All Platinum And Undiscovered Gems

Disc one is way too funky for me. Disc 2 has a few solid jams such as "You Send Me" The Ponderosa Twins, "Unaddressed Letter" by Dave "Baby" Cortez, "So This Is Our Goodbye" by The Moments, "A Coward's Way Out" by Lezli Valentine and "Because You Do It To Me" by Mickey & Sylvia. Brief liner notes, excellent sound quality.
4 out of 10

GWP - NYC - TLC

Lots of northern and deep soul you need to skip over to get to the good ballads. Highlights include "Here It Comes" by The Persians, "Gotta Find A Way" by The Hesitations, "All That I Have" by Debbie Taylor & The Hesitations and "Yes I'm Ready" by The Hesitations. A bit on the expensive side for only a few good tracks.
4 out of 10

The Main Ingredient

Mellow soul from the late 60's through the late 70's. For me the keepers are "You've Been My Inspiration", "I'm Better Off Without You", "Everybody Plays The Fool", "Spinning Around", "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely" and "I'm So Proud". Brief liner notes, excellent sound quality.
6 out of 10.

The Vibrations

Many times I passed up on The Vibrations thinking they were more of a novelty act because of their more popular dance hits. I was quite surprised when I heard their take on "For For Love". At that point I took them more seriously. Other nice soul jams include "Remember The Rain", "Finding Out The Hard Way", "Hello Happiness", "Forgive And Forget", "Your Mine" and the beautiful "Take A Step". Overall sound quality is very good. Recommended addition to your collection.
7 out of 10.

From The Vaults of Gone

This set contains most of the well known tracks by The Dubs. If it was not for that this set might not be worth it, especially the last two volumes. The first three also include nice ballads by The Uniques, The Premiers, The Neons, The Carouselles, The Channels and The Crescendos (sound quality on their 2 tracks is below average). Volume 3 also has a very good track by The Isley Brothers, "My Love". Recommended for the Doo Wop fan. The sound quality varies.
5 out of 10

The Volumes

"Dreams" and "Bells" are the only two tracks I really enjoyed on this release. Good sound quality but no liner notes.
This is the last post for this month. Next month I will try to focus more on soul harmony.
3 out of 10.

The Vocaleers

The best track on this release for me is "Is It A Dream". Other nice tracks include "Be True", "A Golden Tear", "The Night Is Quiet" and "Could You Adore Me". The sound quality varies. A must for the Doo Wop fan.
6 out of 10

Ben E. King

The first CD I have listed is a must have just for the track "I'll Forget About You" recorded when he was with the Crowns. Other nice tracks on that disc include "Oh My Love" and "Sometimes I Wonder". The second release focuses more on this big hits and expands into the latter part of his career.
5 out of 10.

Clyde McPhatter

Early R&B ballads and rockers featuring the founder of the Drifters. Highlights include "Seven Days", "Gone", "Oh What A Dream" and ""Let Me Know" apart from his big hits such as "Money Honey" and "A Lover's Question".
4 out of 10

The Drifters

Nice compilation of some of The Drifters' well known songs. A good addition to any fan of oldies music in general. If you are looking for the "low-rider sound" you might not get much out of this one.
4 out of 10.