The Archie Show premiered on September 14, 1968. Based on the comic strip, its purpose for entering TV sets was primarily to sell records, much like the Monkees series the year prior. Though its biggest claim to fame is the seminal late-sixties bubblegum hit classic 'Sugar Sugar,' what most people don't realize is that the Archies actually had a string of five (!?) albums between 1968 and 1971. This, their first, does not feature that hit single, but it does feature some interesting musical holdovers from the surf genre as well as one excellent hot rod composition.

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The whole reason to grab this album is 'Ride Ride Ride'. It's a phenomenal car-related surf composition that only missed it's hit potential by 4 years. Seriously, if this had been released by Jan and Dean or as the b-side of Paul Revere and the Raiders' 'SS 396' it would already be on all your playlists. Interestingly, when the song was featured in an episode of the Archie Show, the quirky fade on the "ride ride ride" section of the chorus was left at full volume. It's an interesting choice for the album version, indeed. 

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‘Archie’s Theme (Everything’s Archie)’ is the theme song from the cartoon exactly as it appears in the show. The backing track is reminiscent of some Gary Usher tunes from a few years prior. ‘Boys and Girls’ is pretty standard late-sixties fare though the inclusion of the Beach Boy-like falsetto is a nice touch. ‘Time For Love’ is an excellent slice of Sunshine Pop. ‘You Make Me Wanna to Dance’ is a light pop rocker and I defy you to find a title more emblematic of the period than ‘La Dee Doo Down Down.’ ‘Truck Driver’ is close to ‘Alley Oop’ and a rather odd inclusion. ‘Catching Up on Fun’ is another flowerchild song. ‘I’m in Love’ is a cool tune with an infectious shuffle beat. ‘Seventeen Ain’t Young’ is rather dull. The less said about ‘Hide and Seek’ the better. The one charting single from the album, ‘Bang Shang-A-Lang’ may perhaps be familiar to those of a certain age. ​​​​