The Critters – Younger Girl

If you wanna hit of some of the finest sugarcoated psychedelic laced classics from a rather confusing time, then look no further than The Critters ... a fanciful hypnotic low dose of sunshine, scattered leaves in the wind, silly grins, and brilliant meaningless harmonies, all designed to high end youth fashion, rather than the actual counter culture. And it wasn’t just The Critters who were out there developing well crafted arrangements, bands like They Byrds [consider “Goin’ Back], The Jefferson Airplane [think “Comin’ Back To Me”] Jackie DeShannon, The Cyrkly [with “Red Rubber Baller], The Box Tops, The Lovin’ Spoonful, and yes, The Beach Boys, were producing a fine assortment of mid-tempo stylish layered vocals and swinging jangling cascading harmonies that for a moment in time during 1966, defined a dividing musical line that separated and melded the rather innocuous past with the new guard, and the new sense of culture. And while these AM friendly unoffending tracks would never rise to the level of “Good Vibrations” or “White Rabbit,” they did fill a need, and were certainly a stepping stone that The Mamas and Paps couldn’t resist, while reshaping the message and tailoring the personal nature of the songs to the point where there had to come a time when a comprehensive cohesive look back at these disregarded gems needed to take place ... and if you’re on that journey, this is the place to begin.

I’m by no means suggesting that all of the songs found on this album are first rate, as the band certainly attempts to be all things to all people; and that may just be their biggest failing. Their other downfall was filler, and this I’m sure was no fault of the band, rather the fault of management, wanting to do the more is more thing, rather than concentrating on what The Critters did best, finding a way of capturing rather immature idealized sentimentality and pubescent school age prose of lost love, idealism, pain and longing ... and all in songs that sparkle at under two and a half minutes. This was innocence that lasted for but a moment, and while their time was brief, their influence should be considered with open arms, rather than dismissed with the wave of a hand.

Review by Jenell Kesler