Kim, Andy
How'd We Ever Get This Way
Rare & Collectible Vinyl Records

Sealed 1968 Original. Drill Hole. “Andy Kim's 1968 Debut Showcased His Knack For Commercial Pop Music, Pitched Partway Between Bubblegum And Brill Building Tradition, Often Recalling Both The Effervescence And Moodiness That Marked Neil Diamond's '60s Work For Bang. Consisting Entirely Of Material He Co-Wrote With Jeff Barry, And It's An Excellent Example Of Hooky Mainstream Pop From The Late '60s: Bright, Melodic And Well-Constructed, From Its Composition To Its Productions. At Times, It May Sound Strikingly Like Diamond -- "Just Like Your Shadow" Recalls "Solitary Man," Right Down To The Mournful Horns That Come In On The Second Verse; "Love That Little Woman" Bounces Along On Handclaps And Maracas Just Like "You Got To Me" -- It Does So Without Ever Sounding Imitative; It Sounds Like The Work Of A Singer/Songwriter With Similar Gifts, Sharpened And Honed By Diamond's Producer. At Times, The Music Edges Toward The Middle-Of-The-Road (The Swelling Strings On "Pretty Thing") And Sometimes It Bears Traces Of Psych-Pop, But It Never Goes Too Far In Either Direction. With The Exception Of The Dreamy, Dramatic Closer "Resurrection," Which Is Notable And Excellent In Its Own Way, This Is Late-'60s Pop At Its Lightest And Brightest, And Cut For Cut It's One Of The Strongest Records Of Its Kind, Thanks To Songs As Irrepressibly Catchy As "How'd We Ever Get This Way" And Sweetly Understated As The Mccartney-Esque "Ordinary Kind Of Girl.” Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG.