from NumberNineDream (2. album)
Bobby Jameson - Color Him In (1967)
Unlike The Mandrake Memorial, Bobby Jameson's album 'Color Him In' was hard for me to get into. It's a collection of thirteen pretty simple, typical 60s pop songs with lavish arrangements, female background vocals and with a bit of soul. NumberNine offered me this album with a beautiful song 'See Dawn'. It is by far the best song on the album and it's quite difficult for me to explain what makes it a standout, what clicked there. Maybe it's the overall clearness of a simple pop melody, not muddled by sometimes too embellished arrangements, that gives this song a necessary directness. Backing vocals are very subtle and non intrusive and they add to the overall sprawling feel of the song.
Upon closer listening, the other songs started to get a bit more personality and to open up for me, like 'Jamie', Know Yourself', 'Candy Colored Dragon', 'Windows and Doors', 'The New Age', 'Vietnam'. I felt that songs with the least soul influence actually work the best. Jameson's voice is much more enjoyable when he sings those simple melodies than when he attempts to do soul. 'Know Yourself' and 'Candy Colored Dragon' are quite a bit sugarcoated, but strangely, that makes them more charming.
It actually hit me right there that this typical product of its time has the ability, just because of that, to transport you, like in a time machine, straight to the 60s. You can almost smell and taste these idealized times. If you submit yourself to the charm, be it sometimes cheesy, this album can be pretty enjoyable. Now I understand much more clearly why NumberNine likes it so much.
