Search - Andy Kim :: How'd We Ever Get This Way/Rainbow Ride

Bubblegum/pop master's first and second solo LPs

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 07/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kim is most famously remembered as a performer for his his 1969 remake of the Phil Spector classic "Baby, I Love You," and his own 1974 chart-topper "Rock Me Gently." But before finding success as a singer, he was a key player in the bubblegum pop world of the late '60s. His co-writes with Brill Building legend Jeff Barry include the genre's national anthem, "Sugar, Sugar" and additional Archies classics "Everything's Alright," "Feelin' So Good" and "Jingle Jangle." He and Barry also penned songs for the Monkees 1970 swansong, "Changes," including the favorite, "Oh My My."



Kim's solo debut LP, "How'd We Ever Get This Way" was co-written and produced by Jeff Barry, and released on Barry's Steed label in 1968. Though the melodic hooks and sunshine-pop productions are drawn from the same well as the earlier bubblegum work, the vocals are more soulful than the Archies' Ron Dante, the arrangements more muscular, and the lyrics not so decidedly pitched at pre-teens. The Monkees last few albums and Neil Diamond's early sides are obvious touchstones. "You Got Style" could easily have been lifted from Diamond's Bang-era sessions, replete with female backing chorus. Even the album's lightest song, "Circus," shows great craft in turning its kiddie theme into light-psych. The album is filled with sophisticated touches of heavy pop, neo-Caribbean flavorings, strumming acoustics, sing-a-long choruses, jangling tambourines and bouncy drumming. "Resurrection," closes the album with a surprisingly moody, dramatic and downcast first-person narrative from a depressed recluse.



The follow-up LP, 1969's "Rainbow Ride," was similarly co-written and produced by Barry, and also released on the Steed label. Building on the craft of his debut, this sophomore effort offers up a great deal more variety. The title tune's stellar mix of Bo Diddley beat, "Last Train to Clarksville" guitar riff, Boyce & Hart styled backing vocals, thumping bass drum and anti-drug lyrics deserved a turn on the charts. "Please Be True" mixes electric guitars, organ and vibes to funky hard-rocking effect, the philosophical "Nobody's Every Going Anywhere" is protest-cynical in the manner of Bobby Darin's Big Sur recordings, and "While You're Young" borrows some vocal effects from The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour. There's also classic Barry-Kim pop-rock here, such as the Nilsson-esque chamber pop "Music Man," the bouncy "Wonderful You," and the Spanish tinged Brill Building styled "To Be Continued." For good measure, Kim throws in a cover of the Everly Brothers' "I Wonder if I Care as Much" that sounds favorably like the original.



Collectors' Choice has included all 24 tracks of the original albums, clocking in at a generous 72 minutes. New liner notes from Richie Unterberger accompany full-panel reproductions of both album covers, and the Peter Max styled back cover of "Rainbow Ride." This is a super sweet package that shows off Kim's talent as both a songwriter and singer. Fans of his work as a bubblegum writer will find much to love here, fans of great pop-rock will be surprised at the depth and quality. [©2006 hyperbolium dot com]"

Andy Kim

Cynthia M. Jones | toeldo Ohio | 11/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To The Company Who Put These 2 Albums Out On CD Thank You Very Much

because I Did't Know Any Of These Album Were Ever In Print. I Listin To Some Of The Songs And A Lot Of Them I Don't Know About And They Will Have To Grow On Me."