Suddenly You Love Me/Chip, Dave, Alan and Rick

Talk about playing from strength: Chip, Dave, Alan and Rick (and its slightly later U.S. counterpart, Suddenly You Love Me) was the second full LP of 1967 by the re-organized Tremeloes, and it doesn't have a weak moment on it. To the band, it must've seemed like nothing less than a miracle twice over, coming as it did the same year that they roared to the top of the U.K. charts (as well as scaling the American Top 20). For the rest of us, however, it was more like a triple miracle, musically speaking. Anyone who missed the optimism, lyricism, and soul stylings of albums like the Beatles' Rubber Soul (and the more accessible parts of Revolver), need look no further than the 13 songs on this long-player to recapture those vibrations. The mix of white soul, a gently trippy (but not aggressively spacy) mood, and overflowing melodies, all done with a "Good Day Sunshine" or "Yellow Submarine"-style jollity and good humor, makes this one of the most cheerful and accessible albums of the psychedelic era. Whether it's his powerful strumming on "Sunshine Games" or the fuzztone tricks on "Suddenly Winter" and "Too Many Fish in the Sea," Rick West's guitar work is a delight from beginning to end; Dave Munden's drumming is aggressive yet melodic; and Chip Hawkes' singing is finely expressive and attractive. Also, the harmonizing is some of the best ever to come out of England. Add some gentle little phasing tricks along with a fine and discreet stereo mix, and the result is one of the best albums of its period. Cheerful psychedelic vignettes like "Norman Stanley James St. Claire" alternate with soul stompers such as "Cool Jerk." The 1993 Repertoire Records CD reissue combines the British and American song selections, including the Tremeloes' surprisingly strong version of "Reach Out I'll Be There." The reissue also adds a brace of bonus tracks (mostly great B-sides), including the Spanish-language version of "Yellow River" and the stereo mix of the American title track.