Monday, August 5, 2019

Lamp Records, It Glowed Like The Sun


Not much on liner notes but the music more than makes up for it. Now-Again Records hit it out of the park with a complete look at the soulful Lamp Records label. Sweet soul monsters by The Vanguards, The Pearls, The Embers, The Montiques, Words of Wisdom, The Moonlighters, "The P.H.D.'s. and Tony Black And The Revolution Compared To What. A must for the sweet soul aficionados.
8 out of 10

The Best Of Bacone Records 1968 - 72


Not your properly manufactured CD release but this has killer soul ballads that are not available elsewhere. Highlights include "Movin' Movin' On" by The Voltaires, "Coming Back To You" by The Baby Dolls, "My Baby" and "At Last" by The Limitations and a killer jam session recording of "Heartache Highway" by an unknown group. Sound quality varies but definitely worth the pick up.
7 out of 10

On The Real Side


Lone standout for me here is Donnie Elbert's "Can't Get over Losing You:. The rest of the material has too much of a late 70's early 80's sound for my taste in soul. Best off getting the Donnie Elbert track on another compilation such as "This Time Will Be Different: The Sweet Side Of Philadelphia".
1 out of 10

Crystal Ball Records 30th Anniversary






A mix of oddball pop, upbeat and ballads from deep in the Crystal Ball vaults. Highlights for me include "I Only Have Eyes For You" by The Ambertones, "Little Boy" by Richie Pee, "Darling You Are Here" by Charles Baker, "After You've Become A Star" by Checkmates, "Baby" by Ray Williams And The Mastertones, "Left Front Row" by The Fabulous Crys-Tels, "What Is Love" by The Sweethearts, "Laughing At Me" by Barbara J And The Silver Slippers, "Forgotten" by The Versales, "Goodbye" by The Lark Tones and "Wait For Me" by Shirley Jackson And Group. Sound quality varies. for those who like those tracks (slow and upbeat) many are not familiar with this will be a good pick up.
5 out of 10

Wild One, The Cameo-Parkway Story


"Set My Heart At Ease" by Donnie Elbert is pretty much the only track I can recommend on this collection. The rest is pop, sweet soul guys might want to pass this one up.
2 out of 10

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Rare Meat, Early Works Of Frank Zappa


Early work that Frank Zappa had his hands in. Two big highlights for me are the East L.A. classics "Every Time I See You" and "Cradle Rock" by the Heartbreakers. Limited liner notes but a nice pick up.
5 out of 10

The Paragons / The Jesters



Pretty much all of the nice ballads from these two classic Doo Wop groups are included in these collections. The War CD sound quality is not as good as what you get in the Relic Records release. Doo Wop fans are more that familiar with the highlights.
5 out 10

Rumble


Standard NYC 50's R&B by those groups we see often across many comps. Light on packaging, no liner notes.
4 out of 10

Doo-Wop Classics, Tip Top Records


Top picks on this compilation are "You Are My Darling" by The Creations, "Chapel Bells" by The Sunny Boys, "Darling I Do" by Sebastion, "Give Me Your Heart" by The Performers and "Too Young" by The Emblems. A recommended pick up for the Doo Wop fans.
5 out of 10

Doo Wop From Dolphin's Of Hollywood



Early west coast R&B from the legendary John Dolphin's stable. Highlights include "Soft, Soft Lips" by The Sunrisers, "Emily" by The Turks", "Tell Me" and "Why Did You Leave Me" by The Gassers and "My Confession" by The Hollywood Flames. leave this one for the hardcore early R&B crowd. Very good sound quality.
4 out of 10

The Gaytunes


A couple of nice, not widely known ballads on this short and simple CD. "You Left Me", "I Love You" and "Tell Me You Love Me" are the good ones. For the price this goes for,  no Doo Wop fan should pass it up.
5 out of 10

The Golden Age Of American Rock 'N' Roll













Now, here is a collection for those "radio" oldies fans. Only reason I would recommend to some of the more devoted oldies fans is if you are looking to get a very good sounding recording of a track on this set. Standard tracks by The Jive Five, The Teen Queens, The Five Satins, The Cliques, Big Jay McNeely, Barbara Lynn, Johnnie And Joe, Robert And Johnny, Rene And Ray, The Sixteens, Donnie Elbert, Shirley And Lee plus others. A+ sound quality and lots of liner notes.
5 out of 10