Mirage," and "I Like the Way." The album cover is brilliant, total black with two pairs of feet taking two steps forward, then one pair turning around and facing the other; neither person is wearing shoes. The tension of the opening guitar and bass riff coupled with the great melody and theme make for an all-time rock & roll classic. It's more "hanky panky" in theme, "Hanky Panky" all grown up. "Mirage" opens side two and it is a brilliant sequel to "I Think We're Alone Now," with similar structure but enough production tricks to make the songs sound different. The harpsichord from side one's "Trust Each Other in Love" is used again in "Mirage" to great effect, while the underlying riff in "Trust Each Other in Love" also borrows from the title track. Co-produced by Bo Gentry and Cordell, with the ever-present Jimmy Wisner arranging and conducting, the album features the band and production team working as a cohesive unit to solidify Tommy James' foundation on pop radio. There's a credible cover of the Rivieras' 1964 hit "California Sun," as well a short and nicely chaotic rendition of the Isley Brothers' perennial "Shout." James' voice and personality carry the record and Cordell continues rewriting the title track with "Run, Run, Baby, Run," inverting the inspired riff. He and the singer then compose "(Baby, Baby) I Can't Take It No More," which has the feel of the Rascals' "I Ain't Gonna Eat out My Heart Anymore," while "Gone, Gone, Gone" sounds like Ritchie Cordell was listening to Pennsylvania's Eddie Rambeau or U.K. group Unit 4 + 2's "Concrete and Clay." There are plenty of flavors from the day slipped into this wonderful mix, a true pop concoction that has stood the test of time. In concert both "Mirage" and "I Think We're Alone Now" are major moments; James' hit material over the years contained a rich variety of composition. This album is Ritchie Cordell's vision for Tommy James and is an important and highly entertaining piece of the Shondells' catalog. AMG.

listen here

Buy @ Amazon: USA - FR - UK