The New Colony Six started out as one of the better garage bands to come out of the Midwest in the mid-'60s, playing tough British Invasion-style rock & roll (their "At the River's Edge" made it onto the Nuggets box set), and they later evolved into a surprisingly sophisticated and skillful pop group that scored nationwide hits with the singles "Love You So Much" and "Things I'd Like to Say."
However, this collection of odds and ends doesn't quite play to either side of the band's personality; in fact, most of the 24 songs aren't actually by The New Colony Six, with 11 tunes by the Raymond John Michael Band (which featured three NC6 alumni, singer Ray Graffia, drummer Chick James, and keyboard man Craig Kemp) and one each by Junior and Graffia, both latter-day Ray Graffia projects. The compilers also present a number of tracks in multiple versions, which gets a bit tiring; "The Power of Love," "Accept My Ring," and "Rap-A-Tap" by The New Colony Six all appear twice, while there are two different takes of "Hitch-Hiker" by the Raymond John Michael Band, and their cover of Terry Reid's "Rich Kid Blues" shows up no less than three times.
Given the plentiful supply of alternate takes and recordings by post-New Colony Six acts, Sides is clearly for hardcore NC6 fans only, but that's not to say they won't enjoy this collection; there's a charging live recording of the New Colony Six rarity "The Time Is Right," "Come and Give Your Love to Me" is a fine high-attitude rocker, most of the Raymond John Michael Band material sounds like a solid if slightly over-polished variation on the latter-day NC6, "Bobby and Georgia" and "Gwendolyn" are witty novelty numbers, and Graffia's "Sides" is an admirably ballsy hard rock number. In short, if you're looking for The New Colony Six's greatest hits, steer clear of Sides, but if you're a committed fan looking for some choice rarities, you'll find them on this collection.
by Mark Deming
1. The New Colony Six - Sunshine (Gerry Van Kollenburg, Pat McBride, Ray Graffia Jr) - 2:25
2. The New Colony Six - The Power Of Love (Gerry Van Kollenburg, Pat McBride, Ray Graffia Jr) - 2:12
3. The New Colony Six - Rap-A-Tap (Ray Graffia Jr, Ronnie Rice) - 2:05
4. The New Colony Six - The Power Of Love (Gerry Van Kollenburg, Pat McBride, Ray Graffia Jr) - 2:26
5. The New Colony Six - Accept My Ring (erry Van Kollenburg, Ray Graffia Jr, Pat McBride) - 2:17
6. The New Colony Six - Rap-A-Tap (Ray Graffia Jr, Ronnie Rice) - 2:32
7. The New Colony Six - Accept My Ring (Gerry Van Kollenburg, Ray Graffia Jr, Pat McBride) - 2:16
8. The New Colony Six - Come And Give Your Love To Me (Ray Graffia Jr, Gerry Van Kollenburg, Chuck Jobes) - 1:57
9. The New Colony Six - The Time Is Right (Wally Kemp) - 2:14
10.The New Colony Six - Muddy Feet (On The Mississippi) (Billy Herman) - 2:56
11.The Raymond John Michael Band - Let There Be Love (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb) - 2:51
12.The Raymond John Michael Band - Feel Free (Ray Graffia Jr, Greg Kempinskii) - 2:02
13.The Raymond John Michael Band - Rich Kid Blues (Terry Reid) - 2:59
14.The Raymond John Michael Band - Hitch-Hiker (James Chitkowski, Ray Graffia Jr, Greg Nashan) - 2:07
15.The Raymond John Michael Band - Rich Kid Blues (Terry Reid) - 2:35
16.The Raymond John Michael Band - Bobby And Georgia (Ray Graffia Jr.) - 1:39
17.The Raymond John Michael Band - Hitch-Hiker (James Chitkowski, Ray Graffia Jr, Greg Nashan) - 2:10
18.The Raymond John Michael Band - I Can't Believe That We're Alone (Ray Graffia Jr, Greg Kempinski) - 3:19
19.The Raymond John Michael Band - Rich Kid Blues (Terry Reid) - 3:21
20.The Raymond John Michael Band - Gwendolyn (Ray Graffia Jr, Greg Nashan) - 2:56
21.The Raymond John Michael Band - I Confess (Ray Graffia Jr, Gerry Van Kollenburg) - 4:08
22.Junior - I Will Always Think About You (Ronnie Rice, Leslie Kummel) - 2:51
23.The New Colony Six - Can't You See Me Cry (Ray Graffia Jr, Gerry Van Kollenburg) - 2:34
24.Graffia - Sides (Ray Graffia Jr.) - 2:24
The New Colony Six
*Ray Graffia - Vocals
*Chick James - Drums
*Pat Mcbride - Harmonica
*Craig Kemp - Organ
*Wally Kemp - Bass
*Gerry Van Kollenburg - Guitar
*Ronnie Rice - Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar
*Ellery Temple - Bass
*Les Kummel - Bass
*Billy Herman - Vocals, Drums
*Bruce Gordon - Bass
*Chuck Jobes - Keyboards
*Skip Griparis - Vocals, Guitar
The Raymond John Michael Band
*Ray Graffia - Vocals
*Chick James - Drums
*Craig Kemp - Organ
*Greg Nashan - Guitar
*Terry Stone - Bass
*Jeff Tuckman - Bass
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