The Rockin' Berries

Possibly the most stylistically varied album of the British Invasion, which is not synonymous with praise; the Rockin' Berries proved they could tackle a lot of things here, some well, some competently, and some terribly. If you didn't know better, you'd suspect that the roller coaster of genres here was a kind of art statement. It was, however, merely an attempt to reflect the onstage versatility of the band. This meant you got the hit "He's in Town" and harmony pop numbers in the same mold ("Let's Try Again" and "Funny How Love Can Be," both written by Carter/Lewis); a strange German version of the Phil Spector-Doc Pomus-penned "Ecstasy," retitled "Ich Liebe Dich"; operatic ballads in the showstopping theatrical tradition ("Follow Me," "Without Your Love"); pretty credible Merseybeat-styled rock ("Shades of Blue," written by a pre-Traffic Jim Capaldi and Dave Mason, and "You Don't Know What You Do"); tame R&B covers ("Crazy Country Hop," "Lonely Avenue"); and absolutely terrible, played-for-laughs renditions of Jimmy Reed's "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" and Leiber-Stoller-Otis Blackwell's "Brother Bill (The Last Clean Shirt)." So keep your CD player's fast-forward button handy, but on the whole it's a pretty entertaining platter as far as lightweight British Invasion pop goes. The entire album is included in Sequel's two-CD Rockin' Berries retrospective, They're in Town. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide