Search - Lou Christie :: Enlightnin'Ment: Best of

Lightning Strikes Again And Again

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 05/26/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Lou Christie predates the Beatles (at least in terms of initial popularity in the U.S.) and his soaring falsetto on "Two Faces Have I" in the spring of 1963 is one of my earliest pop music memories as an adolescent. His first single earlier that year was "The Gypsy Cried," and like all of Christie's compositions was co-written with Twyla Herbert, a woman twice Christie's age when they first met when he was fifteen. [The liner notes refer to her a "psychic former concert pianist."] At any rate they were responsible for all but three of the songs on this collection, including the chart-topping million-seller "Lightnin' Strikes" and the follow-up "Rhapsody in the Rain." "Rhapsody" stalled at No. 16 when it was banned by a number of radio stations for its suggestive lyrics. Sample: "Because on our first date/ We were makin' out in the rain/ And in this car/ Our love went much too far." Tame, perhaps, by today's standards, but conservatism won out and it would be three years before Christie would crack the Top 40 one last time in 1969 with "I'm Gonna Make You Mine." Along with Frankie Valli, Christie has one of the most recognizable falsetto voices of the Sixties and it's used to marvelous effect on this collection. Additional highlights include the never-before-released "Summer Snow," which was originally slated as Christie's third single. If you enjoyed the hits, the rest of the material here will not disappoint. RECOMMENDED"

Admit It.

David Bradley | Sterling, VA USA | 05/22/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"How did he do it?How did Lou Christie take a format which could so easily have slipped into the absurd--the 1950's arrangements, the adolescent lyrics, the falsetto--and turn out so many Pop classics?"The Gypsy Cried," "Two Faces Have I," "Summer Snow," "Outside The Gates of Heaven," and "Trapeze" are all great; "Lightnin' Strikes" would have been a tight fit on a Ronettes LP, and "Shy Boy" out Beach-Boys the Beach Boys.But there's still some junk here. "Self Expression" sounds like a bad Saturday morning cartoon theme. "Back to The Days of The Romans" is so bad it hurts, and I could do without the self-referential "Mr. Tenor Man" too.The bad stuff tends to come from the last days of Christie's recording career, the mid to late 1960s, but one of my favorite Christie singles, "I'm Gonna Make You Mine," was actually recorded in 1969. It was a classic, CLASSIC 45, and it sounds even better all these years later on a clean CD. It was the perfect blend that Christie had seemed to strive for all during the 1960s, sounding like Franki Valli backed by the Ronettes; a catchy melody and a decent backing band.Anyway, everyone should own this CD, because EVERYBODY secretly loves to sing along with the falsetto on "The Gypsy Cried" when they hear it in their car.Admit it."

Still an incredible talent

J. B Brent | Oak Ridge, Tennessee USA | 09/20/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This set of Lou Christie's tunes is a must for any music fan. All the hits are there, except "Are You Getting any Sunshine." My favorite track is "If My Car Could Only Talk." I was fortunate to catch Lou live in the summer of '98 at the Tennessee Valley Fair in Knoxville. His multi-octave range is still in top shape. He carried the whole show without any back-up singers, and was gracious to hang around to sign autographs and chat with fans. You can't go wrong with this collection."