This is the
Bobby Vee album that most non-fans should probably hear first, in the 21st century. It captures
Vee as an exciting, dynamic singer and artist, working within a contemporary pop/rock sound circa 1967, without a trace of the soft pop tendencies of his early-'60s material in evidence. It's not all great music, but it was a demonstration of how well
Vee could adapt to the changes around him. Suddenly, instead of sounding like a
Buddy Holly wannabe gone to seed, he doing music that could just as easily have come from, say,
the Classics IV or
the Monkees, or any other contemporary rock act out of 1966-1967. The transition is nearly as jarring as that of
Johnny Rivers from rock & roller to folk-rocker to contemporary songwriter, and fascinating as well as great listening. ~ Bruce Eder