There are many great mysteries in pop music.  How the heck did Lou Christie move from MGM to Columbia in the wake of "Lightnin' Strikes" and "Rhapsody in the Rain" and all but disappear? is certainly one of them.  Earlier this year, Ace Records attempted to answer this question with Gypsy Bells: Columbia Recordings 1967, a compendium of the released and unreleased material recorded by the Italian-American falsetto singer during his short and rocky tenure with the label.  Expectedly, it's a fascinating look at a talented artist who clearly wasn't eager to repeat himself.  Every track is a mini-movie, sung by one of the most distinctive voices of the era.

Christie and his frequent collaborator Twyla Herbert's "Shake Hands and Walk Away Cryin'" had all the same hallmarks that shot "Lightning Strikes" up the charts, shifting effortlessly from a relaxed verse sung in Christie's natural voice to an urgent, even frenetic chorus rendered in his unmistakable falsetto - and all wrapped in a killer Charlie Calello chart.  Though the hook is a bit less obvious than "Lightnin' Strikes," hard to believe that Christie's debut Columbia single petered out at No. 95 on the Hot 100.  It turned out to be his only chart placement on Columbia Records.  Christie's three released singles, with six sides and all, open Gypsy Bells.  Its B-side, "Escape," must have been far more surprising to those listeners who picked up the 45.  It's a Christie spin on jazz, with tinkling piano, swingin' horns, a guitar solo, and prominent bass.

Columbia next released "Self-Expression (The Kids on the Street Will Never Give In)," a bouncy observational song with a folky sheen.  Despite producer-arranger Calello's typically stellar efforts, it's a busy-sounding record.  It was backed by the moody "In the Days of the Romans," an ode to "old-fashioned moon love" with an exclamation to "Sing hallelujah!" It's pop at its quirkiest with a dose of social conscience mirroring the A-side.  "Letting your conscience sag/The Romans did it," Christie shares, hoping that love will reverse the societal decline.

For Lou's third and final Columbia 45, Calello turned to his Four Seasons collaborators Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell.  They supplied Christie with the sweet "I Remember Gina," a much more commercial proposition than "Self-Expression" but one which failed to hit the Hot 100.  (It did, however, score mightily in regional markets across Alabama, Maine, Michigan, Washington, and Pennsylvania.)  One can hear fellow Italian-American Frankie Valli singing "I Remember Gina," though Christie - as ever - injected it with his own personality (even ending with a spoken-word piece).  Its flip was "Escape," again.

Lou and Twyla's "Don't Stop Me (Jump Off the Edge of Love)," with requisite drama and emotion that's heightened by Calello's spooky arrangement with eerie organ and sound effects, was his fourth Columbia single.  ("Romans" was reused as the B-side.)  Clearly, commercial considerations weren't foremost on Lou Christie's mind, even with in the context of the adventurous late '60s.  All of the single sides other than "Don't Stop Me" are heard in both mono and stereo; that track is only in its original mono.  (Remastering engineer Nick Robbins handled the new stereo mixes, while three of the stereo versions are reprised from Bill Inglot's 1988 Rhino remixes.)

A whopping thirteen previously unreleased tracks newly mixed by Nick Robbins prove that Columbia had more than enough in the can for a strong Christie LP.  "The Greatest Show on Earth" is led by hard-charging piano.  "I've gotta stop and get a hold of myself," the singer insists.  "Standing on My Promises" is another shape-shifting pop opus; it name-checks "Lightnin' Strikes" ("Lightnin' strike my heart if I lie to you") and Twyla Herbert's 1961 "With This Kiss," recorded a mysterious "Chic Christy" (a pseudonym of one Henry T. Splane, per the liner notes).

"Yellow Lights Caution" has the makings of a hit, dancing on the edge of freakbeat with Christie effortlessly switching his falsetto on and off as the music stops and starts with a psych-rock flair.  The vibrant, uptempo "Gypsy Bells," too, would seemingly have been a solid choice for release at Columbia, echoing Herbert and Christie's "The Gypsy Cried," his first solo hit.  Another accessible number is Christie's cover of Gary Knight and Francine Neiman's "Holding On for Dear Love," with its irresistible rhythm and shimmering sound.

"Blue Champagne" was cut at the same session as "Escape," and is more classy supper-club adult pop though Christie's vocal is a bit less restrained and full-throated.  Calello and arranger Artie Schroeck overdubbed strings which couldn't be used for the mix here, so it's all a bit spare but still effective.  "Paper and Paste" is also Christie in lounge mode, though he imbues his falsetto with an emotional yelp that packs a wallop.  Carl Fischer and Bill Carey's 1941 composition "You've Changed" was recorded over the years by artists such as Dick Haymes, Billie Holiday, and Eydie Gorme.  Don Costa, arranger of Gorme's version on Columbia, was an inspiration to Calello, and clearly the student learned from the teacher.  While this lush orchestral treatment is one of the more straightforward tracks here, it proves that Christie - in fine, supple voice - clearly could have been molded by Columbia into the adult contemporary mode had he so desired.  Herbert and Christie were fond of the phrase "Rake Up the Leaves," using it as the title of three different songs.  This one is an attractive ballad with a tender lead vocal.

"You've Changed" is joined by other tracks spotlighting Christie as an interpretive singer.  Antonio Carlos Jobim's bossa nova classic "Meditation," with its English lyrics by Norman Gimbel, is as spellbinding as ever in Christie's rendition.  Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "How Many Days of Sadness" was introduced in 1964 on The Sensitive Sound of Dionne Warwick and as the B-side of "Reach Out for Me."  No less than Luther Vandross proclaimed it one of his all-time favorite Warwick tracks while Bacharach acknowledged that it might have become a classic had it been released as an A-side.  Instead, it was rarely, if ever, covered - but Lou Christie, knowing a good song when he heard it, "played the Dionne Warwick original over and over on a battery-powered phonograph with tour bus companion Diana Ross during the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars," notes Harry Young.  Christie's version of the melancholy lament hews closely to the Bacharach arrangement, retaining the gospel-infused power of Bacharach and David's production.

Miss Ross makes it into another song: "Berry Gordy and the elegant Supremes are taking over Detroit city," Christie affectionately sings on "Tender Loving Care," a demo with a Motown beat that deserved a full production.  Meanwhile, an Eastern-influenced psych sound is heard on "I Need Someone (The Painter)" from the songwriting duo of Paul Leka ("Green Tambourine") and Shelley Pinz.

In shedding light on this cornucopia of varied material, Christie aficionado Harry Young's track-by-track notes often have more of a glib, off-the-cuff tone than is typical of Ace's releases.  (For instance, the entry for "Back to the Days of the Romans" reads, "Old-fashioned 'moon love' providing Christie-ian salvation from retro decadence.  The den of iniquity?  Don't ask about his Jimi Hendrix experience with two girls in the West Village.  Sing Hallelujah!")  But Young knows his stuff, and the tidbits he does provide throughout are choice.

Gypsy Bells includes a 20-page booklet with an introduction from Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley, plus Harry Young's notes and his 1966-1968 Lou Christie timeline.  On May 24, 1968, the singer departed Columbia; in July, he was signed to the independent Buddah label where, in short time, he returned to the top ten with Tony Romeo's "I'm Gonna Make You Mine."  While not every track on Gypsy Bells is wholly successful, they collectively reveal an artist who, at the peak of his powers and his success, was unafraid to follow his muse.  As such, it's one of the most illuminating and worthwhile archival releases of the year.  It's available now from Ace Records at the links below.

Lou Christie, Gypsy Bells: Columbia Recordings 1967 (Ace CDTOP 1601, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Shake Hands and Walk Away Cryin' (Columbia single 4-44062, 1967)
2. Escape (Columbia single 4-44062, 1967)
3. Self-Expression (The Kids on the Street Will Never Give In) (Columbia single 4-44177, 1967)
4. Back to the Days of the Romans (Columbia single 4-44177, 1967)
5. I Remember Gina (Columbia single 4-44240, 1967)
6. Don't Stop Me (Jump Off the Edge of Love) (Columbia single 4-44338, 1967)
7. The Greatest Show on Earth
8. Standing on My Promises
9. Blue Champagne
10. Yellow Lights Say
11. Paper and Paste
12. You've Changed
13. Meditation
14. How Many Days of Sadness
15. Tender Loving Care
16. Gypsy Bells
17. Rake Up the Leaves
18. Holding on for Dear Love
19. I Need Someone (The Painter)
20. Shake Hands and Walk Away Cryin' (1988 Stereo Mix)
21. Escape (2024 Stereo Mix)
22. Self-Expression (The Kids on the Street Will Never Give In) (1988 Stereo Mix)
23. Back to the Days of the Romans (1988 Stereo Mix)
24. I Remember Gina (2024 Stereo Mix)

Tracks 7-19, 21, and 24 previously unreleased
Stereo except 1-8 are in mono