Tommy Roe

Paisley Dreams pairs the two albums (It's Now Winters Day and Phantasy, both released in 1967) Tommy Roe made with producer Curt Boettcher's guidance. The pair had already collaborated on the bubblegummy hit singles "Sweet Pea" and "Hooray for Hazel" but when they went in to make It's Now Winters Day, they aimed to make something more atmospheric and more in line with the psychedelic times. The songs are still pure sugary pop but come loaded with swirling background vocals, electronic tricks, and other sonic wallpaper. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it works incredibly well and some of the songs here ("Aggravation," "Long Live Love," and "Misty Eyes") stand with the best sunshine pop of the era. The album's title track is a work of genius, sounding like a melancholy transmission form the saddest planet in the galaxy with Roe's lachrymose vocals wrapped in a "Spector trapped under the ice" production that cements Boettcher's status as a studio wizard. The album understandably flopped and the next effort was a simpler, less produced record that paled in comparison. The songs Roe turned in for Phantasy were a shade on the weak side, the arrangements were less interesting, and the whole thing smacks of a rush job. A pleasant rush job, but still rather forgettable. Putting the two records together does no favors for Phantasy, but it is interesting to hear them back to back and the fact that this is the first official release of It's Now Winters Day makes this package rather essential to fans of slightly left of center sunshine pop ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide