A few thoughts on these last few.
BUBBLEGUM MUSIC....it was an embarrassment back then...and still is! (sorry Rich, you have good taste in many areas, but this ain't one of 'em). Fortunately it was a genre with a short life.
Hey I never said I thought it was high art. Some catchy fun stuff, and as S & C said, played well (better than the material deserved, sometimes!) And I don't like ALL of it! In fact as I said earlier it's only the about 1968 to 1970 period I'm talking about, and for now, just the Buddah/Kama Sutra label stuff.
And, as I said earlier, having heard some of the songs when they were new, especially in early 1968 when I was just discovering the fun of pop songs on AM radio, and being young & impressionable some of them will always have a sentimental connection.
Actually now that I take a moment to think about the groups and the records, there are really only a small number of them that I'd say I really do like. Some would be: "Simon Says" (yes, I admit it. Sometimes if I hear that one without distractions I can be taken back to early 1968 and good almost forgotten memories like nothing else can do...except certain other songs from that period).
The only other 1910 Fruitgum Co. single I'd list here is "Special Delivery" from 1969. The rest really are pretty lame. But some surprises can be found on the B-sides. Perhaps I'll post some examples later.
I'd say I like anything by The Lemon Pipers. I have all six of their 45's and both of their albums. In fact it was only their 45 A-sides that may be called bubblegum mucic. If one thinks that's all they could do, flip over their hit "Green Tambourine" and check out the B-side for a revelation. Or about half the songs on both of their albums. Very adventurous rockin' stuff!
As for the other major Buddah bubblegum group, The Ohio Express, I'm really not crazy about any of the songs that became their biggest hits. A favorite is actually a B-side: "She's Not Comin' Home" (B-side of "Down at Lulu's" from 1968). Two others are "Sausalito" from 1969, about which the most interesting thing is that by this point their records seem to have been made only by session players and in this case it was most of the guys who would soon become 10cc. The song was even written by future 10cc member Graham Gouldman.
And another of their later efforts, "Cowboy Convention" is fun for old movie fans, an amusing novelty that mentions many classic Western movie stars.
