The McCoys

The McCoys enjoyed a massive international hit with their first shot in the big leagues -- after producers Richard Gottehrer, Jerry Goldstein, and Bob Feldman discovered them when they shared the bill with the Strangeloves in Ohio, the McCoys landed a deal with Bang Records, and their first single for the label, "Hang on Sloopy," went all the way to number one. But the McCoys had grander musical ambitions than their patrons at Bang were willing to nurture, and in 1968 they signed with Mercury Records, where they were given complete creative freedom as they cut their final two albums, Infinite McCoys and Human Ball. The McCoys' musical approach took a 180-degree turn with these two albums, which blended psychedelic meanderings with jazz piano pieces, country melodies, sunny pop, extended blues workouts, and a few pieces that defy conventional explanation. The two Mercury albums have been paired up for this two-disc reissue from Beat Goes On, and anyone looking for some "Hang on Sloopy"-style garage stomp is advised to put this package back in the rack and slowly walk away. Infinite McCoys is for the most part a pretentious misfire; while the level of musicianship is quite impressive and the McCoys demonstrate that they can write and play a little bit of everything, the whole thing wanders so far afield that it never finds its way home, and the results are a tedious misfire. The McCoys hadn't resolved these problems on Human Ball, but the band did make a step in the right direction; the album is ten minutes shorter, most of the songs have a tighter focus, the melodies move in a more straightforward direction, and the live blues jams that bookend the LP give guitarist Rick Zehringer (aka Rick Derringer) a showcase for the skills that later made him a star. Human Ball would be a better buy all by itself than in tandem with Infinite McCoys, but Beat Goes On have at least gone out of their way to do right by the material -- the digital remastering sounds good and David Wells' extensive liner notes offer an interesting and informative history of the McCoys. Fans of eclectic psychedelic experiments of the late '60s will find this disc worth a quick spin, though fans of the McCoys' other work should proceed with caution. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide