An instantly recognizable bargain-bin staple since the late '70s, thanks to their colorful comic book covers tracing the romantic life of an Everycouple named
Peg
and
Eddie
, the
Cruisin'
series of discs is built on a brilliant concept: Each disc is devoted to a single year, with hit songs, local commercials, station jingles, and news headlines, all presided over by a noted DJ from the era, for a near-perfect recreation of that year's AM radio experience.
Dr. Don Rose
of
WQXI
, Atlanta, hosts
Cruisin' 1967
, and it's one of the better entries in the series, with no weak songs on its play list, which includes such gems as
Brenton Wood
's
"Gimme Little Sign,"
Keith
"98.6,"
the Cowsills
' underrated slab of lite
psych
,
"The Rain, the Park and Other Things."
The Blues Magoos
' thrashing
"We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet"
the Royal Guardsmen
"Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron"
are the two tracks least likely to show up on compilations such as this, but the familiarity of this entry as opposed to some of the others doesn't detract from its overall quality. The station promos and jingles are equally interesting. ~ Stewart Mason