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When the Prefab Four were monkee-ing around at the top of the charts back in the mid-1960s, they had the benefit of some great pop songwriters behind them: Neil Diamond, Gerry Goffin & Carole King, and Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart. Not only was the duo a writing team, but they were also formidable performers in the pop arena. Though never as famous as the Monkees, (even though they combined forces with Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz in an ersatz version of that band in the 70s), Boyce & Hart managed to crank out three Top 40 hits, one of which is on this album. As one might guess, the commercial appeal of this kind of music was short-lived, as it was competing in a scene that included the likes of Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane. People were going for a heavier sound, and that wasnt what Boyce and Hart were about. But the pendulum swings, and at the turn of the millennium, their music sounds decidedly user-friendly and recalls the somewhat fizzier side of the Summer Of Love. This album comes packaged in a Japanese-style oversize cardboard sleeve with all the artwork featured on the original album cover. It was remastered in 2004 by the Grammy award-winning engineer Gavin Lurssen and our own Dana Smart from the original master tapes.
Review:
I've been getting into 60's bubblegum music in general and Boyce and Hart in particular. They are absolutely amazing- a souped up 60's swinging bachelor duet driving sports cars, wearing super groovy outfits, dating girls who look like stepped out of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (while maintaining a sexy bromance with each other that we gay fans cherish), Boyce and Hart lived the dream. Two aging songwriters who decided to cash in while the getting was good by writing strangely jaded songs for preteen girls that manage to rock your socks off.
My fave song here has to be "Two For The Price of One" where the boys coyly explain how wild the other is and then launch into the psycho catchy chorus about how they are two pop idols in one- take them both on!
The sound on this disc is fab- no problems here at all and the packaging is amazing. It's a miniature 60's era A&M record with the original jacket, sleeve and even those ad sheets that listed all the other A&M titles available. You know like the one in your parents copy of "Whipped Cream and Other Delights"? Thrill to having your own miniaturized Claudine Longet promo sheet!
This is the only one of the three original B & H albums available now- which makes it a must have in my book.
Boyce and Hart are just plain cool- their songs are great and their image is fantastic. This is Beverly Hills Mod at it's finest.
Live the fantasy that WAS Boyce & Hart!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNugrFhuSso
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW7NDdq5Es4
Review:
I've been getting into 60's bubblegum music in general and Boyce and Hart in particular. They are absolutely amazing- a souped up 60's swinging bachelor duet driving sports cars, wearing super groovy outfits, dating girls who look like stepped out of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (while maintaining a sexy bromance with each other that we gay fans cherish), Boyce and Hart lived the dream. Two aging songwriters who decided to cash in while the getting was good by writing strangely jaded songs for preteen girls that manage to rock your socks off.
My fave song here has to be "Two For The Price of One" where the boys coyly explain how wild the other is and then launch into the psycho catchy chorus about how they are two pop idols in one- take them both on!
The sound on this disc is fab- no problems here at all and the packaging is amazing. It's a miniature 60's era A&M record with the original jacket, sleeve and even those ad sheets that listed all the other A&M titles available. You know like the one in your parents copy of "Whipped Cream and Other Delights"? Thrill to having your own miniaturized Claudine Longet promo sheet!
This is the only one of the three original B & H albums available now- which makes it a must have in my book.
Boyce and Hart are just plain cool- their songs are great and their image is fantastic. This is Beverly Hills Mod at it's finest.
Live the fantasy that WAS Boyce & Hart!
| SPOILER! |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNugrFhuSso
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW7NDdq5Es4