Very Patchy
Hans Pfaall | Connecticut, USA | 01/26/2002
(2 out of 5 stars)
"This is The_2000_Man. My old account was deleted, therefore, I have to repeat my old review. I have been informed that there are actually three different bands on here. The original Swingin' Medallions, Pieces of Eight, and a 90's version of the band. Some of these tracks are covers of well known, and easy to play songs. One gets the impression that they were rush recorded to fill their album. These songs show a lack of originality, since a good amount of bands in 1966 were playing songs like "Louie," "Sloopy" and "Wooly Bully." Now the tracks will be presented. Double Shot is a classic, and quite good. She Drives Me Out of My Mind is successful, despite sounding like an obvious attempt to emulate the success of Double Shot. It reached #71, and I feel it has better organ than the classic. Hey Baby is a successful remake, is probably as good as the original. Wooly Bully is inferior to the original because Sam the Sham sings the song with more enthusiasm, and the band plays much tighter, and faster on the original - this version lacks excitement. Hang On Sloopy has a different arrangement, but is quite inferior to the McCoys. The small horn break was a good idea, but there should have been a guitar or organ solo before it. I Wanna Be Your Guy and Come Back Girl have something in common, the intro is good, but the rest of the song leaves something to be desired. Night Owl is very strange, with the background screaming. I can't say that I have heard a rock band do a song like this. Its average at best. Lonely Drifter is soulful, and the singing is decent. I have never heard the original. Louie Louie is quite good, and has some "obscene" lyrics that I am still trying to figure out, along with not one, but two guitar breaks. You Gotta Have Faith is very accomplished, and overall the best on the album. Excellent arrangement and melody featuring horns and flute. What Kind of Fool is good also, with solid playing and singing. MTYLTT is the only original song. It is from the pen of McElrath. Musically it is decent, with some jazzy guitar. The rest are from the 90's, and despite being generally alright tracks, (except for "Willie Saxophone", featuring an inane comment on our old good time buddy Bill Clinton), the fact that it is not from the original group is quite disturbing to this writer. As far as I know, this is the only CD release of their old material, and as obscure as they are today, we likely will not see another, though this has far more than the average listener needs."
Fab tunes!!
J. Hoffman | dover, pa. United States | 10/03/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"most noteworthy mentionally are their trademark hits,"DOUBLE SHOT"(OF MY BABY'S LOVE),"SHE DRIVES ME OUT OF MY MIND",&THE BLUE EYED SOUL HITS OF "LONELY DRIFTER","WHAT KIND OF FOOL"(DO YOU THINK I AM)& THEIR OWN SOULFUL HIT OF" I'M GONNA MAKE HER MINE"BUY IT TODAY!JOEY HOFFMAN"
