6/23/99 to 8/17/99

Title:  Nino Tempo & April Stevens - All Strung Out

Label:  Varese Sarabande - VSD-6036

Comments:  Of course you remember Nino Tempo & April Stevens from their huge #1
of 1963 "Deep Purple" which featured very close two part harmony like the old
weepers by Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy. After mining that sound to
diminishing results throughout 1964 brother and sister Nino and April looked
to be old news when out of the blue they came up with this stunning
collection for White Whale. This secured them a #26 charter in 1966 with the
very Phil Spectorish ballad "All Strung Out" and the equally nifty #86 "I
Can't Go On Livin' Baby Without You" that recalled some of the folk rock
moves of acts like the Mojo Men and the Mamas & the Papas. Nino (with Jerry
Riopell in a few instances) crafted an LP that was equal parts Phil Spector
(even using his engineer - Larry Levine and his musicians - the Wrecking
Crew) "Wall Of Sound" and Monkees "Wall Of Pop." Heck, their version of Lyme
& Cybelle's "Follow Me" sounds like the Monkees and is much better than the
original. The only real misstep here is a lame version of Bobby Hebb's
"Sunny" and a nice song, but weird production on "Wings Of Love" that floats
from speaker to speaker. Another nice song is the Clough & Crumm (Back Pork
Majority) song "Little Child" that is the equal of the version by Colorado's
Poor (Randy Meisner & company called it "My Mind Goes High"). They bubbled
under with a pop goody by David Gates called "You'll Be Needing Me Baby"
from the LP, but also with a couple non-LP singles that Varese has added to
the original LP (the warhorse "Let It Be Me" and a "Deep Purple" harmony "My
Old Flame"). Another nice track is the very Spector reminiscent "The Habit
Of Lovin' You Baby" that would have been top 20 if the Righteous Brothers had
covered it. Included in the 16 tracks is another non-LP single in "Ooh Poo
Pah Doo." The booklet is minimal, but manages to tell the story and present
some rare pictures. This is a great LP!

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 8-17-99

Title:  Tom Fogerty - The Very Best Of

Label:  Varese Vintage VSD-6030

Comments:  It's tough being the "other" brother. Witness Frank Stallone, Roger
Clinton or Tom Fogerty. Admit it with me, you figured younger brother John
had all the Fogerty talent and older brother Tom could only strum an E7th
chord and gratefully bank a lot of Creedence Clearwater Revival cash next to
no work.
Well brothers and sisters, I'm here to eat some major humble pie (another
good band, but I digress). Tom Fogerty deserved better recognition before
his untimely death as this 18 track CD shows. Between 1971 and 1988 Tom
pumped out the LPs the contained these tunes which are certainly of a piece
with CCR's blend of American three-chord rock in a countryish vein. On half
the tracks Tom sounds like a polite version of John, but on the other half he
is the spittin' image of his younger brother. Listen to the rocker "Joyful
Resurrection" and hear the recorded reunion of all four members of CCR (with
others) and you swear John is singing. Ditto the great version of "Mystery
Train" which (like most of this CD) sounds just like what brother John was
doing with his Blue Ridge Rangers LP. "And I Love You" is "Suzie Q" all over
again. Perhaps that's really the only criticism is that the songs sound like
others ("Sweet Things" to come is just a "Peggy Sue" rewrite), but at least
they're good choices to copy. His version of "Sloop John B" (which is listed
out of order as the last song on the CD, but is really the second to last)
won't make you forget the Beach Boys but shows a talent just finding his own
voice just prior to his death. The best song here is "Beauty Is Under The
Skin" which has a gospel feel not unlike "Working On A Building" by his
younger brother. Here's to you Tom and here's to CCR fans buying your music
and apologizing for not noticing that you were good in your own right.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 8-17-99

Title:  The Shirelles - 25 All-time Greatest Hits

Label:  Varese Sarabande VSD 6029

Comments:  It's the Shirelles. There are 25 single sides plus a stereo LP
version of "Baby It's You." What more do you need to know?
Just in case you're not calling Mike and Pat to buy this CD yet, let me
remind you that the Shirelles cut some of the greatest girl group singles
ever between 1958 and 1964 as evidenced by this disc. They came before the
Supremes and might have been remembered as being bigger than the Supremes is
they had been on Motown instead of Scepter (I mean they made the label big
not vice versa). Six of the tracks are mono including "Dedicated to The One
I Love" and "I Met Him On A Sunday (Ronde-Ronde)." The songs were classics
with later covers by such as the Mamas & Papas, Smith ("Baby It's You") and
the Beatles ("Boys" and "Baby It's You"). To me the prototype Shirelles song
is "Foolish Little Girl" which sounds coy and assured at the same time. They
also were a girl group as opposed to the Supremes in that you can hear each
young lady sing different parts of the lyric to nice effect. "Soldier Boy"
and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" may have been played to death, but you can
also get the lesser known songs like their original of the Manfred Mann
covered "Sha-La-La." Only a couple of their lesser singles are left off and
it's hard to argue with replacing them with more worthy B-sides. The booklet
is thorough and the CD is welcome.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 8-17-99

Title:  Happy Together - The Very Best Of White Whale Records

Label:  Varese Sarabande VSD-6035

Comments:  This is the CD I was most looking forward to this month and so it is
with a bit of trepidation that I say that it is slightly disappointing (note
that I said slightly). First, it's great to have the Everpresent Fullness
version of John Sebastian's "Wild About My Lovin'" on CD as it is to have
Professor Morrison's Lollipop's "You Got The Love." Ditto with Rene & Rene
("Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero"), Lyme & Cybelle ("Follow Me" and "I You Gotta Go,
Go Now") and Feather ("Friends"). The pre-Crazy Horse band the Rockets check
in with "Hole In My Pocket" and T Rex's Marc Bolan appears in John's Children
on "Smashed Blocked." Where the disappointment comes in is that virtually
the whole CD is monaural, but doesn't say so anywhere on the package. Those
songs in stereo would have been bliss, but Alec Palao (who did the liner
notes) informed me that masters were tough to come by. The Nino & April song
"All Strung Out" actually sounds better here in mono than the more distant
mix on the All Strung Out CD reviewed earlier and it can be argued that the
mono single mix is generally always punchier, but I love stereo. The three
Turtles songs ("It Ain't Me Babe," "Happy Together" and "Elenore") are all
mono and stereo versions are easy to come by, but wouldn't a stereo version
of Liz Damon's Orient Express doing "1900 Yesterday" have been nice?
Curiously, the only stereo song here is the Clique's "I'll Hold Out My Hand"
while "Sugar On Sunday" is mono here, but stereo on the Varese Vintage CD the
Clique (VSD-5953). Ok I hate mono, but the 21 tracks here are generally
welcome (Smokestack Lightnin' and the Malibu's certainly don't turn up
elsewhere). It's too bad that local Colorado band the Rainy Daze didn't make
the cut with their White Whale single "Make Me Laugh," but perhaps the dream
I have of getting several volumes of Colorado music (Moonrakers, Poor, Soul
Survivors, Boenzee Cryque, etc) out on CD will one day come to pass. The
cover is a cute drawing of a bunch of whales and the booklet is a very brief
thumbnail biography of the label and the bands.

Title:  The Faces - The Best Of Faces: Good Boys… When They're Asleep…"

Label:  Warner Archives/Rhino R2 75830

Comments:  This is a most welcome upgrade to the best of Rod Stewart's last
stab at being just a member of a band before superstardom took over. As with
all "best of" CDs where the bulk of the songs are not hits, every fan will
quibble with omissions and inclusions. However, of the 19 tracks here, most
are good choices. Perhaps best remembered for "Stay With Me" and "Cindy
Incidentally," the Faces were a rowdy boozy rock and roll band best
appreciated live (as this reviewer can attest to having seen them thrice).
For that reason many said that they never quite captured their act on record.
The aforementioned tunes plus "Borstal Boys," "Had Me A Real Good Time" and
"Too Bad" certainly come to mind as songs that came close however. The
omissions most missed by yours truly are the super (and superior to writer
Paul McCartney's version) live "Maybe I'm Amazed" and the ode to plastics
"Silicone Grown." The folky "Stone" and the slide workout "Plynth" also
deserved consideration over "Love Lies Here." There is an R&B-like
unreleased track that collectors might cherish ("Open To Ideas"), but could
have hit the cutting-room floor in favor of one of the other tracks. The
preceding comments are not to suggest that this is not a great purchase.
This is far superior to the old Faces hits collection Snakes & Ladders. The
essay in the booklet by Dave Marsh is more about how Dave Marsh felt about
the music than how it came in to being which is a pity (but typical of the
genre of writing I call "what I have to say is more important than the
facts, baby"). Dave, you write well, but how did Rod and Ronny from Jeff
Beck link up with the remaining Small Faces after Steve Marriott left for
Humble Pie? How did Rod move from being one of the boys to prima donna
rocker? Why did Rhino use the UK cover of Long Player in the booklet? Why
did the first LP say First Step when you say it's true title was The Small
Faces? When am I going to end this review?

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 8-17-99

Title:  Essex - "Easier Said Than Done/Walkin' Miracle"

Label:  Collectables 6204

Comments: It's a cold day in hell when Collectables releases anything of quality and interest to collectors but I must admit they have frozen hell over with this release.  A straight reissue of the 2 vinyl albums "Easier Said Than Done" and "A Walkin' Miracle" in stereo.  Even Rhino had not come up with a release of the stereo version of "A Walkin' Miracle" but you will find it here with a total of 24 tracks and running time of 55 minutes.  The mastering is superb and Collectables finally gets an "A" rating for one of their cd's.

Posted by: Pat Downey 8/3/99 patdowney@uswest.net

Title:  Cher - I Paralyze

Label:  Varese Vintage VSD-6039

Comments: In 1999 Cher has made a surprise return to the top of the charts
which leads naturally to a reissue of older product as a cash-in attempt.
While that sounds rather cynical, in truth it leads to some welcome
re-evaluation of older product that may have gotten overlooked. This
includes a reasonably decent 1982 Columbia/The Entertainment Co. release
which includes a title track that Cher has referred to as one of her two
favorite "Cher" songs. Listening to the nine track LP (a straight reissue
with no bonus tracks), the title track is perhaps not as deserving of praise
as Cher remembers, but the rest of the LP has some nifty moments. As with
any non-writer, the critical thing is the selection of songs and the
arrangements. Here the songs are crafted mostly by well-known 'hired gun'
song writers such as Desmond Child and the team behind the Village People -
Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo. In truth, Morali and Belolo's contribution
(the LP's first single "Rudy") is a nice Spectorian girl-pop workout much
better than "I Paralyze" which comes across as a electronic new wave jolt.
Heck, the b-side to "I Paralyze" ("Walk With Me") makes a better single in
another girl-pop wall of sound. Desmond Child's "When The Love Is Gone"
sounds like the sort of song Jim Steinman would have crafted for Bonnie Tyler
back then - a nice bombastic ballad. "Say What's On Your Mind" has a good
crunchy electric guitar riff to gnaw on while the old Babys (John Waite) slab
of arena rock "Back On My Feet Again" is covered here as "Back On The Street
Again" with early '80s synth bombast. The song "The Book Of Love" almost
sounds like a rework of the music from "Dark Lady." The booklet reproduces
the cover art with the front looking all new wavey (check out the skinny
sunglasses) while the back has a fine fine super-fine Cher 'come-hither' pose
(now that should have been the front cover - ooh la la). It's a good'un if
you like well-crafted pop in a female mode.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-28-99

Title:  The West Coast East Side Sound (16 Hits By East Los Angeles's Most
           Popular Groups!) - 4 volumes

Label:  Varese Sarabande VSD- 6017/18/19/20

Comments:  Hispanic contributions to rock are noteworthy is sporadic. You may
think of Santana, Santo & Johnny and Ritchie Valens as prime examples, but in
East LA (say, didn't Cheech & Chong sing about that?) there was a whole scene
in the '60s that only locals would know much about. These four - 16 track
CDs attempt to rectify that reissuing some of the best music from Rampart,
Gordo, Linda and Faro which were labels run by local entrepreneur Eddie
Davis. Not all the tracks are Hispanic, but most are and run the gamut from
doowop to garage. Each CD is staked around one big hit with Vol. 1 featuring
Cannibal & The Headhunters' driving "Land Of 1000 Dances," Vol. 2 starts with
the Blendells' "La La La La La," Vol. 3 serves up "Farmer John" by the
Premiers and Vol. 4 hits with El Chicano's "Viva Tirado (Part 1)." In
truth, all four volumes are worthwhile purchases with the highlight unknown
group perhaps being The Romancers who deserved to breakout with their assured
guitar-based rock, but didn't stand a chance in 1964 against the Brits.
Another find is a pairing of the vocal group the Rivingtons ("Papa Oom Mow
Mow") with a young Barry White in an act called the Atlantics who put out
some fine doowop. That group name turns up twice here so don't get confused
(neither are the UK instrumental group by the same name). Vol. 1 also serves
up a version of "Evil Ways" by The Village Callers that is a bit more 'salsa'
than the later Santana version which it has been said was inspired by this
record. Also, the Blendells give you "Huggies Bunnies" while Larry Tamblyn
who went on to the Standells chips in a fine 1961 doowop ballad "This Is The
Night." One of Vol. 2's highlights is the Cannibal & the Headhunters song
"Nau Ninny Nau" while Little Ray wants you to "Come Swim With Me." Vol. 3
keeps it going with a nice Sam & Dave style workout by the Soul-jers "Gonna
Be A Big Man" and a decent version of Booker T's "Chinese Checkers" by the
Mixtures. Vol. 4 has the latest track here with 1977's dance hit by the
Eastside Connection "You're So Right For Me". Your's truly is more partial
to the rock sides like Meep Meep & the Roadrunners' version of "Justine."
Other acts represented are Ron Holden, the Majestics, the Salas Brothers (who
would gain more fame as Tierra) and the Sunday Funnies. This is what makes
the CD era so fine is the reissue of great music like this that you more than
likely missed the first time around. Now, if we could just remind the labels
that places other than California and New York had fine undiscovered music
-like Colorado with the Hispanic scene in Pueblo and the pop/rock in Colo.
Springs and Denver during the '60s (gimme a call labels and we'll talk about
the Moonrakers, Rainy Daze, Boenzee Cryque, Trolls, Teardrops, Ceeds,etc.).

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-28-99

Title: Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Label: Capitol 21241

Comments:  Outstanding release from Capitol with 27 tracks, total time 76:54 and a 32 page booklet of liner notes and lyrics.  The first 14 tracks are Pet Sounds in mono (with a bonus track "Hang On To Your Ego") and the last 13 tracks are Pet Sounds in stereo.  What more could a consumer ask?

Posted by: Pat Downey 7/26/99  patdowney@uswest.net

Title:  The Sons Of Hercules - Get Lost

Label:  Get Hip GH-1086CD

Comments:  Yes kiddies, more garagy sleeze from the fine folks at Get Hip (that
you'll never find at Best Buy). The Sons… slam out 13 tracks of Dictators
meet the Ramones type slamajama. If you ever heard Ray Manzarek of the Doors
sing on the post-Jim Morrison LPs, vocalist Frank Pugliese sorta sounds like
him. The only duff cut here happens to be the only cover here and that's the
old Byrds tune "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better." These guys aren't tuneful
enough to pull off a song like that, but no matter because the rest of the
songs deliver the 3-chord goods. The best tracks are "I Don't Wanna Grow Up"
(sounds like a Ramones title, don't it?), "Too Late" and "Don't Wanna Be Like
You." The drum or the guitar or something always jumps into the mix to save
each song so don't give up on a track till you listen to the whole thing
(other stand outs are "Get Lost" and "No No No"). Actually, the title
combined with the label name would make a nifty logo for the label or the
band: Get Hip or Get Lost!

Posted by: George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist (hey, did
anybody read my article in the July Discoveries about the Astronauts?) 7-18-99

Title:  Pete Ham - Golders Green

Label:  Ryko RCD 10481

Comments:  The late great Pete Ham of Badfinger must be one of the most tragic
figures of the post-Beatles era (where's the movie?). Badfinger remains one
of this reviewers all-time favorite bands with Pete Ham penning the best
songs and possessing the most perfect pop vocal for those songs this side of
Paul McCartney. Dan Matovina has of late become a one-man Pete Ham booster
with first a wonderful (if depressing) book about the band entitled Without
You: The Tragic Story Of Badfinger (contact www.sirius.com/~crimson) and now
two CDs of Ham demos. Both CDs contain mostly unfinished demo versions of
released tunes and some unreleased gems that Matovina added understated
instrumental backing to. The first CD on Ryko was 7 Park Avenue and is
worth purchasing before this one simply because the songs are stronger. This
disc has some great moments ("Makes Me Feel Good" and the almost Chicago-like
"Dawn"), but must be considered for major fans. Who else is going to want to
hear a 39 second snippet of "Shine On" or a 22 second snippet of a song
called "Gonna Do It" which is about all the song says. There are several
very listenable moments like the "Maxwell Silver Hammer"-like "Goodbye John
Frost" and the Kinks copy "Keyhole Street," but none of these could be
considered indispensible unless you ache for new Badfinger product like yours
truly.
By the way, there is another Mersey-side group called the Searchers who
had some wonderful moments back in the '60s ("Needles & Pins", etc.). They
have a new compilation collecting their RCA sides from 1972 or so on the
label Taragon. I mention this because I love the music of the Searchers, but
I refuse to review anything on that label due to their snotty attitude
towards your old R&R Dentist. Buy it if you will.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-18-99

Title: Ricky Nelson - A&E Biography

Label: Capitol 99428

Comments: The A&E video series is excellent and so are the "A&E Biography" cd audio sets that have been released to date.  This cd has 14 tracks spanning the entire length of Ricky's career and there is extensive cross licensing so that Ricky's entire career can be represented.  Here are the contents:

(M) I'm Walkin', (M) Be-Bop-Baby (LP mix), (M) Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (45 version), (M) Believe What You Say (45 version), (M) Poor Little Fool, (M) It's Late, (M) Lonesome Town, (M) Cindy (Get Along Cindy) previously unreleased track with Dean Martin and Walter Brennan, (M) Glory Train, (S) Travelin' Man, (S) Hello Mary Lou, (S) String Along, (S) She Belongs To Me, and (S) Garden Party.

Posted by: Pat Downey pdowney@uswest.net   7/13/99

Title:  Harry Nilsson - Pussycats

Label:  Buddha 7446599615-2

Comments:  Back in 1974 when yours truly had to dig deeply to come up with the
scratch to buy an LP there was no taking chances; you bought a record because
it was gonna deliver the goods in the grooves (and if it had a nice cover
that was a bonus). So, buying an LP by the guy who had delivered three
straight goodies with the "Schmilsson" series seemed like a slam dunk since
it was produced by Mr. Rock and Roll - John Lennon - and even featured Ringo
on drums (plus the cover was really spiffy). The fact that this LP didn't
survive even a week in my collection before heading off to the used record
store didn't bode well for wanting the CD. With some trepidation, then, it
was just given a re-listen some 25 years after the fact and darned if there
aren't some charms that the years have helped unfold. The problem with the
old LP was that Nilsson's voice was flat out shot and should never have been
recorded till it recovered (and his voice was always sweet and fluid with a
range of several octaves). Frankly, his voice doesn't sound as bad as George
Harrison's did on "Dark Horse," but it really is a shame that a great rocker
like "Loop de Loop" doesn't benefit from the same strong voice that Nilsson
gave his earlier hit "Jump Into The Fire." On the old LP, Lennon's
production sounded muddy, but on CD a song like "Subterranean Homesick Blues"
can reveal its layers better. "Don't Forget Me" and "Mucho Mungo/Mt. Elga"
are both lovely and don't sound as grating vocally as some of the others.
The worst offender vocally is "Save The Last Dance For Me" which is also
present as a bonus track with just Nilsson and piano. On the official
version his voice is hoarse and painful sounding, but on the demo the voice
thankfully soars sweetly. Two of the other bonus tracks ("Down By The Sea"
and "Turn Out The Light") also show a strong-voiced Nilsson and are worth the
price of admission. The only misstep is the fourth bonus track "The Flying
Saucer Song" which is not really a song and seems to go on and on with no
apparent purpose. The lyrics to "Black Sails" include the punning line
"you're so veiny…" in reference to Carly Simon's "You're So Vain." The cover
booklet is exceptional with lyrics, rare pics and a history of the sessions
including Lennon's 'lost weekend' with Nilsson. Buy Schmilsson first, but
don't pass up the chance to reown Pussycats.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 6-23-99

Title:  The Kings - Are Here And More

Label:  Dizzy (Canadian import) CD 37375

Comments:  Back in 1980 the Kings scored with the very hard-poppy gem "This
Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide" and slipped out an LP on Elektra that
delivered more of the same. The charts were awash with Knacks and Blondies
and even Linda Ronstadt was riding a new wave. It was a great time to be
alive if you loved no-frills pop-rock (as opposed to the rap/hip hop hell we
currently live in) and the Kings delivered the goods with a four piece
dominated by a cheesy almost farfisa-like organ over guitar. The fact that
Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Kiss) produced didn't hurt any either. This is a
reissue of that 10 song Lp with five bonus tracks. "Shoulda Been Me" and
"Unstoppable" where two standout tracks from their comeback Canadian import
LP Unstoppable of a few years ago and do bonus duty here. The others are
decent with "Right To The Top" a worthwhile listen. Frankly, there are no
notes so there is no clue as to the origin of any of these songs. At least
there are photos and recording credits to know who played on what, but as far
as the original dates of any of the songs - forget it. The cover duplicates
the old LP with one exception and that is the elimination of the words
"rocknrollextreme" that littered to old record - why?
At any rate, if you loved the skinny tie era, this is manna. Buy it along
with the Knack, Paul Collins' Beat, Shoes, the Tourists … (say, how about a
Headboys or Cretones or Pop reissue while we're at it?).

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 6-23-99

01/19/08