Review: John Fred and His Playboy Band's 'Judy in Disguise (with Glasses)' Vinyl Reissue

When John Fred Gourrier misheard the lyrics of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", he suddenly found himself with the raw materials for the number-one hit that would revive his flailing career as a purveyor of bubblegum soul. "Judy in Disguise (with Glasses)" is more bubblegum psych than his usual fare, but as that kind of thing goes, it's one of the best and most memorable examples of what happens when someone spikes your Hubba-Bubba with LSD. It's also the kind of record that screams out "Beware! One hit wonder! Stop here!" But lo and behold, the album originally released as Agnes English in 1967 and reissued with the title of John Fred and His Playboy Band's only hit in '68 is much, much better than it has any right to be. Don't expect a stealth masterpiece like Crimson & Clover, but Judy in Disguise (with Glasses) is an almost uniformly terrific tutti-frutti swirl of light psych, light soul, and thick pop (if it wasn't for the indescribably annoying "We Played Games", I could have left out "almost"). Tracks such as "She Shot a Hole in My Soul" and "Little Dum Dum" are as outrageously catchy as the title track and probably could have taken over radio too if they'd been given the chance.