The New Colony Six - Colonized! Best Of The New Colony Six (1993)

In the mid- and late '60s, the New Colony Six were one of Chicago's most successful pop/rock groups, scoring many regional hits and hitting the national Top 30 with "I Will Always Think About You" and "Things I'd Like to Say." Both of those tracks are included on this 20-track retrospective, which documents the group's evolution from masterful garage rockers to pop/rock softies. In this case, this was certainly not a change for the better. The Six's 1966 recording Breakthrough was one of the finest obscure rock albums of the 1960s, marrying American pop hooks and harmonies to tough organ-dominated British R&B in the spirit of Them. Four songs from that album are included on this compilation, as well as a non-LP single (a cover of Bo Diddley's "Cadillac") from the same period. With personnel changes, the group devolved into a pedestrian mainstream pop/rock outfit that owed more to Gary Puckett than their gritty British Invasion roots. Discriminating listeners are advised to stick with their early material.