OHIO EXPRESS

CHEWY CHEWY (Stereo BDS 5026) 1969

SIDE 1
Chewy, Chewy (3:19) (J. Levine - K. Resnick)
Nothing Sweeter Than My Baby (2:47) (S. Gordon)
So Good, So Fine (1:42) (J. Levine - K. Resnick)
1,2,3 Red Light (2:17) (S. Trimachi, B. Trimachi)
Yes Sir (2:09) (J. Levine - K. Resnick)
SIDE 2
Let It Take You (2:47) (J. Levine)
Little Girl (2:02) (J. Levine - K. Resnick)
Fun (2:10) (J. Levine - K. Resnick)
Firebird (2:32) (J. Levine - K. Resnick)
Simon Says (2:11) (E. Chiprut)
Down In Tennessee (3:00) (J. Levine - K. Resnick)

 

A Super K Production Produced By J. Levine, A. Resnick

 

REVIEW:

Before I get into the "Full-Tilt Levine" incarnation of the Ohio Express, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the little comedy bits that litter this album. Seven years later, inspired by this running concept, Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart would update the concept as a futuristic radio station on their debut album. It didn't work in either case and let this be a warning to you young people thinking of trying this. That no one took the Ohio Express seriously then or takes them seriously now is no crime but at least allow the listener an opportunity to choose their place in musical history. Thankfully, this concept is not continued with their next album.

I think it's a fair statement to say that this is the Ohio Express "Try It Harder" album as each songs stretches and pulls to be a hit. The little comedy bits add to the overall disjointed sequencing of the album. So separately there are some good songs that simply don't mesh as a group. A collection of singles like so many present day releases.

Joey Levine had a hand in writing eight of the eleven songs on the album and the first one, the title song Chewy Chewy, is possibly the best example of Classic Bubblegum ever to come off the line. There may have been more well-known examples but this song has it all. The pounding Indian train (now there 's a song title!) rhythm, repeating title chorus, hand-claps, ever-present farfisa keyboard and that sexual innuendo thing. Plus Joey was pleased with his singing here as opposed to Yummy, Yummy, Yummy where it was just a demo track. The other gem here is Down In Tennessee which not only kicks off the whole "bubblegum across the states" theme in the genre but acts as a solid bookend for the album. It's between these two songs that the album runs into trouble. First, Joey covers not one but two 1910 Fruitgum Co. songs and presents maybe his weakest song ever in Yes, Sir and points to his future commercial career with the song Firebird, a resume song masking as a pop song.

I would have to do some research to determine if Joey simply laid his vocals over the same instrumentation of 1,2,3 Red Light or Simon Says used for the 1910 Fruitgum Co. "group" but it is low on my list of things to do. I understand that this was a 60's thing for label producers to do by having multiple groups cover the same songs in hopes of striking gold on the charts by throwing out sheer numbers. That I like the Fruitgum versions may only be because I heard them on my transistor so many times but Joey not only seems lackluster in his singing pe rformance but, moreover, his voice doesn't fit. Yes, Sir is just a bad song. It would fit in well with those Rankin-Bass claymation specials being produced roughly at the same time but it seems a bit forced and was passed off to The Music Explosion for good reason.

Nothing Sweeter Than My Baby and Firebird remind me a bit of the previous album, original-group attempts at writing hits. They're a lot of fun and. in a world that is right, should be treasured for all time. The rest of the songs are almost equally as fun to chew on. So Good, So Fine rises above the rest with Let It Take You being memorable for Joey's unique scream set to a Monkee's arrangement and Fun for adding a bit of class to the proceedings.

The "Levine Express" rolls on with the next album, Mercy, whereby the cute comedy bits are forsaken for good, solid gum. Mercy, indeed. - Andrew Bergey

 

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