Various Artists – Pour A Little Sugar On It: The Chewy Chewy Sounds Of American Bubblegum 1966-1971 [3CD Box Set]

The years 1966 through 1971 were heady times for music. In ’66 alone, the Beatles released Yesterday and Today and Revolver. By 1971 they were history. Spurred by the rivalry between the Beatles and Beach Boys, rock music embraced a more sophisticated approach to songwriting and arrangement. Psychedelia took root and flowered during this period, as did the first proto-metal bands. Within these five years, experimentation and a yearning to stretch beyond the three-minute pop song yielded albums as diverse as the Moody Blues’ Days Of Future Passed and King Crimson’s In The Court Of The Crimson King. Complexity and long song formats were finding their groove, paving the way for bands like Yes and Genesis to change the focus from singles to album-oriented rock.

But for the pop(ular) culture, not all was intellectual advancement. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, so for every Vanilla Fudge or Iron Butterfly there was a 1910 Fruitgum Company and an Archies. Aimed squarely at the youth market, bubblegum pop was ideally under three minutes, repetitive and centred around the sorts of things kids cared about (food, games, puppy love chief among them). A Brill Building full of future respectable hitmakers, such as Neil Diamond, Boyce and Hart, and Rupert Holmes, combined with Svengalis like Don Kirschner and the duo of Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz, churned out a string of sticky sweet pop confections for a number of successful years. Compiler David Wells’ definition of what constituted bubblegum music is rather elastic, incorporating the usual suspects (Ohio Express, Cowsills, Bobby Sherman) as well as some surprise entries (Velvet Underground, Rick Nelson, The Jaggerz). Some of it is pure guilty pleasure, other selections will simply leave you scratching your head. All of it will have you tapping your feet and involuntarily bopping your head.

Disc One’s opening gambit is a four-song sugar high: Simon Says (1910 Fruitgum Company), Yummy Yummy Yummy (Ohio Express), A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You (Monkees) and Bang-Shang-A-Lang (The Archies). I dare you not to sing along and feel good in spite of yourself. Throw in Cherry Cherry (Neil Diamond), Me And You And A Dog Named Boo (Lobo) and Tracy (The Cufflinks) for good measure, and you’ll be thinking VanderGraaf who? One thing you can say about David Wells is that the man does his homework. For every megahit he unearths, he locates some obscurity that earned its fate. Does anyone remember Looky Looky My Cookie’s Gone (Rasberry Pirates) or Billy’s Got A Goat (Patty Flabbie’s Coughed Engine)? If so, my sincerest condolences. The inclusion of Everybody Knows You’re Not In Love (The Electric Prunes) strains credulity, in my opinion, but each of us perceives music through our own subjective filters.

There are a number of tasty pop gems sprinkled throughout Disc Two. I Think We’re Alone Now (Tommy James & the Shondells) and Green Tambourine (The Lemon Pipers) are an effective opening one-two punch. The song that lends its title to this box set, Chewy Chewy (Ohio Express) sits comfortably alongside Indian Lake (Cowsills) and Jam Up Jelly Tight (Tommy Roe). Who Loves The Sun (Velvet Underground) is more Merseybeat than Bubblegum to these ears, while Fa La Fa Lee (Halfnelson) already has the ingredients for what would become the Mael brothers’ Sparks. Cry Like A Baby (The Box Tops) is simply a good song, no matter the genre assigned to it. Misfires, like How She Boogalooed It (Beach Boys) and Move In A Little Closer Baby (Mama Cass) leave you wondering what they were thinking. So powerful was the call of bubblegum, however, that when the Monkees failed to release Valleri as a single, The Pineapple Heard jumped in to fill the gap.

Disc Three is heavy on the head-scratchers, so songs like Brand New Key (Melanie), The Rapper (Jaggerz) and Judy In Disguise (With Glasses) (John Fred and His Playboy Band) sound like a musical genius by comparison. Former teen idol Rick Nelson’s Suzanne On A Sunday Morning has more in common with psychedelia than bubblegum, but subsequent teen idol Bobby Sherman fits the mold perfectly with Bubble Gum and Braces. Even Can You Tell Me How To Get To Sesame Street (The Free Design) gets an airing, but much of disc three is best forgotten. With one glaring exception. When the Monkees rebelled against their pre-fabricated stardom and Don Kirschner was sent packing along with producer Jeff Barry, their revenge was Sugar Sugar, cartoon band the Archies yielding the biggest-selling single of 1969. Smartly placed as the last song in the compilation, it easily eclipses pretty much everything else that came before.

Man does not live by prog alone, so the opportunity to relive some of the sillier moments of my youth was a fun journey into the past. A single disc of pop perfection is lurking somewhere in these three CDs, but you have to admire the dedication that Wells and Cherry Red give to each and every project they put together. The liner notes are full of future Trivial Pursuit questions (Q: Angel guitarist Punky Meadows was part of which 60s bubblegum band? A: The Cherry People) and the sound is uniformly good considering the age of these recordings. At four hours over three discs, this can be a bit much even for the most genre-loving fan, but Pour A Little Sugar On It is worth picking through for some good, clean fun. Go on. I dare you.

TRACK LISTING
Disc One
01. Simon Says – 1910 Fruitgum Company (2:16)
02. Yummy Yummy – Ohio Express (2:20)
03. A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You – The Monkees (2:48)
04. Bang-Shang-A-Lang – The Archies (2:33)
05. Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon – Paul Rever & the Raiders (2:48)
06. Gimme Gimme Good Lovin – Crazy Elephant (2:01)
07. Cherry Cherry – Neil Diamond (2:43)
08. Baby I Love You –Andy Kim (2:56)
09. Love Is A Word – Everyday Hudson (1:59)
10. Groupie – The Four Fuller Brothers (2:59)
11. I’m Gonna Make You Mine – Lou Christie (2:41)
12. If You’re Thinkin’ What I’m Thinkin’ – Dino Desi & Billy (3:02)
13. The Joker Went Wild – Bryan Hyland (2:42)
14. Boppa Do Down Down – The Third Rail (1:53)
15. Tracy – The Cuff Links (2:16)
16. Alice Long (You’re Still My Favorite Girlfriend) – Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart (2:50)
17. Everybody Knows You’re Not In Love – The Electric Prunes (3:04)
18. Fairy Tales Can Come True (Have You Heard About Lucy) – San Francisco Earthquake (2:21)
19. Let Me Bring You Up – Ron Dante (3:10)
20. Latin Shake – Lt. Garcia’s Magic Music Box (2:10)
21. Marathon Mary – The Globetrotters (3:07)
22. Loop De Loop – Salt Water Taffy (2:43)
23. Fly Me To Havana – The Grass Roots (3:45)
24. Me And You And A Dog Named Boo – Lobo (2:57)
25. I’d Like To Talk To You – Mark Eric (2:55)
26. Jennifer Tomkins – Street People (1:48)
27. Looky Looky My Cookie’s Gone – The Raspberry Pirates (2:13)
28. Billy’s Got A Goat – Patty Flabbie’s Coughed Engine (1:59)
29. Feelin’ So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y.-D.O.O.) – The Archies (3:09)

Time – 76:08

Disc Two
01. I Think We’re Alone Now – Tommy James and the Shondells (2:10)
02. Green Tambourine – The Lemon Pipers (2:26)
03. The Grooviest Girl In the World – The Fun & Games (2:49)
04. Who Loves The Sun – Velvet Underground (2:47)
05. Jingle Jangle – The Archies (2:43)
06. Double Good Feelin’ – Gary Lewis & The Playboys (2:17)
07. Pepperman – Arnim-Hamilton (2:26)
08. Fa La Fa Lee – Halfnelson (Sparks) (2:53)
09. What’s Your Name – Music Explosion (2:21)
10. Indian Lake – The Cowsills (2:42)
11. How She Boogalooed It – The Beach Boys (1:57)
12. She’s The Kind Of Girl – The Peppermint Trolley Company (2:18)
13. Chewy Chewy – The Ohio Express (2:39)
14. Cry Like A Baby – The Box Tops (2:33)
15. Bouncing All Over The World – The Harlem Globetrotters (3:01)
16. She Sold Me Magic – Lou Christie (2:08)
17. Gil On The Subway – The Cherry People (2:35)
18. Move In A Little Closer, Baby – Mama Cass (2:39)
19. Montego Bay (album version) – Bobby Bloom (2:57)
20. Candy Apple Cotton Candy – Ruthann Friedman (2:07)
21. The March Of The Jingle Jangle People – San Francisco Earthquake (2:29)
22. Valleri – The Pineapple Heard (2:27)
23. Would You Believe – Mortimer (2:39)
24. Sunshine Girl – The Parade (2:44)
25. Banana Man – The Knack (2:24)
26. Go Lightly – The Goggles (2:27)
27. How Do You Know – Ron Dante (3:15)
28. Gingersnap – Jamie (2:05)
29. Mr. Peacock – Orange Colored Sky (2:27)
30. Archie’s Party – The Archies (2:11)
31. Jam Up Jelly Tight – Tommy Roe (2:20)

Time – 77:56

Disc Three
01. Shake – Shadows Of Knight (2:29)
02. Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run) – Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus (2:23)
03. Jelly Jungle (Of Orange Marmalade) – The Lemon Pipers (2:24)
04. Goody Goody Gumdrops – 1910 Fruitgum Company (2:13)
05. Things (Goin’ Round In My Mind) – Merrill Frankhauser & H.M.S. Bounty (2:31)
06. Who’s Your Baby? – The Archies (2:51)
07. Judy In Disguise (With Glasses) – John Fred & His Playboy Band (2:56)
08. Everything Is Mickey Mouse – Cartoon Candy Carnival (2:18)
09. How Do You Like Those Apples – South Amboy Port Authority (2:51)
10. Keep On – Bruce Channel (1:54)
11. Sophia – San Francisco Earthquake (3:06)
12. Red Rover Red Rover – The Puddle (aka The Bunch) (3:32)
13. Little Miss Sunshine – The Peppermint Trolley Company (2:14)
14. Make Your Own Sweet Music – The Golden Gate (2:22)
15. Brand New Key – Melanie (2:24)
16. Sunshine, Red Wine – Crazy Elephant (2:31)
17. Alley Pond Park – Culver Street Playground (2:26)
18. Let The Good Times In – The Love Generation (2:14)
19. Suzanne On A Sunday Morning – Rick Nelson (1:56)
20. Bubble Gum And Braces – Bobby Sherman (2:05)
21. Mr. Bus Driver – Neal Dover (2:20)
22. Wiwwian Wevy – Pastrami Malted (2:27)
23. Ninny Bop Bop – Bonnie & the Clydes (1:55)
24. Loving You Makes Everything Alright – The Marshmellow Highway (2:42)
25. Don’t Let Love Pass You By – Ron Dante (2:37)
26. Cheer Me Up – The Globetrotters (2:26)
27. Thank Your Girl – Street People (2:24)
28. Can You Tell Me How To Get To Sesame Street? – The Free Design (2:12)
29. The Rapper – The Jaggerz (2:44)
30. Jennifer Rain – The Goggles (3:03)
31. Sugar, Sugar – The Archies (2:47)