Tommy James Albums (11)
What The Critics Say
Outside of repackages and live albums, original music from Tommy James is far too limited for an artist of his stature. 1980s Three Times in Love contained the sublime title track which hit the Top 40, while 1990s Hi-Fi on Aegis Records and 1995's A Night in Big City remain treats for hardcore fans. Hold the Fire deserves a better fate, and the team-up of James with James "Wiz" Wisner leads to some very creative moments. "Isn't That the Guy" has a great hook, a terrific hook, and some modern sensibilities, but may be a bit too avant-garde for adult contemporary radio. "It Keeps on Goin' " reveals the Tommy James his true fans appreciate, investigating pop boundaries and keeping the music different from track to track. One of the best titles here is the "bonus track," "I Love Christmas" which deserves a place next to Darlene Love's "All Alone on Christmas" and other latter day seasonal delights. "Ordinary Girl" is a strange hybrid of Elton John's "Hey Jeannie" meeting David Gates' "Goodbye Girl," and on that level it works. "Angels & Strangers" begs the question of who wrote Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" riff first? Those "Crimson & Clover" chords are recycled here prior to a soaring chorus. Why James decided to re-record "Megamation Man" from the A Night in Big City rock opera is anyone's guess -- the CD-single from the '90s already gave us two edits. What is understandable is "Sweet Cherry Wine," the remake of his Top Ten anti-war anthem from 1969, issued as a single a few months prior to Hold the Fire's release. Almost 40 years later the song is just as significant, but the slowed down rendition is not going to get the point across as effectively as the original. It's a missed opportunity, and is indicative of the album; this is a very good record from a great artist who delivered great albums whether they sold or not. The title track works, as does much of the music here, and it is great to have the pop maestro back. Where Lou Reed, truly James' underground dopplegänger, kept releasing product over the decades, the world has not yet had enough of Tommy James' creativity. If Hold the Fire marks his rebirth, it's a good first step. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
'A Night In... Big City: An Audio-Movie'
Release Date 1/1/1995
Tracks 21
Label AUR
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What The Critics Say
This is an ambitious project by songsmith Tommy James featuring 11 songs and ten tracks of dialogue linking them together. Concept albums are tough -- a great example of a successful marriage of music and dialogue on CD being The Wizard Of Oz soundtrack. When Lou Reed released Berlin in 1973, the RCA label touted it as a "film for the ear." It was a soap opera set to music, a downer version of the "rock opera" format the Who launched with Tommy. In order to grab the listener, a storyline must be as compelling as the music. The narrative on A Night in Big City is confusing, but the music is among Tommy James' best solo work. This audio-movie has the smart pop Tommy James is known for, suspended by an unnecessary story thread. A natural evolution from his Christian of the World phase (which included the hit "Draggin' the Line"), the song "Baby Tonight" is vintage Tommy James with modern sounds. But it's necessary to get up and hit "next" on the CD player to skip the interruption and get to the next song, "Give It All," another hook-laden tune with James' great vocals and guitar work. It's nice to see he's still working with arranger and co-producer Jimmy "Wiz" Wisner (keyboards, synths, strings), who worked on the Christian of the World album. "Give It All" segues nicely into a revision of "I Think We're Alone Now," a very sparse, very cool "new wave" version. "Who Do You Love is ethereal Tommy James music, very nice indeed. James then picks up a chick for a ride in his limo, tuning his radio in to hear the single from this CD, "Megamation Man." This is a Ray Davies kind of "20th Century Man" that comes during the century after, a solid tune. "Madd Blue" is unique solo TJ. Unlike his Roulette discs without the Shondells, this is downright psychotic, sounding like Boris Karloff meets Richard O'Brien from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In the comic book accompanying this disc -- which features a "3D" cover a la Chuck Negron's The Long Road Back -- Willoughby, the crazed maître d', attempts to explain the night's show. "Blue Bird" begins in a Tiny Tim-ish '40s style (which Mama Cass Elliot embraced so well -- this song would've been perfect for her). "Angels and Strangers," written by James and Glen Wyka, has a great hook that is classic Tommy James, a bit of "Crimson and Clover's riff speeded up a tad. James is in excellent voice on this disc. "Tighter, Tighter" -- the hit he wrote for Alive 'n Kickin' (which became Brooklyn Dreams and appeared on Donna Summer's "Heaven Knows") -- is different than the version James re-recorded for his Fantasy Records debut in 1976. Co-produced by his old friends Ritchie Cordell and Kenny Laguna of "Mony Mony" fame, the Fantasy version is dreamier. This is more up-tempo and rocking. The band gets into a limo and ends up in a nightclub that burned down in 1937 -- some kind of script right out of Quantum Leap (not as much fun as the music, although it sounds good in theory). The final track, "In Slow Motion," is reminiscent of "Crystal Blue Persuasion." Despite the flaws in this endeavor, it is music that radio desperately needs. Maybe a new script for what comes between these songs upon re-release is in order, for without the interruptions, A Night in Big City is a classy effort. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Three Times In Love came nine years since Tommy James hit the top 20 solo, and this solid musical outing on producer Jimmy Ienner's label in 1980 was a breath of fresh air on pop radio. After two good albums on Fantasy Records in 1976 and 1977, reuniting Tommy with Jeff Barry, Ritchie Cordell and former Shondells drummer Peter Lucia, it took Millennium, the label that would reactivate Don McLean's career a year later, to bring Tommy James back to his fans with this magical hit record. Three Times In Love was a forerunner to what would become a staple of AAA radio. Along with hitting the Top 20, the title track went to #1 on Adult Contemporary. Tommy James was more than a teen star, his psychedelic intuition gave The Best Of Tommy James & The Shondells a hip edge reserved for revered songwriters like Jackie DeShannon. The musicianship on Everything I Am, which feels like a sequel to the title track, is simply exquisite with a great vocal by this underrated artist. A career with 17 records on the charts is truly substantial, and Tommy James has never been fully credited for the influence he had on the times. Where an Aimee Mann emerged from the hip underground to find making her own records essential to her art, Tommy James came from the other end of the spectrum, crafting his musical vision on his own while on major labels. It's Magic is resplendent in Beatles guitars and dense eighties pop production. With friends like Michael Brecker and Luther Vandross adding their skills, Three Times In Love had an elegance rare on radio at that time. It's a shame You Got Me, It's Magic and Everything I Am did not get airplay to follow the hit. I Just Wanna Play The Music has lots in common with Do Something To Me, an adventurous little record which was a minor hit for The Shondells in 1968. It's Al Right (For Now ends the record with a bit of that Chin/Chapman British pop that Tommy James experimented with on his ^In Touch album from 1976. AAA Radio in the new millennium would be wise to add these retro album tracks to a format which needs artists like Tommy James to shake things up and keep listeners happy. Millennium released a Spanish 45 RPM version of Three Times In Love shortly after the song hit on the American charts. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
'Christian of the World'
Release Date 1/1/1972
Tracks 13
Label Roulette
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What The Critics Say
Bruce Staple had the honor of engineering both Tommy James and ex-members of the Shondells for their respective Roulette solo projects (except for James' brilliant My Head, My Bed and My Red Guitar, which featured the work of Nashville's Scotty Moore). All of the solo albums by Tommy James show a sparkle and understanding of the magic that makes for great pop recordings; it is absolutely a shame he did not rival Elton John for supremacy of the charts in the '70s. "Bits and Pieces" has a riff taken straight out of Phil Spector's Crystals songbook ("Then He Kissed Me," if you must know), while "I Believe in People" is everything Motown was searching for in the '70s when they signed the Four Seasons and Lesley Gore. There is a smoothness and continuity to all of Tommy James' work, both with the Shondells and on his own. Ritchie Cordell, who almost single-handedly wrote the entire I Think We're Alone Now album, co-writes "Church St. Soul Revival" with Tommy James; it is the only one of the 13 titles not co-written with Bob King and it is absolutely brilliant. So is "Another Hill to Climb," but on another level. On the Cordell co-write, the Stephentown Singers are pure gospel, the definite sequel to "I'm Comin' Home," while the choir gives this Bob King co-write that powerful pop Melanie Safka utilized on her smash "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)." The lyrics are overpowering; much of the sentiment is the antithesis of the psychedelic "Draggin' the Line." "Adrienne" almost seems like an ode to Tommy Roe, his "Sweet Pea" all grown up. The genius of Tommy James is that along with his perfect radio voice and ability to construct and deliver hits, he knows how to nick riffs right and left and reformulate them to suit his compact pop essays. Christian of the World is another top-notch Tommy James album; despite the two final Top 40 hits he received until he switched labels, it has not received the critical acclaim it deserves. It's extraordinary, from the opening track to "Silk Satin, Carriage Waiting." Again, Tommy James should have been battling Elton John throughout the '70s the way the Beatles and the Rolling Stones went back and forth on the charts. The world is a lesser place because these recordings did not get the additional airplay they so richly deserved. Christian of the World is a very strong argument for a four-CD Tommy James boxed set. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Travelin' is a solid and respectable recording from the innovative and totally underrated group who became synonymous with bubblegum music. They didn't go out in a blaze of glory as the Beatles did with Let It Be, but this final album from the Shondells on Roulette before Tommy James went solo (enabling Peter Vale and Mike Vale to come up with their own production, a band called Hog Heaven) is a good study in creativity. The nondescript cover of James driving the horse and carriage away from outlaws hardly represents the music inside, but it is prophetic (the texture is like Elton John's Madman Across the Water, meaning Roulette spent some money on the heavy cardboard gatefold). Perhaps the man sitting next to James is co-producer Bob King, while the band is smiling and peering out of the small stagecoach. Maybe it's the music business executives chasing them, as James and King move on to solo careers. Inside is another story. "Candy Maker" and the title track, "Travelin'," are serious psychedelic episodes, with "Red Rover" excellent bouncy pop song and "She" a classic Tommy James ballad with guitar stops, hooks, great backing vocals, and a wonderful falsetto vocal. Written by James, Mike Vale, and Bob King, this song could have had another life as a hit for someone else, as Alive 'n' Kickin' and the Clique rode the charts on the coattails of Tommy James' impressive musical impressions. Sure, some of this album plays out like the forthcoming solo Tommy James, be it "Talkin' & Signifyin'" or "Moses & Me," and as good as these tracks are, it is clear that Tommy James wanted to stretch out. The dramatic work with Nashville legends on My Head, My Bed, and My Red Guitar probably would not have happened if there were still the Shondells in James' life (he references the title of that forthcoming gem on side two, track two, "Gotta Get Back to You") and though the title track would have been a more cohesive follow-up to Cellophane Symphony if it led off this album, the work still stands as undervalued music that collectors and '60s fans in general should seek out and cherish. Travelin' is only the end of one chapter in a very important body of work by an artist who will attain the true appreciation he deserves somewhere down the road. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Cellophane Symphony, credited to Tommy James & the Shondells, came only seven catalog numbers after the Crimson & Clover album, but oddly got a Top Ten hit in between the four hits that the earlier disc spawned. "Sweet Cherry Wine" is as good a pop song as one will ever hear, hitting the Top Ten in April of 1969, five months after "Do Something to Me" and five months before "Sugar on Sunday," both from Crimson & Clover (though it was the Clique who clicked with their version of "Sugar on Sunday"). This beautiful song, "Sweet Cherry Wine," is the epitome of peace, love, and '60s understanding, with a sound that is very much like TJ's own version of "Sugar on Sunday." The radio attention to a single on the highly experimental Cellophane Symphony is equally extraordinary because the album is very much like Tommy James doing his own Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. There are oddities, like side one's closer, "Papa Rolled His Own," which could be "When I'm Sixty Four" meets "You Know My Name, Look up the Number"; two Beatles offbeat ditties; and the almost as wacky "On Behalf of the Entire Staff & Management," which ends side two. In between is some lovely pop music, which one finds after they trip their way through the amazing nine and a half minutes of the title track. The instrumental song "Cellophane Symphony" is early Pink Floyd meets "20,000 Light Years From Home" when the Stones gave Satanic Majesties Request. It is the only title credited to the entire band, followed by two of five Ritchie Cordell/Tommy James co-writes: the poppy and excellent "Makin' Good Time" and the beautiful "Evergreen." Covered in keyboards and acoustic guitar, "Evergreen" is Tommy James being the folky and the pop star, a unique look at this underrated and important artist. It's a perfect setup to "Sweet Cherry Wine," which is the standout track, the subtle intro exploding into a chorus of the best type of anti-war sentiment: "Let's just get along." Pete Lucia writes two songs with James, one being the amazing "Changes," which opens side two, while Mike Vale helps James on "Loved One," making this a very special collection of ten songs wrapped up in a stunning black-and-white psychedelic cover of a hatch shell, empty benches, and cool '60s photography. Though Tommy James is all over the book Bubblegum Music Is the Naked Truth, he is beyond just an artist who hit with that genre. He's an artist whose value is evident on his country album, My Hed, My Bed, and My Red Guitar, as well as other catalog treats, like this disc with its strong compositions "Loved One," "The Love of a Woman," and the Richard Grasso/Tommy James hit that is a true pop classic, "Sweet Cherry Wine." ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
'I Think We're Alone Now'
Release Date 1/1/1966
Tracks 12
Label Roulette
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
"I Think We're Alone Now" was the first Top Five hit for Tommy James since his 1966 chart-topper "Hanky Panky," and a redemption of sorts for/from the album that came in between, the sugary It's Only Love. Ritchie Cordell is in total control here, writing the first eight songs on the disc, including all three that charted: "I Think We're Alone Now," the exquisite "Mirage," and "I Like the Way." The album cover is brilliant, total black with two pairs of feet taking two steps forward, then one pair turning around and facing the other; neither person is wearing shoes. The tension of the opening guitar and bass riff coupled with the great melody and theme make for an all-time rock & roll classic. It's more "hanky panky" in theme, "Hanky Panky" all grown up. "Mirage" opens side two and it is a brilliant sequel to "I Think We're Alone Now," with similar structure but enough production tricks to make the songs sound different. The harpsichord from side one's "Trust Each Other in Love" is used again in "Mirage" to great effect, while the underlying riff in "Trust Each Other in Love" also borrows from the title track. Co-produced by Bo Gentry and Cordell, with the ever-present Jimmy Wisner arranging and conducting, the album features the band and production team working as a cohesive unit to solidify Tommy James' foundation on pop radio. There's a credible cover of the Rivieras' 1964 hit "California Sun," as well a short and nicely chaotic rendition of the Isley Brothers' perennial "Shout." James' voice and personality carry the record and Cordell continues rewriting the title track with "Run, Run, Baby, Run," inverting the inspired riff. He and the singer then compose "(Baby, Baby) I Can't Take It No More," which has the feel of the Rascals' "I Ain't Gonna Eat out My Heart Anymore," while "Gone, Gone, Gone" sounds like Ritchie Cordell was listening to Pennsylvania's Eddie Rambeau or U.K. group Unit 4 + 2's "Concrete and Clay." There are plenty of flavors from the day slipped into this wonderful mix, a true pop concoction that has stood the test of time. In concert both "Mirage" and "I Think We're Alone Now" are major moments; James' hit material over the years contained a rich variety of composition. This album is Ritchie Cordell's vision for Tommy James and is an important and highly entertaining piece of the Shondells' catalog. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Tommy James & the Shondells' second album, It's Only Love, put forth a bubblegum image that haunted the artist through most of the '60s and '70s. The title track sounds like David Cassidy's Partridge Family and is actually the first of many hits Ritchie Cordell would write for the group, though it isn't as classic as his "Mony Mony" or "I Think We're Alone Now" would become. "Juanita (Nothin's Gonna Stop Our Love)" is or could be the McCoys backing up Tony Orlando and Dawn -- this Henry Glover production feels a bit more contrived and is an abrupt change from the sound and the collegiate look of the debut disc, Hanky Panky. On that long-player, the Shondells resembled the Kingsmen on campus, and as a public relations move that earlier style worked much better. Still, this is a great learning period for an important and innovative artist and should be viewed as such, despite its musical limitations. "Big Time Operator" is typical low-budget '60s teenybop, while the cover of Lee Dorsey's "Ya Ya" is authentic enough to indicate a sense of direction taking shape. Side two fares much better; "We'll Have a World" and "Don't Let My Love Pass You By" may have influenced popular songs of the day, the latter displaying a touch of the American Breed's 1968 hit "Bend Me Shape Me" and a whole lot of 1967's "Come on Down to My Boat Baby" by Every Mother's Son, to the point where it is too close to call. The cover of B.J. Thomas' 1966 ballad "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," which was itself a cover of a 1949 Hank Willams composition, is quaint, but definitely not the Tommy James who would sing with authority and soon dominate the charts. He's still getting his feet wet with It's Only Love and it gives his fans the opportunity to watch him grow as they look back and see the transition from "Hanky Panky" to "Crimson and Clover." This is what came in between, and though not as substantial as the highly consistent other albums by the Shondells, it has its place. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
