The Liberty Years

If the Rivingtons had done nothing else but record "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "The Bird's the Word" (the two songs the Trashmen ripped off wholesale for "Surfin' Bird," possibly the most delirious, manic rock & roll song ever created), their place in history would be secured. Amazingly, however, those may not even be the best songs on The Liberty Years, a 23-track compilation of just about everything the group recorded for Liberty Records in the early '60s. (The honor may go to the follow-up single, "Mama-Oom-Mow Mow," which is twice as unhinged as the original; "Kickapoo Joy Juice" is a stone classic as well.) Probably the wiggiest of all the vocal harmony groups of the era -- only the Cellos, with their immortal "I Am the Japanese Sandman (Rang Tang Ding Dong)," come close -- the Rivingtons' best material is performed with a helter-skelter looseness that belies the obvious skill and talent behind the deceptively complex harmonies and rhymes. Even familiar tunes like "Slippin' and Slidin'" and "Long Tall Sally" are transformed. Essential for all fans of late-era doo wop. ~ Stewart Mason