Although it has no songs by
the Beatles,
the Who,
Jimi Hendrix,
the Rolling Stones,
Bob Dylan,
the Kinks,
the Byrds,
the Beach Boys, or a number of other artists who helped shape and define pop and rock in the 1960s, this generous two-disc, 40-track compilation does offer a fine sampling of the kinds of hits that dominated AM radio in the mid-'60s (there isn't much here representing either the earliest or latest ends of the decade), running the gamut from girl group material ("My Boyfriend's Back" by
the Angels), folk-rock ("California Dreamin'" by
the Mamas & the Papas), blue-eyed soul ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" by
the Righteous Brothers), Motown ("I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by
Marvin Gaye), poppy frat rock ("Come on Down to My Boat" by Every Mother's Son) to psychedelic-tinged pop ("[We Ain't Got] Nothin' Yet" by
the Blues Magoos) and the truly singular ("A Whiter Shade of Pale" by
Procol Harum). The end result is a pleasing and nostalgic journey into the heart of mid-'60s AM pop radio, minus some of the biggest guns. Still a lot of fun, though, even without them. ~ Steve Leggett