Before Jon Peters experimented with
Barbra Streisand's sound on 1974's
ButterFly, and prior to
Kim Fowley giving
Helen Reddy a carbon copy remake of "You're My World" while altering her style on 1977's
Ear Candy, legendary pop producers Bobby Hart and
Tommy Boyce created
The Whole Enchilada with Texan singer
Trini Lopez. The experiment fails on many levels, the album only succeeding when the pop duo allows
Lopez to be himself. He shines on "Sunshine Park," a
Boyce/Hart tune that is part of a "Sunshine" medley featuring a pedestrian cover of
Gerry & the Pacemakers' "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying," a useless medley of "Sunshine Superman" meets
the Box Tops' "Cry Like a Baby," and a ridiculous "Sunshine of Your Love" with a keyboard prophesying the riff
Keith Richards would come up with for "Bitch" a few years down the road. But all is not lost -- the prize here is the crooner's take on
Donovan's "Lalena," a stirring and quite soulful version showing that
Trinidad Lopez Jr. has validity. Spanish lyrics by
Trini for the
Donovan classic, along with his spirited performance, make it the album's highlight. The enthusiasm level on three songs that are aligned one after the other is astounding in contrast to the run-through that is the rest of this record. "Pata Cum Cum" (pronounced "kum kum") is that
Ritchie Valens "La Bamba" riff that
Lopez used to good effect when he took
Peter, Paul & Mary's Top Ten traditional hit "If I Had a Hammer" Top Three in 1963.
Boyce and Hart's co-write of "Come a Little Bit Closer" with Wes Farrell -- which hit Top Three for
Jay & the Americans in 1964 -- was a blatant rip of "La Bamba"'s melody, so having
Trini track it was a no-brainer. The singer does a satisfying job on it, as he does on Roy Durkee's "Without You," which closes out the album. The verdict: the names
Boyce and Hart bring attention to the project, but their Dr. Frankenstein approach sounds more like three talents just fooling around. When
Lopez picks up the guitar and sings without the frills, the magic starts to happen. A lackluster remake of the duo's own Top Ten hit from 1968, "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite," could have beem more fun if it were videotaped for posterity. Would make a great EP. ~ Joe Viglione