Search - Tommy Roe :: It's Now Winter's Day

A total shame...and a waste of a good opportunity to remaste

M. Reid | Massachusetts | 11/09/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"It's not that the music isn't great-it is one of the most interesting albums of the late 60s. Tommy Roe was immensely talented, and opted to bravely try something new with this and the next album he recorded. He tossed most of the bubblegum-type sound in favor of an experimental, mature, pseudo-psychedelic sound that is very daring for someone who had had such success up to this point by NOT trying to be too "adult". The songs are uniformly good, and the arrangements and performances are top-notch.



The problem here is with the shoddy remastering. Once again an apparently reputable re-issue label has tricked us into believing we are buying a state-of-the-art copy of a classic album. Truth is (to my well-trained ears), this is mastered from mono vinyl. Yes, they tried to remove all remnants of the surface noise-there are no scratches-but the sound of the surface rumble is clear when examined closely-especially through headphones. There's that "processed" glare to the high-end. And again-it's MONO! Don't believe me? Just do an A-B comparison with the best song

on this release (the title track) and the official MCA version on their CD "Tommy Roe Greatest Hits" (008811088422). It's shameful. If this release sounded as good as that MCA release from 14 years ago-I'd give it 5 stars.



Once again-for all you legal teams out there-this is what it sounds like to me-I do not know if this is actually remastered from vinyl. Check it out and judge for yourself. In this day of downloads and computer sound restoration-more and more "legit" releases are actually taken from vinyl-and it's a travesty; the "dumbing down" of audiophile standards. My advice-find a stereo vinyl copy and make your own CD. SHAMEFUL!"

A mature departure for Tommy Roe

Bruce D. Davis | Yorktown, VA | 09/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album takes me back to the winter of 1967. Here Tommy Roe musically embraces the more experimental atmosphere of the period just prior to the Summer of Love and creates a gem of mod/pop/rock with tinges of psychedelic influence. While Tommy Roe wrote or co-wrote all the tunes, the production of the album is heavily influenced by Curt Boettcher who produced the classic Association hits "Along Comes Mary" and "Cherish". Boettcher is credited with Vocal Arrangements although the liner notes indicate he was involved with a large part of the production of the album.



While this album is all Tommy Roe, you can hear similarities to other artists of that era. "Leave Her" is a good pop/rock opener with a Lou Christie-type feel. There's a tinge of early Neil Diamond in "Aggravation" and "Misty Eyes", two other pop/rockers.



"Long Live Love" and "Nightime" have a message similar to the non-comedy songs of Ray Stevens ("Mr. Businessman"/"Unwind") with the theme of slowing down and appreciating life.



"Golden Girl" is a pop love ballad with a Tin Pan Alley tint that could easily have been done by Davy Jones.



"Sing Along With Me" is a sunshiny-sweet 60's pop song (remember the Coke commercials teaching the "world to sing") which (for me at least) can get a little old.



"Moontalk" is a unique pre-moonlanding gem (written just as the Gemini program was winding down and the Apollo program was starting up) about the romantic ramifications of landing a man on the moon. I don't know of any other song that ever tackled this topic.



"Have Pity on Me" is a bluesy torch song which I don't remember liking that much back then, but now I see it as something that could be done by the Blues Brothers.



"Cry on Crying Eyes" is not a typical Tommy Roe song having a darker feel of a love gone wrong and reminds me of the later hits of the Turtles.



"Sweet Sounds" is a nice song is probably the tune closest to a typical Tommy Roe hit ("Sheila", "Hazel", et al.). It was released as a B-side single ("Moontalk" as the A-side). Perhaps the record would have charted better with Tommy Roe's core fans if the sides had been reversed.



The title cut - "It's Now Winters Day" - is my favorite cut. It evokes wintertime imagery and could have become a seasonal Christmas song. I find similarities in this track to the songs on the recent Kenny Loggins "December" album. Quite a nice track.



The bonus track, "Kick Me Charlie" is the B-side of the "It's Now Winter's Day" single and is a good rocking cut from that era.



According to the liner notes (which are quite informative), this album was not embraced by Tommy Roe's fans. It was a departure, less pop/bubblegum and frankly, was a more mature album. I think anyone interested in Tommy Roe, the styles of the Association, Lou Christie, early Neil Diamond or the mod/pop/pre-psychedelic period on the eve of the Summer of Love might want to give it a listen.

"

You;ll never look at winter the same way again.

Robert Felberg | Southbury, CT United States | 12/31/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mostly the only thing I want to say is that if you are a pop/soft psych fan, you need to put your money down right now. Yes, it is that good. Featuring some of the most atmospheric music Tommy Roe would ever come close to putting out, the title track is worth the price of admission. As stated above, it is a perfect winterscape song. So when you get the CD, hold off until you are feeling kind of trapped by the winter weather. Better, too, if it is a very snowy day. Get a cup of hot chocolate and let this play. You will be transported and will never look at winter the same way again."