Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 09/12/2006
This 30-song, double-CD set is the 21st century successor to
Rhino's 1990-vintage single-disc
Tommy James & the Shondells Anthology. The same 27 songs by the group are here in state-of-the-art remastering (not that the older disc was bad, by any means), a few switched in order, and they're augmented by a trio of
Tommy James solo sides,
"Draggin' the Line," "Nothing to Hide," and
"Tighter, Tighter," and new notes by
Bill Holdship. From
"Hanky Panky" (which hit nationally in 1966) to 1970s
"Come to Me," it's all great fun, though with few surprises for longtime fans. For the uninitiated who only know this outfit for a few songs, however, there may be a minor revelation or two in the range of material that this group seemed to toss off so cavalierly into the AM radio ether -- from crunchy
rock & roll and sugary
pop/rock to shimmering
psychedelia and
sunshine pop, they did it all well, and in about as listener-friendly a fashion as anyone this side of
the Beatles. Indeed, this set is another reminder that, like their AM radio rivals
Paul Revere & the Raiders,
Tommy James and company were underestimated even by a lot of their fans, and certainly by most critics.
~Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
;)
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