Tommy Roe - Everybody Likes Tommy Roe (1963/2018)

Everybody Likes Tommy Roe is an improved version of Roe's second American album, Something for Everybody. The Brits ditched the sappy covers of pop tunes like "Dominique" and "A Taste of Honey" and added some rockers, including the best song on the album and one of Roe's best singles, the bubbling "Everybody." Indeed the album does have a tougher edge that it might have otherwise, but it pales a bit in comparison to Sheila. The vocal choruses are a bit more intrusive, a higher percentage of the melodies are cutesy, and the overall feel is a bit more pop. Still there are many excellent tunes like the thumping "Sensations," "Kiss and Run," and a rock-hard cover of Chuck Berry's "Almost Grown." Roe also manages to take Hank Ballard's "Switchie Witchie Titchie" and make it sound like a missing Buddy Holly hit. Overall, the album sounds rushed, and between the slick vocal choruses and bad moves like the lifeless cover of Holly's "That'll Be the Day," it is missing much of the spark of Sheila. That being said, it is still miles ahead of anything the Frankies and Fabians of the world were doing.