This particular collection likely would never have been released, especially only a year after its predecessor, had it not been for
Jan Berry's car accident. As it is, it's not a bad collection, though it's not nearly in the league with Golden Hits, Vol. 2. The duo by this time had evolved into a multi-faceted act, doing conceptual pieces involving comedy and music ("Batman" was probably the best of these) that would skirt territory similar to that staked out by the Firesign Theater, as well as their credible versions of folk hits such as "Walk Right In" and folk-rock standards like "Eve of Destruction" --
Jan & Dean treated this material more respectfully than
the Beach Boys handled this sort of repertory. The presence of several live tracks ("Louie Louie," "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," "1-2-3," "Everybody Loves a Clown") also makes this a worthwhile investment for the fan seeking some more angles to the duo's talents; they were a solid concert act, as anyone who's seen The T.A.M.I. Show will attest, and they do a far better job with "Everybody Loves a Clown" than
Gary Lewis & the Playboys did. ~ Bruce Eder