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Record
Mirror, September 1970
A
single which has to face up to the stern facts
of pop life. Yellow River
got away purely as a song, with no artist identification.
Now the group has built that identity.
Repeat success? Well, this is certainly
a directly commercial production. It has a jangler
of a rhythm, banjo-y and brisk.
A philosophical sort of thing
you can't find peace of mind away from the old
homestead. Jeff Christie sings well, within
the melodic limits.
Built on this sort of simplicity,
and already hammered home by the disc gentry
on radio, it pretty certainly can't miss out.
Maybe something a bit more ambitious
next time out? Maybe, but for now this looks
and sounds a good top 10 bet .. for Christ-ie's
sake! A chart cert.
Disc
and Music Echo, September 1970
The late, great
Kenny Everett was hard to please. But he
definitely liked San
Bernadino.
This review was actually the most positive
review of all new releases that week.
Songs which he panned included
the Hollies' Gasoline
Alley Bred and Don Fardon's Indian
Reservation.
Melody
Maker, September 1970
It takes an extra-special disc to follow
a No 1 hit, specially when it's by a comparatively
new group.
This doesn't strike me as being
quite as good as Yellow
River but I still think it's strong
enough to make its mark in the chart.
It's
another jaunty and bouncy Jeff Christie
song with a contagious beat, a happy-go-lucky
feel and that persistent jangling sound
which also characterised the group's previous
disc.
It's
good, simple, instant pop and its appeal
is instantaneous. It's a song that grows
on you, because I've now played it five
times and I find that the melody is now
firmly registered in my mind.
And
it's bound to get a lot of spins on Radio
1 on the strength of Christie's previous
hit, so I'm confident it will make the chart.
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