The Archies
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1968-) - Ron Dante -- vocals - Toni Wine -- vocals
line up 2 (1968-) - Ron Dante -- vocals - Donna Marie -- vocals (replaced Toni Wine)
line up 3 (1968-) - Ron Dante -- vocals - Merle Miller -- vocals (replaced Donna Marie)
line up 4 (1971) - Ritchie Adams -- vocals (replaced Ron Dante) - Donna Marie -- vocals
supporting musicians: - Jeff Barry -- backing vocals - Vinnie Bell -- guitar - Bobby Bloom -- backing vocals - Gary Chester -- drums - Phil Cody -- backing vocals - Ron Frangipane -- keyboards - Neil Brian Goldberg -- rhythm guitar - Ellie Greenwich -- backing vocals - Andy Kim -- backing vocals - Joey Levine -- backing vocals - Joey Macho -- bass - Hugh McCracken -- lead guitar - Leslie Miller -- backing vocals - Susan Morse -- backing vocals - Chuck Rainey -- bass - Buddy Saltzman -- drums - Maeretha Stewart -- backing vocals - Jeannie Thomas -- backing vocals
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- Bo Cooper (Ron Dante) - The Cuff Links (Ron Dante) - Ron Dante (solo efforts) - The Detergents (Ron Dante) - Toni Wine (solo efforts)
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Genre: pop Rating: 4 stars **** Title: Sunshine Company: Calendar Catalog: KES
155 Country/State: US Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 1574 Price: $10.00
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Co-produced by Norm Prescott, Lou Scheimer, and Hal Sutherland, 1969's "Jungle-Jangle" found the entire Archie "team" hitting their creative stride. Writers/performers Jeff Barry, Ron Dante, Andy Kim, and company continued to turn in what was some of the best bubblegum pop ever released. Yes, it was clearly a commodity, as opposed to music as high minded art, but there were so many wonderful tunes on the album, you quickly found yourself forgetting this was a business proposition with a for-profit motivation. By my count a stunning nine out of twelve tunes were keepers - the only missteps being the Western swing-flavored 'Whoopee Tie Ai A' and the throwaway closer 'Archie's Party'. So with nine winners, where did you start to pick favorites ? The hit tile track would be the obvious place to start, but there were actually a couple of tracks that were even better. My top three tunes would be 'Get On The Line', 'Everything's Alright', and 'You Know I Love You'. Ironically, while the album was easily as good as anything before it, you could already see the wheels starting to come off the bus. Released as a single the title track went top-10 in the States, but in spite of the fact there were plenty of potential follow-ups, Calendar didn't release a follow-up single. You also had to wonder about the anonymous cover art. Other than the Archies title, there was nothing to grab your attention to the fact this was an Archies product. That might help explain why the collection proved a mediocre seller, peaking at # 125 on the US album charts. Others might disagree ,but I'd argue this was The Archies' final great bubblegum album.
"Jingle Jangle" track listing: (side 1) 1.) Jingle Jangle (Jeff Barry - Andy Kim) - Ah, the wonderful Toni Wine ... she may have only done the intro and some of the harmonies, but it was one of her best performances under the Archies nameplate. Jeff Barry on the bass parts and Ron Dante handling everything else. Was it the best Barry-Kim Archies tune? Probably not, but I have to admit I liked it way more than 'Sugar Sugar. The video is somewhat faded, but YouTube has the original video that appeared on The Archie Comedy Hour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUsHC7OYOtA YouTube also has a promotional clip with Dante lip-synching the tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fCbQcFZpRg The tune was tapped as the leadoff single:
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1969's 'Jingle Jangle;' b/w 'Justine' (Calendar catalog number
63-5002) rating:
**** stars I'm
just old enough to remember the cartoons and the music ... That
said, even it you'd never seen, or heard The Archies, how could you not
surrender to this slice of near perfect bubblegum pop? One of
Dante's best tunes, with some great organ, and the ever wonderful Toni
Wine. Life when things were a tad slower and certainly more
innocent. rating:
**** stars Surprisingly
sophisticated lyrical content for the "band". Okay, it
wasn't about to win a Pulitzer Prize, but was certainly a little more
sophisticated that your typical Archies tune. At the same time
it remained highly commercial and radio-friendly. Another album
highlight. rating:
**** stars 'Justine'
seems to be a favorite for many folks and while it had a pretty melody and
got better as it rolled along, the song faded out before it generated real
momentum. rating:
*** stars The
album's first mis-step,
'Whoopee Tie Ai A' offered up a strange
sub--genre that might best be described as bubblegum
blues-meets-Western. Can't say it had a great deal going for
it. rating:
** stars Yeah, it was a throwaway rocker with equally disposable lyrics, but that didn't stop it from having considerable charm. rating: **** stars
(side 2) 1.) Get On The Line (Jeff Barry - Andy Kim) - Say
what you will, but Barry and Kim had a knack for crafting insidiously
catchy material. 'Get On the Line' mixed top-40 pop with a dose of
blue-eyed soul and a chirpy, contagious chorus too boot. One of the
album's most commercial tunes and surprising it wasn't tapped as a
single. Fans will recognize the song was used over the show's
closing credits.
rating: **** stars Always
loved the cool guitar licks and harmony vocal that powered this one.
The video and sound quality
are horrible looking like they were pulled off of an ancient VHS tape, but
you can see the accompanying Archie Comedy Hour television show video clip
at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUieEdlSpDw
rating: **** stars Okay,
Barry wasn't about to win a Pulitzer for the lyrics on this one, but the
breezy Latin melody was a keeper. Another tune that you had a hard
time shaking out of your head. The song also appeared as the 'B'
side to the 1970 single 'Who's Your Baby?'. rating:
**** stars Okay,
some folks think the song was about illicit substances. I chose to
hold on to my innocence and think of it as one of the best bubblegum tunes
Dante ever wrote. Simply glistening pop that encapsulates that particular
timeframe. Interestingly I came across the following comments about
the song from writer Dante: "Loved
singing this song. Wrote it with my friend Gene Allan. Lot's of background
singers on this one. Jamie Carr, Merly Miller and of course Toni Wine."
rating: **** stars Formulaic
tune with a little more rock edge than much of the catalog which made it
another keeper. rating:
**** stars As you probably gathered from the title, 'Archie's Party' was little more than a throwaway track apparently intended to ensure we all remembered the names of the main characters. Simply paled compared to the rest of the LP. rating: ** stars
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Genre: pop Rating: 4 stars **** Title: Sunshine Company: Calendar Catalog: KES
157 Country/State: US Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 224 Price: $20.00
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Say what you will about this fantasy group; but over their brief recording life The Archies recorded some of the best bubblegum pop known to mankind. Powered by Jeff Barry's songwriting and Ron Dante's great voice, 1970's "Sunshine" remained instantly recognizable as an Archies product, but by the time the fourth Archies studio was released, the sheen on bubblegum pop was beginning to tarnish with ever fickle public tastes shifting to other genres. That's not meant as a criticism of the album which may actually stand as one of their best releases. To my biased ears, part of the reason the LP is so interesting has to do with producer/songwriter Barry's attempt to refocus The Archies from kiddy product (goodbye cartoon cover), to a more conventional and contemporary pop band. Yes, there was still plenty of top-40 pop on the album (the top-40 title track, 'Over and Over', and 'Waldo P. Emerson Jones'), but there were also stabs at more contemporary sounds including social activism in the form of a pro-environmental message ('Mr. Factory'), an anti-war song ('A Summer Prayer for Peace'), and a plea for world harmony ('One Big Family'). The album certainly wasn't perfect, but in hindsight there's a charming since of sincerity pressed into these grooves. You may occasionally cringe, but it's still a blast to hear.
Sunshine"
track listing: 1.) Sunshine (Jeff Barry - Bobby Bloom)- 3:16 Powered by Ron Frangipane's keyboards, the title track was probably one of the best tracks the Jeff Barry-Bobby Bloom team ever wrote with an instantly catchy melody and one of those hooks that drilled it's way into your head and wouldn't leave. Besides, how could you not like a song that included the description 'super fine'? The percussion rich fade out was also kind of cool. rating: **** stars 2.) Who's Gonna Love You (Gene Allen - Jeff Barry - Ron Dante) - 1:49 'Who's Gonna Love You' was a perfect example of how good bubblegum could be - admittedly the lyrics were pedestrian, but the tune was fantastic and Ron Dante turned in one of his best vocals. rating: **** stars 3.) Mr. Factory (Nancy Cal Cagno - Neil Goldberg) - 2:33 Ah, The Archies discover ecology ... It was bound to happen and the results could have been far worse than this simplistic, country-tinged plea on behalf of Mother Nature. 'Mr. Nature' was also interesting in that it was co-written by Barry's wife Nancy Cal Cagno and Neil Goldberg (who played rhythm guitar on much of The Archies catalog and wrote dozens of their album tracks). Anyone accustomed to the normal Archie video was probably emotionally scarred by the sequence that accompanied this track. Thanks to YouTube you can check it out as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udqxt6gKogI rating: ** stars 4.) Love and Rock 'n Roll Music (Gene Allen - Jeff Barry - Ron Dante) - 2:18 Yeah, as much as the title makes me cringe, this was another mindless slice of fun. Again kicked along by Ron Frangipane's organ fills, 'Love and Rock 'n Roll Music' was a near-perfect slice of beach music. rating: **** stars 5.) Over and Over (Jeff Barry - Ron Dante) - 2:21 Cut from the same clothe as 'Sugar, Sugar', 'Over and Over' was clearly built for massive radio exposure (through it wasn't released as a single). I always liked the song's Latin percussion and the cool guitar effects. Barry and company were lucky they didn't get hit with a copyright lawsuit by The Music Explosion whose 'Little Bit 'O Soul' was clearly an inspiration. rating: **** stars 6.) Waldo P. Emerson Jones (Jeff Barry - Andy Kim) - 2:40 With references to Rock Hudson, Woodstock, The Beatles, and Jimmy Page, 'Waldo P. Emerson Jones' was an even better slice of summer pop. For goodness sake, the guy had a chopper so why wouldn't Sheila think he was fine?. rating: *** stars
(side
2) Ah, The Archies discover the anti-war movement ... Unfortunately they do it at the expense of melody, or subtlety. Musically 'A Summer Prayer For Peace' was a bland, acoustic ballad that mixed forgettable lyrics with a list of national population statistics, including East Germany, Israel, South Vietnam, and North Vietnam ... Barry mentioned the country names, Dante the population statistics). Geez there were only three billion people on the planets in 1970 ... in 2012 the number's somewhere around 7.1 billion. I'll give it an extra star for the sweet sentiments. rating: *** stars 2.) Dance (Neil Goldberg - Jeff Barry) - 2:20 Kicked along by some glistening Hugh McCracken lead guitar, 'Dance' was one of the album's most propulsive numbers. Curiously, based on the lyric it shouldn't have been entitled 'Dance, Dance, Dance'. rating: *** stars 3.) Comes the Sun (Neil Goldberg - Jeff Barry) - 2:23 The other winner of the propulsive sweepstakes - 'Comes the Sun'. McCracken powered this one again with what almost sounded like some surf licks. Added the wonderful beach Boys-styled harmony vocals and this was another winner. rating: **** stars 4.) Suddenly Susan (Gene Allen - Jeff Barry - Ron Dante) - 2:16 One of the album's prettiest melodies, 'Suddenly Susan' also had one of the best hooks and would have made a dandy single. rating: *** stars 5.) One Big Family (Neil Goldberg - Jeff Barry) - 1:50 Another plea for world harmony and understanding (remember this was 1970), 'One Big Family' probably wasn't going to win a Pulitzer Prize for literature, but the song had an interesting double-time, '50s rock flavor to it, with McCracken again providing stellar guitar work. rating: *** stars 6.) It's Summertime (Jeff Barry - Andy Kim) - 2:48 Luckily, 'It's Summertime' found the group returning to their forte. Showcasing Frangipane's Caribbean-flavored organ riff and some Latin percussion jamming at the tail end, the song ended the album with a near perfect slice of summer pop. I hate that organ riff, cause you can't shake it. rating: **** stars
As mentioned, the album spun off two singles:
- 1970's 'Sunshine' b/w 'Over and Over' (Kirshner catalog number KS 1009) - 1971's 'A Summer Prayer for Peace' b/w 'Maybe I'm Wrong' (Kirshner catalog number KS 1009)
Admittedly part of the high rating has to do with the cloud of nostalgia and I can see where a twenty year old would find the album appalling. On the other hand, seen as music as a product, this was a pretty impressive product.
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