BIOGRAPHY :
Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide napisal(a):
Not strictly a British group, but packaged as part of the British Invasion, Them forged their hard-nosed R&B sound in Belfast, Ireland, moving to England in 1964 after landing a deal with Decca Records. The band's simmering sound was dominated by boiling organ riffs, lean guitars, and the tough vocals of lead singer Van Morrison, whose recordings with Them rank among the very best performances of the British Invasion. Morrison also wrote top-notch original material for the outfit, whose lineup changed numerous times over the course of their brief existence. As a hit-making act, their resumé was brief -- "Here Comes the Night" and "Baby Please Don't Go" were Top Ten hits in England, "Mystic Eyes" and "Here Comes the Night" made the Top 40 in the U.S. -- but their influence was considerable, reaching bands like the Doors, who Them played with during a residency in Los Angeles just before Van Morrison quit the band in 1966. Their most influential song of all, the classic three-chord stormer "Gloria," was actually a B-side, although the Shadows of Knight had a hit in the U.S. with a faithful, tamer cover version.
Morrison recalled his days with Them with some bitterness, noting that the heart of the original group was torn out by image-conscious record company politics, and that sessionmen (including Jimmy Page, who played a scorching solo on "Baby Please Don't Go" ) often replaced members on recordings. In addition to hits, Them released a couple of fine albums and several flop singles that mixed Morrison compositions with R&B and soul covers, as well as a few songs written for them by producers like Bert Berns (who penned "Here Comes the Night" ). After Morrison left the group, Them splintered into the Belfast Gypsies, who released an album that (except for the vocals) approximated Them's early records, and a psychedelic outfit that kept the name Them, releasing four LPs with little resemblance to the tough sounds of their mid-'60s heyday.
ALBUM REVIEW :
Bruce Eder, All Music Guide napisal(a):
Long-overdue double CD, collecting all but one of the 50 songs (only "Mighty Like a Rose" is missing) the legendary British blues band left behind in the English Decca and American London vaults. The sound is a significant improvement over prior reissues -- really loud, the way it was meant to be heard -- with little touches like "The Story of Them, Pts. 1 & 2" linked together. It doesn't follow chronological order of release, but the order is entertaining, with alternate takes (stereo single mixes, American single edits, etc.) broken up between the two discs. It would have been nice to have had recording dates and personnel, but considering the fact that the band's lineup, apart from Van Morrison and bassist Alan Henderson, seemed to change every month, it's conceivable that any session information would be suspect. And one wishes for a coherent essay on the history of the band to go with the spread of photographs of the different lineups that are reprinted here.
All Music Guide
CD1 :
01 Story of Them, Pt. 1 & 2 (7:18)
02 Don't Start Crying Now (2:03)
03 Gloria (2:35)
04 Philosophy (2:35)
05 One Two Brown Eyes (2:34)
06 Baby Please Don't Go (2:40)
07 Here Comes the Night (2:46)
08 All for Myself (2:47)
09 One More Time (2:48)
10 Little Girl (2:25)
11 I Gave My Love a Diamond (2:48)
12 Go on Home Baby (2:32)
13 My Little Baby (2:00)
14 Mystic Eyes (2:41)
15 Don't Look Back (3:20)
16 If You and I Could Be as Two (2:51)
17 I Like It Like That (3:16)
18 I'm Gonna Dress in Black (3:29)
19 (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66 (2:22)
20 Just a Little Bit (2:21)
21 You Just Can't Win (2:21)
22 Bright Lights, Big City (2:30)
23 Baby, What You Want Me to Do (3:26)
24 I'm Gonna Dress in Black (Alternate Mix) (3:34)
25 One More Time (Alternate Stereo Mix)(Mix) (2:45)
26 Little Girl (Alternate Version) (2:47)
CD2 :
27 How Long Baby (3:37)
28 (It Won't Hurt) Half as Much (3:01)
29 Something You Got (2:31)
30 Call My Name (2:19)
31 Turn on Your Lovelight (2:19)
32 I Put a Spell on You (2:36)
33 I Got a Woman (3:12)
34 Out of Sight (2:21)
35 It's All over Now, Baby Blue (3:47)
36 Bad or Good (2:06)
37 Hello Josephine (2:04)
38 Don't You Know (2:22)
39 Hey Girl (3:00)
40 Bring 'Em on In (3:42)
41 Time's Gettin' Tougher Than Tough (2:12)
42 Stormy Monday (2:40)
43 Friday's Child (3:27)
44 Richard Cory (2:43)
45 My Lonely Sad Eyes (2:28)
46 I Can Only Give You Everything (2:39)
47 Could You, Would You (3:08)
48 Bring 'Em on In (Alternate Version) (3:41)
49 Richard Cory (Alternate Version)(Version) (3:47)
50 Call My Name (Alternate Single Version)(Version) (2:18)
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