Marshmallow Way

The two figures behind Marshmallow Way were bubblegum legends — co-writers of 1910 Fruitgum Company’s big hit, and genre evergreen, “Goody Goody Gumdrops,” Billy Carl and Reid Whitelaw knew their way around a simple, easy-to-remember melody. Marshmallow Way was their plaything, a group they grabbed from the New Jersey circuit and gave a suite of songs that are in the bubblegum wheelhouse, with some unexpected soul / R&B touches — see the intro to “(Like The Love Of) Romeo & Juliet” — that elevate this self-titled album beyond much of what came to be known as the bubblegum canon. It’s a real surprise that an album this strong, this joyous, hasn’t been dug from history and reissued by a label like Rev-Ola.