The general impression is that
Herman's Hermits were a singles band, but this 11-song LP (issued in England by EMI-Columbia and in America on MGM Records) shows the group to be rather more substantial than that -- not only does it show off elements of their sound that never made it onto their singles, but such attributes as their own songwriting, for which they seldom received any regard. There's a Kind of a Hush All Over the World reached number 11 in the United States and made the British Top Ten in the early months of 1967, and that was not entirely on the strength of the hits that were included. "No Milk Today," "Dandy," and "East West" were selling points, to be sure, along with the title cut, but the other tracks also proved very appealing -- "Little Miss Sorrow, Child of Tomorrow" and "Rattler," both authored by
Bruce Woodley of
the Seekers, show off a folkier side of the group (and it's a pity they didn't explore it further), while the ethereal "Gaslite Street," an original by guitarists
Derek Leckenby and
Keith Hopwood, is pretty and memorable enough to stand alongside anything here, and "Jezebel" is a hard-rocking number totally out of character for this group, with an edge to
Peter Noone's singing and the playing that's very close to garage punk of the period in spirit, and includes a dash of flamenco-style guitar, a beat lifted from
Henry Mancini's "Theme from Peter Gunn," and modulations right out of the
Arthur Freed-
Nacio Herb Brown standard "Temptation." All of these elements, in the singing, composition, and performance, show off a group that was not only greater than its reputation, but also more than the obvious sum of its parts -- though they're usually associated with the British Invasion, the spirit of There's a Kind of a Hush (All Over the World) is equally close to that of
the Monkees circa 1967, and closer to them than to anything
the Beatles,
the Rolling Stones,
the Who, and others were doing in 1967. Indeed, one highlight of this album is the version of "Saturday's Child," a
David Gates-authored song that had been popularized by
the Monkees in late 1966; it's not only nicely sung but has an arrangement very different from that of
the Monkees, featuring a lean, string-orchestra accompaniment that is similar to some of the string work on the
Graham Gouldman Thing LP by
Graham Gouldman, which was co-produced around the same time by
Herman's Hermits'
Peter Noone. [The 2001 reissue from Repertoire Records features state-of-the-art sound (which does wonders in bringing out the craftsmanship behind these songs) and adds 11 numbers to the original's 11 tracks: four single A- and B-sides, some odd EP and LP cuts, and a pair of tracks off the U.S.
Hold On! album. Some of it is too cute and sweet for words, but other tracks are surprisingly good --
Keith Hopwood's "Marcel's," which has a solid beat and an aggressive guitar sound; the breezy "(I Gotta) Dream On" and "Make Me Happy";
Hopwood's "Don't Try to Hurt Me"; a tight and very effective rock adaptation of
George Gershwin's "Biding My Time"; and the hard-rocking "Wild Love" and "Gotta Get Away," which all deserved exhumation and a new chance to find an audience.]