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stoutfellowAlbum Title: The Definitive Collection, Tommy James and the Shondells
Why I Bought It: I'm not altogether sure. I've always loved "Crimson and Clover", though.
What I Like (Groovy): "Crimson and Clover". The shimmery vocal effects and hallucinatory imagery of this one - and "Crystal Blue Persuasion" fits in here too - are the selling points.
What I Like (Two Points): "Draggin' the Line". There are two specific things about this song that appeal to me. First is the echoing chorus, with the title words foregrounded in tenor and backgrounded, a measure later, an octave lower. The other is one line: "My dog Sam eats purple flowers." Apart from the silliness, it evokes one vivid image from Blish's A Life for the Stars, when Chris is watching Scranton prepare to take off and his brother's dog suddenly appears in a clump of flowers. (What happens afterward is very sad, but that scene still pleases me.)
What I Like (Peace Out): "Sweet Cherry Wine". A protest song about peace, leavened with a somewhat heterodox Christianity. (The title's reference seems to be sacramental.)
What I Like (Hail Amon-Ra): "Ball of Fire". This one has religious tones, too, this time of a rather undeveloped paganism. (Not that one expects nuance....) Very energetic.
Overall: This is a two-disc set, with thirty songs. The majority of them are pretty stock teen angst pieces - "I Think We're Alone Now", "Run, Run, Baby, Run", "(I'm) Taken" - but the music is generally lush, which is a point in its favor. The WILs are the standouts for me, but I like a lot of this album.
Why I Bought It: I'm not altogether sure. I've always loved "Crimson and Clover", though.
What I Like (Groovy): "Crimson and Clover". The shimmery vocal effects and hallucinatory imagery of this one - and "Crystal Blue Persuasion" fits in here too - are the selling points.
What I Like (Two Points): "Draggin' the Line". There are two specific things about this song that appeal to me. First is the echoing chorus, with the title words foregrounded in tenor and backgrounded, a measure later, an octave lower. The other is one line: "My dog Sam eats purple flowers." Apart from the silliness, it evokes one vivid image from Blish's A Life for the Stars, when Chris is watching Scranton prepare to take off and his brother's dog suddenly appears in a clump of flowers. (What happens afterward is very sad, but that scene still pleases me.)
What I Like (Peace Out): "Sweet Cherry Wine". A protest song about peace, leavened with a somewhat heterodox Christianity. (The title's reference seems to be sacramental.)
What I Like (Hail Amon-Ra): "Ball of Fire". This one has religious tones, too, this time of a rather undeveloped paganism. (Not that one expects nuance....) Very energetic.
Overall: This is a two-disc set, with thirty songs. The majority of them are pretty stock teen angst pieces - "I Think We're Alone Now", "Run, Run, Baby, Run", "(I'm) Taken" - but the music is generally lush, which is a point in its favor. The WILs are the standouts for me, but I like a lot of this album.
