Good Day Sunshine: Singles As & Bs - The Tremoloes > Reviews > The definitive history of Britain's most durable band

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Not applicable
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	Nearly 20 years of priceless pop history
Disadvantages:	One or two disposable corny moments

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Formed in 1959 as a backing outfit for singer Brian Poole, the Trems are still working the nostalgia circuit, albeit with several line-up changes and without founder member Alan Blakley who succumbed to cancer in 1996. If you want their (almost) complete history post-Poole in one package, look no further. This 51-track, low-price double album is indispensable for anyone who ever had a soft spot for 60s and 70s pop. While the title track, their version of a Paul McCartney song from the Beatles' "Revolver", never troubled the charts, they hit the ground running next time out with a good-time retread of Cat Stevens' "Here Comes My Baby", and then made No. 1 with the falsetto harmonies of "Silence Is Golden", which they took from a Four Seasons' B-side. You'll find all the hits, the should-have-been hits and the B-sides here; the irresistibly infectious "Even The Bad Times Are Good", "Suddenly You Love Me", "My Little Lady" and "Hello World" all saw them as regulars on 'Top Of The Pops'. Granted, after the success of the more experimental "Call Me Number One" they shot themselves in the foot with their declaration that they were 'going heavy', but don't let that blind you to the quality of later numbers like the countrified "Hello Buddy" with its superb bluegrass banjo work, the gritty Elvis spoof "Blue Sude Tie", or the odd marriage of Beach Boys-like harmonies and fuzztone guitar riffing that was "Ride On". Better still, you'll find several tracks that were previously released only overseas, and much of this stuff has never been on CD before. And the insert notes provide a full, suitably objective history of the band over the years. Finally, for anybody who still thinks the Trems were nothing but nine-day wonders and mere teenybopper idols, don't forget that guitarist Rick Westwood was well respected by the likes of Jimmy Page and Brian Jones.