Spanky & Our Gang
is one of the great overlooked bands of the '60s. As in the case of other groups like
the Monkees
or
Paul Revere & the Raiders
, their chart success seemingly blinded people as to just how good they were. Like a more
baroque
Mamas & Papas
, their strength was their amazingly constructed harmonies. They also boasted impressive songwriting from sources as diverse as
Bob Dorough
,
Margo Guryan
and
Terry Cashman
, wonderfully brassy lead vocals by
Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane
and charming blend of hippie sensibilities and old time show biz attitudes. This collection boils their short career (three albums in three years between 1966 and 1969) down to ten tracks and includes all their best songs, like
"Sunday Will Never Be the Same,"
"Lazy Day,"
"Sunday Mornin',"
"Like to Get to Know You,"
"And She's Mine"
"Give a Damn."
It delivers quite a knockout punch, but the short format of the series doesn't allow for much exploration of the different aspects of the group. For a more expanded view of
's talents, you might pick up their 1999 collection
Greatest Hits
as it has five more tracks, including their wild cover of
"Brother Can You Spare a Dime"
and a moving rendition of
"Stardust."
It also has all the tracks this disc does and is roughly the same price, leading one to wonder why the label felt the need to release this collection at all. ~ Tim Sendra