Gary Puckett & the Union Gap were just about the most stolidly conservative rock band of the late '60s. Their blend of string-heavy ballads and
Gary Puckett's limpid, über-masculine vocal style made
Jay & the Americans sound like radicals. When even bands like
the Four Seasons were going groovy and recording topical concept albums,
the Union Gap were happy to keep chugging down the middle of the road.
Elvis was a big fan apparently, and it is easy to see why as they share the same affinity for jump-suit-bursting theatrics and crocodile tear-stained hokum.
Elvis had the gravity to pull it off, however;
Puckett not so much. This collection has less tracks than
Looking Glass: A Collection but is more effective a summary of the band's career. It contains their three biggest hits, the creepily pedophilic "Young Girl" (the liner notes mention
Puckett has people coming up to him all the time saying they fell in love to the song), "Lady Willpower," and "Woman, Woman." It also has a handful of less successful singles and album tracks like the overblown "Looking Glass," the very silly "Let's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance," and yet another song about young girls, "This Girl Is a Woman Now." The last four songs come from
Puckett's solo career and are even more solidly in the middle of the road. His version of
Dusty Springfield's classic "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself" is pure supper club and his take on
Simon & Garfunkel's "Keep the Customer Satisfied" is like
Tom Jones minus the camp appeal. This is the best collection of the band's work on the market; however, unless you have found yourself under
the Union Gap's dubious charms already, you should steer clear. Especially if you are a young girl.