Track Listing

1. Hanky Panky
2. Say I Am (What I Am)
3. I Think We're Alone Now
4. Mirage
5. Gettin' Together
6. Mony Mony
7. Crimson and Clover
8. Sweet Cherry Wine
9. Crystal Blue Persuasion
10. Ball of Fire
11. She
12. Draggin' the Line
13. It's Only Love
14. I Like the Way
15. Out of the Blue
16. Do Something to Me

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40570 in Music
• Released on: 1993-04-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
Tommy James and his band, The Shondells, not only racked up plenty of hits with their songs, but also had covers of the same material reach No. 1. With a plaintive croon reminiscent of 1950s teen idols, Tommy James wrote and sang a string of bubblegum pop gems that were staples at every high-school dance through the '60. "Hanky Panky," "Mony Mony," and the anthem of forbidden love, "I Think We're Alone Now" all had James's instantly memorable melodies and dramatic breaks. With "Crimson and Clover" and "Crystal Blue Persuasion," James and the Shondells traded in their sugary innocence for a more psychedelic sound. The Very Best of Tommy James & The Shondells contains only 12 tracks and, like the group's songs, is enjoyably short and sweet. --Steve Gdula

Customer Reviews

This group does the Hanky Panky...
In the brief four-year span when they were prominent, Tommy James and the Shondells seemed an anomaly in an era where the current music arose from what the Beatles wrought with Revolver and Sgt Pepper and what the psychedelics like Iron Butterfly and hard-rockers/blues groups like Steppenwolf produced. The Shondells' eclectic oeuvre covered many genres: garage rock, early sixties pop reminiscent of the Mersey Beat, bubblegum pop, party-rockers, a protest song, and even a shot at psychedelia.

Naturally, the compilation starts off with the song from Snap Records that was bootlegged and sold over a million copies, reaching #1. All together now: "My baby does the hanky panky!" Yes, his cover of the Raindrops' "Hanky Panky", with its crisp garage sound, hit big by the time Tommy James had broken up the Shondells.

A new Shondells was put together and they signed on to Roulette Records. "Say I Am (What I Am)" has a beat and sound similar to the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" until the rollicking racing guitar comes on, accompanied by "shake shake shake," until it returns to the original sound.

The upbeat "It's Only Love" features horns, maraccas, and a softly tooted flute; a nice number, but compared to their other Top Ten hits, it's understandable why this only hit #31.

Three of their big hits were resurrected in the 1980's, two of them hitting #1, one making the Top Ten in the US, all different styles. The catchy bubblegum pop of "I Think We're Alone Now" was an example of James bringing in the songwriting/producing team of Richie Cordell and Bo Gentry. Cordell co-wrote this song. The prominent bassline can be felt in the softly sung chorus and inbetween "running just as fast as we can" and "holding on to one another's hand." Crickets can be heard during the pause before the final chorus. Redheaded mall teen queen Tiffany took this to #1 in 1987, beating the original's #4 peak.

With those familiar opening drums, and James' rough "yeahs" and the responding "yeahs" from the other Shondells, "Mony Mony" belongs in the party-rock category like "Louie Louie" and "Hanky Panky". A #3 hit, Billy Idol's version hit #1, also in 1987, giving further royalties to James, Cordell, and Gentry. Ironically, Joan Jett and her producer were considering recording this song instead of "Louie Louie", but the latter prevailed.

And finally, James' only other #1, the lyrical "Crimson And Clover", which sold five million copies, with distorted guitars, and later even the words, yet with enough pop sensibilities to take something psychedelic to the top. Yes, "crimson and clover, over and over..." Joan Jett took this to the Top Ten in 1982.

Cordell also wrote "Mirage", a #10 hit which recalls an early Beatles sound and has a high-pitched whistle or keyboard, and the racing keyboards and clapping of the happily romantic "Gettin' Together."

The flower-power like "Out Of The Blue" mixes early Beatles with some doo-wop styled harmony. And this only got to #43???!

The pulsating anti-Vietnam and love song "Sweet Cherry Wine" is one of my favourites: "Yesterday my friends were marching out to war/oh yeah, listen we ain't a marchin' anymore/we ain't gonna fight/only God has the right/to decide who's to live and die." I'll have several bottles of it, please.

The leisurely languid ballad "Crystal Blue Persuasion" peaked at #2 during Woodstock week, and echoes the "love is the answer and that's all right" feel of the times.

Songs like "She" used strings and a more lovey-dovey 5th Dimension-type sound. Also included Tommy James' solo single "Draggin' The Line", incorporating a bluesy sound with a prominent pulsing bassline.

The songs are presented in chronological order, and as this is a Rhino compilation, presents the peak position of each single and the date released. A good intro for those wanting to know about the many sounds and singles of this mid to late 60's group.

Okay Sample of Tommy James and the Shondells
Tommy James and the Shondells were one of the better groups of the 60s, yet do not seem to get the recognition they deserve. This group created a string of hits beginning with "Hanky Panky" through "Draggin' the Line," from 1966 to 1971, though Tommy James originally released "Hanky Panky" in 1963 and re-recorded it in 1966.

Several of the songs by this group that are among the most enduring are the psychedelic songs: "Crimson and Clover" and "Crystal Blue Persuasion"; black light music for sure. Both songs were big hits for the group, and remain among my favorite songs to this day. Some of the songs here do verge on bubblegum. But these songs also are creative and introduce effects that at the time were novel.

For those who are less familiar with Tommy James and the Shondells, the songs you might recognize if you heard them, in addition to those mentioned above, are "I Think We're Alone Now," "Mony Mony," "Do Something to Me," and "Sweet Cherry Wine," which is also somewhat psychedelic. While the other songs on this CD were released either as an A or B side single, these songs received a lot of air play in the 60s. A few of these songs are somewhat forgettable, but better to have more than less.

Perhaps the biggest miss on this CD is "Crimson and Clover." The version for this CD is the single version, and not the much longer and better album version. The album version had an extended bridge with some of Tommy James and the Shondell's best guitar work. If you have an opportunity to hear the album version of "Crimson and Clover", or better yet, buying any album that contains the full-length version, it is worth it.

This CD is okay, but there is another CD that is better for Tommy James fans. "Anthology" was released earlier than this CD and contains 27 tracks to this CD's 16 tracks. While "Anthology" has a few weaker songs, it also has "Sugar on Sunday." You decide. You should also consider trying to find the album "Crimson and Clover" to have the extended version of that excellent song. Enjoy!

Crystal Blue Perfection
Think about the fact that AM radio was the primary domain of Tommy James & The Shondells back in the '60s. Then think about how much lamer AM radio is nowadays (and FM for that matter). This is the best stuff from a really good group, back when radio was worth listening to and ever-more-amazing stuff was coming out practically weekly.

My only complaint, to repeat what other reviewers have said, is that the chopped version of Crimson and Clover is on this album. Fortunately, I still have a vinyl album that has the long version on it. But why, oh why didn't they include it on this CD? (Especially when CDs can hold 74 minutes of music.) Rhino, I usually love your compilations, but this is a rip-off!