Tommy James And The Shondells - "I Think We're Alone Now" (1967)

I have some later albums with Tommy James, which are much more fun than today's theme. The title track opens the album, and it's a good song, a classic. But the rest of the record is not to my taste. Lightweight, well behaved, cheesy bubbelgum pop, which in my ears is very outdated. I like Tommy James later when he / they had ventured further into the psychedelia, Crimson & Clover is probably the most well known song from that era, but they weren't there yet. Here you'll find quite plain songs that don't challenge in any way, it's created for mass airing via the commercial US radio. The variation is not great, the sound is exactly the same and many of the songs sound like versions of each other. The songs are short, which is good.

The album was produced by Bo Gentry and Ritchie Cordell, and the latter has written the vast majority of the songs. Among the songs he hasn't written, is the cover California Sun, which is actually quite fun. Maybe the most interesting thing about the record is the cover. I didn't think much about it, but read online that it was considered too controversial, and was changed after the first release to a picture of the band instead. The controversy being the two pairs of footsteps first go next to each other, but at the end are standing opposite each other! Naughty, naughty. Apparently, this was too much for the public in the US at the time, although it was a rather subtle hint in my eyes.

Another interesting thing about the record is that it is released on Roulette, a company which, according to Tommy James and many others, was run by the Italian mafia. The company was notorious for not paying the artists' royalties, and Tommy James claims that the company owed him and the band 30-40 million dollars. In 1989, the company was sold to Rhino and EMI, who subsequently paid royalties to various artists, including Tommy James, although it wasn't the sums he had previously mentioned.

In other words, a record that is fun to have in the collection for reasons other than the music.


Tracklist

Side A
1. I Think We're Alone Now 2:08
2. Trust Each Other In Love 2:08
3. What I Would Give To See Your Face Again 3: 15
4. Baby Let Me Down 1: 43
5. Let's Be Lovers 2:18
6. Run, Run, Baby, Run 2:18

Side B
1. Mirage 2:30
2. I Like The Way 2:42
3. California Sun 2:59
4. (Baby, Baby) I Can not Take It No More 2:17
5. Gone, Gone, Gone 2:13
6. Shout 1:50