REVIEWS:
(reviewed by Joseph Spaulding)
We all know the great British R&B groups of the sixties, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, and in the early days The Who and Small Faces. Unfortunately we often overlook Them, who are most well known for the garage band classic Gloria and for being fronted by Van Morrison. However Morrison here sounds nothing like the Irish tenor we all know and love - instead he sounds like Eric Burdon with laryngitis. Further more the sound is nothing like the typical R&B that Van would later do, instead it is fast and furious and almost punkish in style. Yeah, who would have guessed that Van Morrison was a punk pioneer?
The album holds up pretty well seeing that it was 1965 and most rock albums were chopped full of filler goodness. Gloria is the most famous here and if you haven't heard it you should be ashamed because if there is a finer tribute to teenage sex I haven't heard it. Else wherewe find (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66, which has a great little piano and guitar solo and Im Gonna Dress In Black which is one of their finer ballads. Overall the album is quite solid and probably the best they would ever do, but I can't give it a perfect score for the simple fact that not too many of the songs are that great.
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