Cellophane Symphony

iTunes Review

“Sweet Cherry Wine” is the exquisite pop hit. However, this is a very intriguing and challenging album coming from a man who was mostly known as a singles artist. His string of 19 hit singles is among the finest accomplishments of the ‘60s, but this album proves he could get as weird and heavy as his hard rock contemporaries. The title track is nearly ten minutes of organ and spaced-out guitar jamming that sounds like James has been listening intensely to Pink Floyd. “Makin’ Good Time” works off the group’s oft-overlooked R&B roots. “Evergreen” follows in the troubadour tradition of Donovan. “Papa Rolled His Own” is a goofy little number that sounds like the group is approximating the Kinks’ interest in English Hall music. “I Know Who I Am” is a lean acoustic guitar rocker with a rockabilly twist. This grand eclecticism makes for an album that is impossible to pigeonhole and one of the most delightful of the late ‘60s.