BACK TO LOU CHRISTIE & THE TAMMYS EGYPTIAN SHUMBA HOME PAGE Goldmine #592 April 4, 2003 Reissues News Lou Christie & The Tammys -- Egyptian Shumba: The Singles and Rare Recordings (RPM) is a 22-track falsetto feast, with female backing vocals of The Tammys, from the man who brought us the #1 “Lightnin’ Strikes in 1965. Many of the songs are released for the first time in stereo, and several are previously unreleased takes. Blues News (Finland) Full Page Review by Juhani Ritvanen Detroit Metro Times September 4, 2002 Lou Christie & The Tammys Egyptian Shumba: The Singles and Rare Recordings 1962-1964 (RPM Records) What I’d like to know is why Lou Christie shan’t go down in history as a rock genius? Because he didn’t go nutter like Brian Wilson or Phil Spector? His productions were battier than both of ‘em put together, simply because they were the invention of a completely sane mind. Did Brian Wilson ever equate misery with a song about “Summer Snow?” Did Spector ever make Bobby Soxx and The Blue Jeans whoop like Freddie Cannnon or snarl like the Knights Who Say Nit, as Christie orders The Tammys to do on his “Outside the Gates of Heaven”? Not a chance! Here’s Lightnin’ Lou’s greatness in perspective—Springsteen makes two references to early Christie hits on his excellent Tunnel of Love album— the best Wilson can manage is one hommage every Eric Carmen album. And who’s gonna mention Spector with believable awe now that Joey Ramone shuffled off project Earth? If schizorock at its most frenetic means anything to you, you’ll want this import collection of Christie’s early Roulette sides plus selected works by the greatest discovery since Velcro bra straps, The Tammys. Hear young Lou and his gypsy lyricist Twyla Herbert seizing all the divine inspiration the other greats passed on, writing the ultimate song about “Guitars and Bongos” and turning the recording booth into a confessional with “Have I Sinned.” It’s on these tracks that The Tammys’ incorrigible background vocals could be ignored no longer and Lou immediately secured them a recording contract on United Artists. Besides ra-tat-tatting like Gabriel at Jericho, they put together syllables no human has ever joined in any language like “shoom a la la ooh” or “shimmy shimmy shimmy- shy-yi-missin’ ish!” Lou furnished them with two first-rate example of brat rock-“Take Back Your Ring” (where Linda chastises her beau for giving her bogus love) and “Part Of Growing Up” (where the Tammys shout “Grow Up” like they’re heckling the visiting team). Linda, Gretchen and Cathy are so tough they made The Shangri-Las look like something Louisa May Allcott dreamed up--Linda the youngest Tammy actually told a TV interviewer her boyfriend had perpetually shredded lips on account of her braces. Given to such bouts with candor, there was no other choice but the brazen lip shreddin’ Tammys to teach the world to dance the “Egyptian Shumba,” 14 years before Steve Martin went tut tut and 22 years before the Bangles merely walked like Egyptians. When the Tammys aren’t bragging about holding hands with mummys on the Nile, they insistently rapid-repeat the word “dance” a mind-numbing eighteen times, each time accompanied by a head pounding drum. Their finest moment, “Egyptian Shumba” was a local Top 15 hit in Pittsburgh and a Top 30 in Cleveland, at a time when the world was too busy with the British Invasion to think Egyptian. Too bad, coz, when you get a song with head splitting drums, a snake charmin’ clarinet and three girls barking on all fours like wolverines, singing “I wanna dance—AAAHH!” with the same urgency supermodels purge desserts, well, rock can’t get much better without a kegger. Also, compiler Harry Young’s besotted liner notes are worth whatever Amazon’s charging for this CD. If it’s possible to love Lou Christie and the Tammys more than life itself, it’s Young’s sarcophagus to bear. ~ SERENE DOMINIC Roctober #33 July 2002 Lou Christie & The Tammys: Egyptian Shumba (RPM) Brilliant avant-garde, bizarre, falsetto music from an underrated super-producer / writer. People rarely think about how bizzaro falsetto singing can be, and the way it deals with absurdity and excess, and thus, Lou Christie is rarely looked at as a progressive artist. This CD should change that, and not just because “Guitars And Bongos” is so much fun. His work with his girl group protégées The Tammys is incredible, the title track alone qualifying them as one of the most amazing teenage freakout music acts ever. Singing like poodles, pixies and punk rockers, The Tammys’ entire output (8 songs plus alternate takes and unreleased stuff) reveals some amazing music that captures the youthful, angsty, alive spirit of Pop Rock & Roll while invoking Sun Ra, Phil Spector, The Shangri-Las, Zappa, Mark Wirtz, Pac Man Fever and The Bobbettes. A crucial comp you must hear. Where Y’At, New Orleans, LA June 2002 Volume 4, Issue 8 LOU CHRISTIE AND THE TAMMYS EGYPTIAN SHUMBA The latest release from Britain’s RPM label continues a staunch commitment in blazing a path to some of pop music’s most soaring moments. First it was Johnny Adams’ underrated SSS years and a trio of killer Timi Yuro releases, and now it’s this fascinating pile of weirdness from Pittsburgh’s shaman of the falsetto, the great Lou Christie. Christie’s first hits ignited the chart during that musical no man’s land between Elvis’ induction into the army and the explosion of the British Invasion, a time that “rock historians” (an oxymoron if there ever was one) claim produced nothing of value. But we all know better than to believe a bunch of bitter old rolling Stone writers, now don’t we? With that in mind, kick back, pour yourself an ice cold Nehi and dig these echo-drenched tales of gypsies, the Nile and teenage tears. Split evenly between Lou and his backing group of chanting chanteuses, the Tammys, just about every emotion of teen angst is registered in songs like “Two Faces Have I,” “Hold Back The Light Of Dawn” and “His Actions Speak Louder Than Words.” Girl group melodrama to the max, the Tammys are a group for fans of the Shirelles, Chiffons and Shangri-Las, while Christie --who wrote their songs and produced them-- dwells in the same musical hemisphere of remote loneliness as Del Shannon and Roy Orbison. For those who are still counting, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen have acknowledged musical debts to Lou by adapting segments of his songs into their own, so chew on that, rock experts. Meanwhile, those of us who take our music unsanctioned will want to grab this slice of brilliance before John Waters gets to town and decides to do his Christmas shopping early. ~ Dan Gilbert Ugly Things #20 October 2002 LOU CHRISTIE & THE TAMMYS EGYPTIAN SHUMBA (RPM, UK CD) The genius of the Tammys’ “Egyptian Shumba” is unmistakable. This batty bit of girl group Ancient Egyptian shoop shoop bop certainly made me curious to dig deeper into the Tammys’ discography and there’s decent specimens of girl group heartbreak to be found. The liner notes are obviously the product of intensive research, packed with minutiae regarding the sessions, chart positions and the lasting impact of the mighty “Egyptian Shumba” (culling quotes from Roctober, Todd Abramson and other refined tastemakers). ~ Michael Lucas Garage & Beat! Issue #7 September 2002 Unifying Theory Of The Universe There’s an old saying; you can never be too thin or too rich or have too many Lou Christie records. I thought I was pretty much covered as far as early Lou recordings are concerned. Boy was I ever mistaken! There is a CD that came out in 2002 on RPM Records [Lou Christie & The Tammys: Egyptian Shumba: The Singles And Rare Recordings 1962-1964] that contains quite a few artifacts that are must haves for true fans. There are a few previously unreleased Christie gems amidst the seminal hits such as “The Gypsy Cried” and “Two Faces Have I” on the first half of this disc but, the most exciting material (mostly because I hadn’t heard it yet) is by a group called the Tammys. Lou hung out with this ultra-cool chick trio when they were all teens. When he hit the big time, he remembered his homies. Along with his songwriting partner, Twyla Herbert (the mother of one of his gal pal peers), he came up with material for his friends and helped them in the studio. There is a whole raft of excellent and offbeat songs on this disc that push the girl group envelope to extremes. Think Shangri-Las, but even more twisted and way sillier. The title track, “Egyptian Shumba,” is one of the wildest numbers I’ve ever heard. ~ P. Edwin Letcher The Music Korner Charleston, West Virginia May 2002 Lou Christie & The Tammys Egyptian Shumba: The Singles and Rare Recordings 1962-1964 They called him 'the Pharaoh of the falsetto' and his piercing, nasal wail marked a pop vocal style that has generally become, like hieroglyphics, a 'lost art' since the decade ending in the mid-Sixties. This excellent overview of Christie's career contains not only singles and other recordings of the five-octave baritone, but also a half-dozen rare sides from his girl-group, The Tammys. Revisiting the sharp-edged harmonies, crisp and clean in some in their first stereo releases, is like handling a Stone Age hand axe and marveling at a forgotten talent that may never again emerge. (RPM) (4.5) ~ Tom "Tearaway" Schulte DisCoveries April 2002 Lou Christie & The Tammys Egyptian Shumba – The Singles And Rare Recordings 1962-1964 RPM 330 This album almost appears to be a Lou Christie release. After all, there’s his name and face on the cover. The first two tracks are Lou’s first two hits, and he wrote all but four of the 22 tracks. There is an alternate take of the hit “Two Faces Have I,” and a cut unreleased in the ‘60s, “Summer Snow.” But the question is, who are The Tammys? The truth is found in the title Egyptian Shumba, also the name of one of The Tammys’ “three hopelessly rare solo singles,” to borrow a phrase from Harry Young’s extensive liner notes. Mr. Young accurately describes The Tammys as “the prototypical alternative Girl Group of the 1960s” as they “bark and strut” with “edgy harmonies and extreme emotions.” Although they are unknown by name, The Tammys were heard doing many Lou Christie background vocals, including nine of the 11 Lou cuts on this CD. There are also two great 1963 recordings credited to Ritchie And The Runarounds – actually Lou, ‘Kripp” Johnson of The Del Vikings, and The Tammys. These songs sound like typical Lou Christie tracks, but with soul. Most important are the nine tracks of The Tammys on their own, including their three singles and two unreleased gems. These classic ’63 girl-group cuts all are in stereo for the first time. Gretchen, Cathy, and Linda harmonize totally sans vibrato, and ironically, the unreleased tracks are perhaps their best. Best, that is, except for the title track, “Egyptian Shumba.” The trio really do bark, yell, and growl their way through this bit of insane dance wildness and just what IS a “Shumba” anyway?). Besides being in stereo, there is a section in the middle that was edited out on the mono 45. By comparison with this triumph, The Shangri-Las sound like schoolgirls. And just when the excitement seems over, the CD closes with a previously unreleased, stereo alternate take of “Egyptian Shumba,” which is even more animalistic than the 45 was. To think this girl-group jewel languished in the vaults for nearly 40 years! ~ Doc Rock MOJO #101 April 2002 Lou Christie & The Tammys Egyptian Shumba (RPM) Twenty-two singles and rarities from under-celebrated ‘60s bubblegum crooner. Christie was a maverick who always seemed out of time – Lightinin’ Strikes was a US surf / doo wop Number 1 in 1966 – yet was other-worldly enough that it barely mattered. His work with girl group The Tammys, who backed him on most of his own records, should have hit the Zeitgeist face on but much of it remained unreleased. The three singles that came out in ’63 and ’64 bombed. Sonically they differ little from Lou’s 45s, supercharged falsetto screamers or sweet harmony-coated ballads. Their rarest 45, Gypsy, is Girl Group at its best – one long, melancholy swoon. But pride of place goes to the title track, which starts “Last night I dreamed I was on the Nile” and descends into apocalyptic shrieking over a beach blanket beat. It’s hard to tell if it’s tongue-in-cheek or just a little unhinged. The clever money’s on both. ~ Bob Stanley Knoxville News-Sentinel March 24, 2002 "Egyptian Shumba: Singles and Rare Recordings 1962-1964," Lou Christie & the Tammys (RPM) By Wayne Bledsoe, News-Sentinel entertainment writer In the early 1960s, Lou Christie was the most lovable of a pack of falsetto-voiced teen idols. During that time, Christie helped get his buddies, a female trio called the Tammys, down on wax, too. Christie wrote a song for the group called "The Egyptian Shumba." It was 20 years ahead of its time. Heck, it may still be ahead of its time. Quite simply the Tammys' "Egyptian Shumba" sounds like a hyped-up B-52's - two decades before there was a B-52's. The song is a glorious, over-the-top dance song that could inspire a John Waters movie. With female hormones in overdrive, the Tammys scream, wheeze and shout at the song's nearly orgasmic finale in one of the wildest songs of the girl-group era. The rest of this disc excavates vintage Christie performances (including the hits "The Gypsy Cried" and "Two Faces Have I"), along with several other more sedate Tammys numbers ("What's So Sweet About Sweet Sixteen" is a lovable weeper - "I never expected for a birthday present he'd give me a broken heart.") These are campy classics, and "Egyptian Shumba" is a number that is truly essential. Grade: A- Daily News March 15, 2002 Lou Christie's backup singers celebrated CD ANTHOLOGY: Lou Christie and the Tammys By DAVID SALLINGER, Daily News Entertainment Editor Lou Christie came of age in Glenwillard, a section of Moon Twp. out near Greater Pittsburgh Airport. It might be a bit much to suggest the whining of jet engines inspired his stratospheric falsetto, the one that made national hits out of "Lightning Strikes" and "Rhapsody in the Rain." Although Christie's distinctive falsetto defined his sound, that was only part of the aural package. From his first recordings as a member of groups like The Classics or Lugee and The Lions, through his earliest hits, "Two Faces Have I" and "The Gypsy Cried," Christie has been part of an harmonic collective. Sure, his voice stands out as the lead, but listen to the background singers. That's where the hitmaking begins. Lugee Sacco, as he was known to the nurse who filled out his birth record, was lucky to have a sister who could join in on harmony. What completed the picture was the entry of Oil City's Tammys, a trio of girls who, along with Amy Sacco, could wail. They also were flexible enough to do what Christie's arrangements required, from basic doowop to barking. The Tammys went on to join The Del Vikings' Kripp Johnson as Ritchie and The Runarounds, and, as themselves, put out a couple of hard-to-find singles. The songs are easy to get now through the anthology, "Lou Christie & The Tammys: Egyptian Shumba." The compendium of singles and unreleased material gives the girls their due. It argues strongly that, though lesser known than, say, the groups that worked with Phil Spector or at Motown (or even the Pixies Three), The Tammys deserve to be mentioned in the same breath. Put together by Harry Young, president of the Lou Christie Fan Club, with assistance from Mon Valley musicologist Carl Janusek, the nearly two dozen tracks are accompanied by a detailed history with a number of photos of Lou, Gretchen, Cathy and Linda. First half focuses on the headliner, with "Gypsy" and "Two Faces," along with "Outside the Gates of Heaven" and a number of lesser-remembered efforts. As the Runarounds, the Tammys proved they were equally at home both in R&B ("Don'tcha Backtrack") and with ballads, like the keeper "Lost in the Crowd." But the real reason for adding the retrospective to your collection is those songs that are pure Tammys. "Take Back Your Ring," for example, is a teen dance classic. "What's So Sweet About Sweet Sixteen" is teen angst all the way. Annette would have been proud to have cut "Gypsy" (not the one who cried), while the trio could sing the blues, as well, as we hear in "His Actions Speak Louder Than Words." "Blue Sixteen" lands in the same groove occupied by Neil Sedaka's "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen." And the title track, "Egyptian Shumba" - you get both the version that came out on the United Artists label and an unreleased alternative try. If you thought The Bangles were the first to walk like an Egyptian, you'd be wrong by a couple of decades. There are plenty of Lou Christie "best of" collections, but a study of The Tammys' place in his history has been long overdue. It makes everyone want to shumba on down to Pittsburgh ... The Herald February 14, 2002 Christie fan resurrects music by girl trio, the Tammys By Joe Pinchot, Herald Staff Writer Harry Young never heard of the Tammys until years after the trio broke up in the late 1960s. But once he discovered the girl group in his obsessive study of all things Lou Christie, he was hooked. "From the first time I heard them, their harmonies had a special sound," he said. Before Christie became a singing star, he was a friend of Tammys' singers Gretchen Wagner, her sister Cathy, and Linda Jones. Riding Christie's coattails on their short shot at fame, the Tammys made in-roads on regional radio play lists, but failed to strike a national chord with singles such as "Take Back Your Ring," "Egyptian Shumba" and "Gypsy." Calling their 45s obscure is kind, but Young has resurrected the music in greater sonic glory on the newly released compact disc "Egyptian Shumba." English record label RPM released the CD in Britain Jan. 28, with Young as producer. The CD liner notes, written by Young, are an exhaustive history of the group, its recordings, performances and radio play. Young, founder of the Christie fan club, is convinced that the Tammys can still find an audience, led by the two-chord party ditty, "Egyptian Shumba." "Everybody likes it immediately," said Young. "As soon as anybody gets to hear 'Egyptian Shumba,' that song is going to become insanely popular." Record collectors in England have already shown an interest in the group. "There's an undercurrent of guys who specialize in girl groups," said Young, noting that an English magazine review of a Christie fan club newsletter featuring the Tammys spawned dozens of requests for copies. "Their records are the kind that would produce a fanatical following, in a good way," said Young. "Oldies dances are always sold out," said Ms. Wagner. "Why? Because people like to remember the healthier time of life, when people could trust people and we weren't so cynical. They want things the way they used to be." The Tammys, whose members originally were from Venango County, recorded in 1963 and 1964, during the height of the girl-group craze. Their soprano-led harmonies had an "edge," Young said, and were not "syrupy sweet," as was the standard approach at the time. With their sudden swoops and wild slides, the Tammys' sound is more akin to the modern-day sister group the Roches than to the Shirelles, the Supremes, the Marvelettes, the Crystals or the Ronettes. "I've never heard anybody sound like the Tammys," Young said. Ms. Wagner, who long ago abandoned the beehive hairdo all the Tammys sported, noted that the group was called a female version of the Innocents, the male group that had hits with "Honest I Do" and "Gee Whiz," and backed Kathy Young on "A Thousand Stars." Like the Innocents, the Tammys did not record exclusively on their own. They sang backing vocals on a slew of Christie's mid-'60s releases, and made up Ritchie & the Runarounds with Christie and lead singer Kripps Johnson, who sang with the Del Vikings on songs such as the doo wop classic "Come Go With Me." The 22 numbers on the CD include Tammys songs, tunes they backed Christie on, two Ritchie & the Runarounds sides and, for good measure, three Christie songs the Tammys did not sing, including the mega-hits "The Gypsy Cried" and "Two Faces Have I." Ms. Wagner said she is excited about the resurrection of Tammys music on today's technology. "I only have scratched copies of the old 45s," she said. Young said he's discovered elements of the trio's vocal performances and their recording production values that did not come through on 45s. "The depth of these things, you don't get on the records. The vinyl couldn't express the big sound effectively." Some of the songs are featured in stereo for the first time. Although Tammys music has appeared on bootlegs over the years, the master tapes probably had never been touched since the original 45s were pressed. EMI Records Ltd. owns the master tapes, and it took eight months of searching to find them, said Young, adding he believes they were stored in a warehouse in New Jersey. Ms. Wagner is music and liturgy coordinator for Church of Notre Dame and a member of the Notre Dame Folk Group, which has released two CDs. She said she's looking forward to hearing "Blue Sixteen," one of two previously unreleased Tammys songs. She said she has never heard the finished recording. Q #189 April 2002 Lou Christie & The Tammys Egyptian Shumba -- The Singles And Rare Recordings 1962-1964 RPM 330 I 55.17 MINS 22-track compilation of falsetto king Lou Christie's compositions and collaborations. It's not Christie's Greatest Hits, but for sheer kitsch value these Brill Building-type near misses from all-girl trio The Tammys and the Pharaoh Of Falsetto himself is hard to beat. Christie is best-remembered for the massive 1966 hit Lightnin' Strikes, but all the songs here pre-date that bona-fide classic and, unfortunately, only a few match it for quality. Even so, with teen-angst gems such as What's So Sweet About Sweet Sixteen or Hold Back The Light Of Dawn, The Tammys should have given the Shangri-La's a run for their money. Curiously, the acclaimed and highly collectible title-track is little more than a typical '60s novelty platter but those who appreciate a well-tuned "shooby do" or "shang-a-lang" will find much to savor. (Star) (Star) (Star) ~ Johnny Black The Oberserver-Reporter March 26, 2002 LOU CHRISTIE AND THE TAMMYS, "EGYPTIAN SHUMBA: THE SINGLES AND RARE RECORDINGS, 1962-1964" (RPM RECORDINGS) BY BRAD HUNDT THE OBSERVER-REPORTER It can now be revealed! Yoko Ono was a member of the Tammys! You would think that was the case while listening to "Egyptian Shumba," a single the Oil City girl group recorded in November 1963. The seagull shrieks in the background are very reminiscent of Ms. Lennon's 1970s work, and they add a pleasing note of quirkiness to otherwise by-the-book girl group sha-la-la-ing. The Tammys' brief career was spent under the wing of Pittsburgh native Lou Christie, and this compilation produced by Christie buff Harry Young brings together some of the music each of them made in the early 1960s. Freshly remastered, all 22 tracks sound good, but they're not going to make a convert out of anyone who isn't already a fan. Two of Christie's big hits, "The Gypsy Cried" and "Two Faces Have I" are represented here. "Have I Sinned?" is the best cut, employing an elegant piano intro that would have done Brian Wilson proud. Young's liner notes are comprehensive, but he doesn't pull them together in a way that makes the information compelling. The trainspotting that's included (do you really want to know the dates when these songs were registered for a copyright?) will interest only the most doggedly devout. Alibi Albuquerque, NM V.11 No.16 April 18 - 24, 2002 Lou Christie and the Tammys Egyptian Shumba Singles and Rare Recordings 1962-1964 (RPM) Lou Christie will forever be known for his three '60s hits, "Two Faces Have I," "The Gypsy Cried" and especially the wildly horny "Lightnin' Strikes," a falsetto-spiked apology to one's beloved for one's seemingly complete inability to keep it in one's pants. That 1966 classic isn't included here, but the first two are, with 20 other lesser-known tracks that show that Christie (along with his female vocal trio the Tammys, whose piercing harmonies were a huge part of what made Christie's sound so unique) was the missing link between the east coast cool of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and the California glamour and sophistication of Phil Spector and Gene Pitney. Christie was a rarity in the early '60s, in that he and his songwriting partner, Twila Herbert, wrote all of his own material. The songs can be a little hit or miss (workaday teen singles like "Part of Growing Up" and "Take Back Your Ring" sound as if they were written according to schematics). But at their best, Lou Christie's singles had one special ingredient that made them unforgettable: a creepy sense of paranoia unmatched by anyone except Roy Orbison's more disturbed ballads. Never quite hidden in the otherwise upbeat surroundings of songs like "Outside the Gates of Heaven," "Lost in the Crowd" and "Make Summer Last Forever" is a bizarre internal world racked with guilt, sadness and other turbulent emotions; it's like a Gidget film directed by Ingmar Bergman. The gorgeous "Summer Snow" is a particular highlight, as is the vaguely cheesy cash-in on the collegiate folk scene, "Guitars and Bongos." The best songs here are unlike anything anyone else was doing at the time. ~ Stewart Mason Mohair Sweets April 2002 Lou Christie & The Tammys: Egyptian Shumba (RPM) Amazing, and not only for Lou Christie's voice and tunes (not forgetting of course co-writer Twyla Herbert) but also for the outstanding Tammys tracks without Lou. I wonder if the B52's ever covered the gals' "Egyptian Shumba" live? Maybe that's where they got the Mesopotamia idea! Included here are Lou's smash hits "The Gypsy Cried," "Two Faces Have I," the incredible, mind-bending "Have I Sinned," the southern hemisphere smash "Guitars and Bongos" and others so awesome I sat speechless as the Tammys "du-langed" my heart and Lou's vocals soared ever skyward. Christie is one of the great rock'n'roll artists and this set is a true must have for fans of classic 60s and Girl Group sounds. (22 tracks. 55:17 playing time.) Goldmine #572 June 28, 2002 Dahl's Digs Pittsburgh falsetto specialist Lou Christie's early catalog gets a thorough going over on British RPM's 'Egyptian Shumba: The Singles And Rare Recordings 1962-1964.' Along with 11 high-flying Christie pop excursions including his Roulette hits "The Gypsy Cried" and "Two Faces Have I," the import sports nine sides by The Tammys, his teenaged girl-group proteges. Their title track -- here in both its issued United Artists version and an unreleased alternate -- is an exotic delight. Two tracks by Ritchie & The Runarounds that were co-penned by Christie and Twyla Herbert are also aboard (Dell-Vikings lead Kripp Johnson fronted The Runarounds). (Unit 17 Elysium Gate West, 126-128 New King's Rd., London SW6 4LZ, England) ~ Bill Dahl Goldmine #563 February 22, 2002 Reissue News ...Due Jan. 29 from RPM Records is Lou Christie & The Tammys: Egyptian Shumba: The Singles And Rare Recordings 1962-1964, a 22-track history of Christie's early output, including two cuts by Ritchie & The Runarounds, with alternate and unreleased takes in Stereo and Mono... ICE #172 July 2001 Collector’s Corner Egyptian Shumba: Singles and Rarities 1962 - 1965 from Lou Christie and the Tammys gathers material in their first-ever comprehensive compilation. Cool And Strange Music #25 May-August 2002 Lou Christie & The Tammys Egyptian Shumba: The Singles And Rare Recordings 1962-1964 RPM 330 Lou Christie, songwriter and high-powered vocalist, scored two quick smashes with "The Gypsy Cried" and "Two Faces Have I" in late 1962 and early 1963. His stratospheric voice combined with curious songs, made him a standout in the late pre-Beatleian era of pop music. "Gypsy" and "Faces" are here, along with other songs that shoulda-been hits. 1964's "Guitars And Bongos," with its manic 12-strings (played in part by Vinnie Bell), is a surf-meets-the-Beatles super pop gem. Two stunning ballads, "Make Summer Last Forever" and "Pot Of Gold," didn't fare too well in the beat-y pop market of '64 and '65. their lush moods and rich harmonies reveal Christie as the B-movie Brian Wilson of early rock music. Then there's his backup group, The Tammys. Lordy, lordy. Their aggressive, high-pitched trio harmonies suggest The Andrews Sisters on several recreational drugs. The title track, recorded in late '63, is a spaz-pop freak-fest. Insane doo-wop verbiage clashes with stylized screaming, a sinister clarinet, and a production that sounds like Phil Spector conducting an orchestra of defective home appliances. (This is a good thing, I assure you!) The Tammys' eight tracks, plus an intriguing alternate take of "Egyptian Shumba," make this CD a schizophrenic experience, but one that any devotee of wild early pop will savor. RPM has done their usual superlative job in both sound and presentation. (RPM c/o Cherry Red Records, Unit 17, Elysium Gate West, 126-128 New King's Road, London UK, SW6 4LZ; www.cherryred.co.uk) ~ Marvin D. Marsden