Crimson & Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells

Crimson & Clover, the sixth studio album from Tommy James and the Shondells, is where the Niles, Michigan, hitmakers behind "Hanky Panky" and "Mony Mony" went and got themselves a head full of psychedelic pop. It's home to the number-one title track and "Crystal Blue Persuasion", which stopped at number two, and it came out on Roulette.

The album cut of "Crimson and Clover" is the trip: at radio's urging, the band stretched it to five and a half minutes, reusing the opening pair of verses minus the lead vocal so guitarist Ed Gray could pile on steel and fuzz guitar solos, then signing off with a full minute of wah-wah. A small speed slip while the tape was being dubbed dropped the pitch under those solos, and nobody fixed it; the wobble only adds to the haze. The group had toured with Vice President Hubert Humphrey on his 1968 campaign, and Humphrey returned the favor by writing the liner notes.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.