Although Gary Lewis never had the best musical chops in the business, he and his Playboys managed to have a respectable string of hits through ’65 and ’66. Backed by a production team including Snuff Garrett and Leon Russell, some of Gary’s best known songs include “This Diamond Ring,” and “Count Me In.” The compilation, The Complete Liberty Singles, weighs in at a hefty 45 songs, showing the best, and sadly more of the worst, of this band.

The first disc starts right away with the Playboys most memorable song, the Al Kooper-penned “This Diamond Ring.” It debuted on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, introducing us to Lewis as the “boy next door.” He was the safe, clean-cut alternative to the ragged mop-top look of the British Invasion, which had American boys and girls screaming in ecstasy, and American parents just screaming.

“This Diamond Ring” quickly became a huge hit, even though Kooper was not thrilled with the Playboys' version. I would have preferred to hear “Diamond Ring” as a later track because the collection immediately loses momentum and never fully gains it back. Track seven comes close with the simple innocence of “Save Your Heart for Me,” another of Lewis’ eight singles to reach gold status. In between, tracks two and three (“Hard to Find” and “Tijuana Wedding”), are almost painfully forced upon us. Both instrumentals, they were, at different times, B-sides to “Diamond Ring.”

“Tijuana Wedding” sounds eerily similar to other familiar songs of that time: “La Bamba” and “Louie Louie.” Sort of like an ugly step-child of two really good looking parents. According to the producers (Russell and Garrett), Gary Lewis and the Playboys never played on these tracks, which is why you get the feeling that you’re listening to a completely different band.

Track four is the hit “Count Me In,” another squeaky clean, aw-shucks, teen frolicking kind of song. Track five, “Little Miss Go Go” an obvious Beach Boys sound-alike is good but skipable. By the time you reach track six, “Doin’ the Flake,” you realize you’re not listening to a real band but the commercial concoction of producer Snuff Garrett. “Doin’ the Flake” was recorded for Kellogg’s in 1965, and children received it free when they sent in two box tops to the cereal company. It’s unnecessary in this collection, and should have been left out, or at least put in at the end as a bonus track with a warning that too much sugar can cause cavities.

Article Author: Cody Conard

Just a kid who started a fanzine because he didn't want to pay for them.

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