- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- Them is a fiery Irish R&B/garage rock band where Van Morrison got his start. Them is best known for recording the original version of “Gloria”.
Them – Them (1967): Them is a fiery Irish R&B/garage rock band – from Belfast, Northern Ireland, not the Republic of Ireland – where Van Morrison got his start. Them is best known for recording the original version of the definitive rock anthem “Gloria” (written by Van Morrison). Amazingly, even though an extended performance of “Gloria” was at the heart of the live concerts by Them, the song was initially released as a “B” side in the U.K., with a cover of Big Joe Williams’ classic blues song “Baby, Please Don’t Go” as the “A” side. The band takes its name from the classic 1954 science fiction film about giant ants, Them!, featuring the second best known performance by Edmund Gwenn, who portrays Kris Kringle in the original Miracle on 34th Street (1947).
This particular disc is a Dutch reissue of the British edition of Them’s debut album that was actually released in 1977, though the album is marked 1967. The original release of the album in the U.K. was in 1965, under the name The Angry Young Them, although my disc does not show that title. Them opens with “Mystic Eyes”, one of my favorite British Invasion songs, particularly the extended instrumental opening. While “Gloria” is included on Them, “Baby, Please Don’t Go” does not appear on either the American or the British version of Them; and my copy doesn’t include their third single “Here Comes the Night” either, although it is the opening track on the American edition. “Here Comes the Night” was written by Bert Berns, who managed and co-founded Bang Records in the U.S.; three other songs written or co-written by Berns appear on Them. Every track on Them is a winner, with particularly good songs being “If You and I Could be as Two”, “You Just Can’t Win”, “Don’t Look Back” (a slow-paced number written by John Lee Hooker), “I Like it Like That” (a different song from the hit single by the Dave Clark Five also called “I Like it Like That”), and “I’m Gonna Dress in Black”.