Younger Girl: The Complete Kapp & Musicor Recordings

The Critters were one of the greatest of the soft pop groups of the '60s, as evidenced by their singles, but in 1966, it was still unfortunately common for great groups to release albums marked with too much filler material. The Critters fall victim to this (although it probably wasn't their fault), dropping in a few tepid numbers between their shining moments of brilliance. The group excels at the more sunshine pop/Association-style ballad songs where they are able to showcase their melodies and arrangements. The more "rock" songs manage to be less convincing. When in the middle of one of their pop songs like "Gone for Awhile" or "Mr. Dieingly Sad," it's obvious that the Critters were one of the best at concocting candy-coated psychedelia. The group's first single, the Jackie DeShannon-penned "Children and Flowers," is included here, and although its idealized sentiment and school-age poetry may stick out, the song is so well-composed that all is forgiven. Sure, the Lovin' Spoonful ma