Love Songs

The idea of a Tremeloes collection called Love Songs may seem a trifle silly, not to say redundant, to anyone who knows the group's output -- before 1969 or so, it seems like 90-percent of their output were love songs, and most of their hits certainly fit into that category. So this 20-song collection is basically just a marketing concept, an excuse to repackage the group's material (including some of their most ubiquitous hits, including "Silence Is Golden" and "Here Comes My Baby" -- misprinted on the label -- yet again). So anyone who has the various Castle reissues of the group's catalog can safely skip this compilation, which apparently was put together with the German-language market in mind, as the notes are in German. On the other hand, the Tremeloes did make great pop/rock music, keeping the flag flying on rock balladry long after Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer, and most everyone except Herman's Hermits had moved past such sensibilities to more sophisticated styles and outputs -- so there's nothing intrinsically wrong with this collection, except that it replicates too much (much too much) material that's already available. And even allowing for that, it's a pleasure to hear another airing of "As You Are," composed as it is of the group's radiant harmony singing. The sound is good, though, and the programming is pretty generous for the price, and the cover -- an orange-tinted image of the quartet in their early psychedelic period -- is cool. ~ Bruce Eder|