Mercy, Mercy, Mercy: A Collection

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Artists: The Buckinghams.

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24 customer reviews.  4.0 out of 5 stars.

These clean-cut Chicagoans were unrepentantly commercial popsters whose wholesomely catchy, horn-laced '60s hits retain their bubblegum charm three decades after the fact. The 18 track Mercy, Mercy, Mercy is an exemplary best-of disc, collecting all of the group's major hits, i.e. "Kind of A Drag," "Don't You Care," "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)," and "Susan." Meanwhile, less familiar numbers like covers of Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," the Beatles' "I Call Your Name," and a vocal interpretation of the Cannonball Adderley jazz tune that provides the collection's title suggest that there was more substance to the band than its squeaky-clean hits let on. --Scott Schinder

Excellent collections of oldies by the Buckinghams, such as Kind of a Drag, I'll Go Crazy, Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song), Susan, and Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. Recommended if you're a fan of 60's Pop/Rock, and you should remember these as radio hits or popular 45 single records (remember those?).

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy: A Collection is a very strong single CD compilation by The Buckinghams; they were a famous group with a lot of hits in the 1960s. The sound quality is excellent and I love that artwork!

"Kind Of A Drag" is definitely one of the best rock and roll torch songs of the golden era of rock and roll. The Buckinghams harmonize very well and the music that goes with their singing fits in perfectly! "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" is a catchy cover of Lloyd Price's tune that belies the seriousness of the lyrics; you'll be dancing in the aisles over this one! The harmonica works well for this number and the brass is used to great advantage while The Buckinghams again harmonize wonderfully.

"I'll Go Crazy" has complicated tempo changes but the group handles these seemingly effortlessly. Of course, we know it really wasn't all that easy; but The Buckinghams were so talented they made it look as easy as breathing! "Makin' Up And Breakin' Up" gets a snazzy interpretation from The Buckinghams who deliver this way beyond perfection! "Makin' Up And Breakin' Up" is a major highlight of this album. "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," the title track of this album, sounds new and fresh whenever I hear it! I love every minute of it; these guys sure could sing!

"Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)" is one of the greatest hits ever for The Buckinghams; the melody is very pretty and the keyboard work enhances the natural beauty of this ballad. This torch song rocks and The Buckinghams bat this one straight out of the ballpark! In addition, there's also "Back In Love Again." "Back In Love Again" is a poignant ballad and they really rock hard on this magnificent tune. I'm very impressed.

"Where Did You Come From" is a beautiful song that tugs at my heartstrings whenever I hear The Buckinghams sing it; the musical arrangement is particularly lush and it all works wonders for this tune. "It's a Beautiful Day (For Lovin')" features The Buckinghams squarely front and center--and that's right where this group belongs! They sing and play "It's A Beautiful day (For Lovin')" so well that I play this a second time on my CD player when I get a chance to hear it.

"I Got A Feelin'" shines like silver and gold when The Buckinghams perform it so well; and the album also ends well with The Buckinghams performing "You." "You" is a strong ballad to end this album and that works great!

The Buckinghams were truly a great group and this CD shows you why! I highly recommend this for fans of rock and roll from the 1960s.

I have to agree with the reviewer who chastises those who bemoan the fact that the titles have been re-mixed. The AAD/ADD sound is just fine thank you very much. But what I find even more delightful is that, while not claiming to be a "best of" or "greatest hits of" The Buckinghams, that's exactly what is delivered here - all seven Billboard Pop Hot 100 hits registered in 1967/68. And with the package you get 5 pages of liner notes written by noted producer Al Quaglieri, along with a partial discography of the contents (label but no chart details).

Vocalist Dennis Tufano, guitarist Carl Giammarese, Nick Fortuna on bass, drummer Jon Poulos, and keyboardist Dennis Miccoli, all from Chicago, first recorded for the small U.S.A. label in 1966, releasing three singles that failed to chart (I'll Go Crazy b/w I Don't Want To Cry, I Call Your Name b/w Makin' Up And Breakin' Up, and I've Been Wrong b/w Love Ain't Enough) before a late 1966 release brought them into the national spotlight.

Kind Of A Drag, after making its chart debut on New Year's Eve 1966, shot to the # 1 spot early in 1967 and held onto that position for two weeks b/w You Make Me Feel So Good. Not bad considering the limited promotional capabilities of the company. They weren't as fortunate with the cover of the Lloyd Price classic Lawdy Miss Clawdy which just missed the Top 40, settling for a # 41 late that spring b/w a re-release of Makin' Up And Breakin' Up (Note: some pressings spelled the A-side Laudy Miss Claudy and on those the flip was a re-release of the Lennon/McCartney-penned I Call Your Name).

Perhaps one reason for the modest results of Lawdy is that, at the same time, Columbia (who had purchased their contract) had released Don't You Care, and this rose to # 6 in the same early 1957 period b/w Why Don't You Love Me? Another U.S.A. release in this stretch of 1967, Summertime b/w Don't Want To Cry, fsiled to chart. Then, in early summer, came the title tune Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, which topped out at # 5 b/w You Are Gone, followed early that fall by Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song), which just missed the Top 10, leveling off at # 12 b/w And Our Love. By this time Miccoli had been replaced by Martin Grebb.

In December, Susan began it's climb to # 11 in early 1968 b/w Foreign Policy, followed by their final hit in early summer 1958 when Back In Love Again struggled to # 57 b/w You Misunderstand Me. After that there were only failed singles (Where Do You Come From b/w Song Of The Breeze, This Is How Much I Love You b/w Can't Find The Words, It's A Beautiful Day b/w Difference Of Opinion, and I Got A Feeling b/w It Took Forever, the last three in 1969.

After they broke up, Grebb formed The Fabulous Rhinestones and did the vocal along with Kal David on their lone minor hit, What A Wonderful Thing We Have, which hit # 78 in August 1972 for the Just Sunshine label, while Tufano & Giammarese formed a duo and in 1973 also had a minor hit (# 68) with Music Everywhere for Ode. On March 26, 1980, Poulos died from a drug overdose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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