Herman's Hermits, Blaze (side A)

Blaze is a confusing record, from the vaguely psychedelic cover art to the Donovan song, "Museum", that was the single. 1967 was the same year as the Merry-Go-Round album, so sounding like Help! must not have been completely passé. MGM, though, was an even blander label than A&M, and Herman's Hermits were a commercially successful band and not just a newly-discovered teenage pop band. The biggest surprise of all might be the Yardbirds-y tremolo guitar on "Ace, King, Queen, Jack". It feels like a guilty pleasure, because it's by Herman's Hermits, but in the end, it's really just a good 60s pop record.