Since then, it has been covered by everyone from Del Shannon to Klaus Nomi, but no one has ever been able to top the masterful mixture of melodrama and hooks that Christie achieved on the original version of "Lightnin' Strikes. Thus, it wasn't much of a surprise when "Lightnin' Strikes" became a chart-topping hit in 1966 and achieved similarly stellar success elsewhere in the world. All these elements gel beautifully to create a song that many pop fans consider to be the ultimate in 1960s pop psychodrama. However, the true star of the song is Christie's pop-operatic lead vocal: he comes on like a sweet Romeo during the verses but launches into a wailing falsetto on the chorus that perfectly captures the song's underlying tension. His stylish work maintains a swinging pop/rock feel with stomping drumbeats and a muscular brass arrangement but adds inspired touches like the heavenly bells and tinkling piano used on the pre-chorus bridge. Christie's recording lives up to the song's dramatic potential thanks to an energetic arrangement from frequent Four Seasons arranger Charles Calello. This ambiguity carries over to the music: it immediately starts to build tension with an constantly ascending verse melody then gives way to a deceptively peaceful pre-chorus bridge before launching into a feverish chorus. To me this song is about a man having an urge to cheat on his girlfriend because shes not that serious and is not ready to settle down. With lines like "When I see lips begging to be kissed/I can't stop, I can't stop myself," it's not clear whether he is a cool Casanova or a predatory stalker. The first-person lyric describes the thoughts of someone who is torn between settling down and sowing his wild oats: the narrator sounds innocent enough while begging his potential "one and only" to give him time to settle down but gets downright disturbing when he describes the urges he feels away from her. This MGM release is an interesting look at an artist who should have been much bigger fun pop tunes capped off by a '60s classic.Lou Christie's biggest hit is also one of the most daring and unusual pop songs to top the charts during the mid-'60s. The originals and the album work best when Lou Christie's high-pitched backing vocals and falsetto kick in, as they do on "Jungle" and "Crying in the Street." Sixties artists highly influenced each other, and there's little doubt Nancy Sinatra's hit from 1967, "Lightning's Girl," was that: lightning striking twice. Even many years after this recording, Lou Christie in concert is totally Las Vegas, much like "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me," which opens the album, and the best cover on side one, a reading of the Fortunes' "You've Got Your Troubles." It's too bad Christie's publisher didn't foster the originals "Trapeze" on side two is fun and "Diary" certainly shows he could follow in Neil Sedaka's footsteps. The rock & roll guitar solo juxtaposed against strings and the immaculate chorus - just more elements that make for a classic. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic. The gentle piano and smart, building production of the 45 rpm "Lightnin' Strikes" blows away everything on side one. Discover Lightnin Strikes: The Very Best of the MGM Recordings by Lou Christie released in 2018. The choice of previously recorded love songs are all laments, the antithesis of his electrically charged hit which closes the album. Christie does Lenny Welch's "Since I Fell for You" as well. Having covered the Beatles with his decent working of "If I Fell" at least gets all Beatles fans who collect every cover on the bandwagon. Sure, in 1965-1966 the hit single was the be-all and end-all, but Lou Christie showed more promise than the blasé version of "Love Is Like a Heatwave" displays. The rest of the disc is divided between the six cover versions of side one and six Lou Christie/Twyla Herbert originals on side two. + Three years after Lou Christies Lightnin Strikes project on MGM, he garnered a Top Ten hit with 'Im Gonna Make You Mine' and an album titled after the Tony Romeo song that climbed the charts for the pop singer. Lou Christie hit number one with the title track of this album, Lightnin' Strikes, and it is a perfect three-minute pop tune produced by the legendary Charles Calello.
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