The Tokens' distinctive style on their own hits from the early '60s as well as the time of this recording five years on paved the way for
the Happenings' rich and exciting vocal sound. Their rendition of the Gershwins' "I Got Rhythm" is stunning pop filled with voices that gloriously battle the instrumentation. They take the opening track on with a vengeance that arguably upstages their first hit, "See You in September." Recorded for the Tokens' B.T. Puppy Records label, the extensive liner notes by Hal Halverstadt give some history but also confuse. He states that the album is called
Psycle because the group can take "a 40-year old standard such as "Bye, Bye Blackbird"...treated as an up-to-date riot." Well, it isn't exactly an "up-to-date riot," but the arrangements and harmonies throughout the album are impeccable.
Frankie Lyman's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is another winner, a dynamic take on the pop classic. Half of
the Happenings, Bob Miranda and Dave Libert, pen three tunes, including the highly suggestive double entendre "Down, Down, Down." Had only
Janis Joplin thought of it for a follow-up to "Down on Me." The two are not bad composers, and their three titles are equaled by contributions from their producers, brothers Mitch Margo and Phil Margo, along with Jay Siegel and Hank Medress. It's the songs by the four
Tokens, however, which have more drive, with "I Believe in Nothing" in the same style as "I Got Rhythm. The dynamic between the protégés and the producers is interesting.
The Tokens even add a bit of "See You in September" to their "When the Summer Is Through," and one can feel the serious nature of this project, which was aimed at a specific audience, as was the much lighter
Candida album for Dawn, which this same crew developed three years after this. The Top 15 "My Mammy," the 1920s
Al Jolson signature tune, leads off side two. It was the last of this group's four hits, but has that appealing sound that should have made for more chart action. Halverstadt falsely claims the music on
Psycle "embraces "the Psycle" of modern musical style -- from jazz to hard rock to R&B." You won't hear any hard rock on this LP, just sublime barbershop quartet harmonies on songs like "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows," which is exactly the opposite of what the faces-in-a-bicycle-wheel psychedelic cover promises. ~ Joe Viglione