The Buckinghams

Formed on Chicago's west side, the Buckinghams were a versatile bar and club band with a hard driving horn section and by the time 1967 rolled around, they had developed into a solid studio outfit as well, and with a string of melodic hits that year like "Kind of a Drag," "Don't You Care," "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)," and "Susan" (all written by the Chicago songwriting team of James Holvay and Gary Beisbier), and a serviceable cover of Cannonball Adderley's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," they sold more records that year than any other American band. Alas, that one year was to be their sole moment in the pop spotlight, and the hits dried up, leaving the Buckinghams to play out a long string of nostalgia shows and package tours while more FM-friendly bands like Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears took that same horn-driven template to the bank. Calling this set Greatest Hits and More is a bit of a dodge, since it is actually a mid-'80s live show recorded in New York by a reconfigured version of the band fronted by original members Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna. It's an OK show, and you do get all the hits plus versions of Van Morrison's "Domino," the Rascals' "Good Lovin'," and the Box Tops' "The Letter" that reveal the group's bar band roots, but it hardly adds up to anything essential no matter how professionally it's done. It's kind of a drag, actually. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide