9/19/99 to 10/11/99

Title:  The Cynics - Sixteen Flights Up

Label:  Get Hip GH 1010CD

Comments:  When it's on Get Hip you know that the music will generally be retro
garagy '60s and this doesn't disappoint. This is the second Cynics LP
reissued with four bonus tracks thus making it necessary to change the
original title from 12 Flights Up to 16 Flights Up - you dig? Farfisa
organ, snotty vocals and fuzz guitars rule with the Standells or the Leaves
or the Seeds '60s sonic soulmates to the Cynics. The sound is good, the
songs are good and the playing is nifty enough to make this a worthwhile
purchase. There are a few changes of pace with the psych-ballad "A Basket Of
Flowers" the rock and roll Dentist's fave cut on this disc. "Yeah!" rocks as
does "Took Her Hand" and frankly so does all the rest (heck, there's even a
song called "Abba" for good measure). If the late '60s still rock your
world, check it out.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 10-11-99

Title:The Iron Giant - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Label:Rhino R2 75943

Comments:Movie reviewers said this animated feature was worth checking out,
but few actually did. If the quality of this soundtrack CD is any
indication, the public missed out by not going to see the movie. So many of
the soundtracks to movies take the same uninspired approach to recycling the
same oldies (Austin Powers is a good example using the Monkees and
Steppenwolf for the umpteenth time) that it's great to find an O.S.T. CD that
digs for the arcane. Like John Waters' movie Hairspray these guys tried to
dig out some non-hit early rock and bebop tracks to set off the movie. Check
out Jimmy Lloyd's "I Got A Rocket In My Pocket" or "Blast Off" by the Tyrones
for some rock. Go to "Kookie's Mad Pad" (Edd Byrnes) or dig "Destination
Moon" by the Ames Brothers for retro lounge. Other goodies are "Let's Do The
Cha Cha" - the Magnificents and Mel Torme's "Comin' Home Baby." My 8 and 12
year old girls have gotten strangely attached to the Chipmunks-do-bebop track
"Salt Peanuts" by the Nutty Squirrels. Ok, so they could have done better
than to chose "Searchin'" by the Coasters or "Honeycomb" by Jimmy Rodgers
(from an arcania standpoint, not from a quality standpoint) plus you really
won't listen to the two Michael Kamen orchestral background songs, but so
what. (By the way, why doesn't somebody get busy with a reissue of Kamen's
Atco New York Rock Ensemble LPs like Faithful Friends…& Flattering Foe since
the great NYRE LPs on Columbia are now out - Roll Over/Freedomburger?)

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist

Title:The Doobie Brothers - Long Train Runnin' - 1970-2000

Label:Warner Archives/Rhino R2 75876 2

Comments:With only two months to go, it seems fair to give Rhino the boxset
award for the last year. Starting with the great Randy Newman box than
continuing with sets by Deep Purple, Alice Cooper and Gordon Lightfoot (well,
that one was a bit of a misstep for me with missing tracks, but the intent
was good) not to mention some great various artists sets, Rhino has done it
right. If only yours truly had more cash to spend (or if Rhino would pony up
some free product) … sigh. At any rate, this is a four CD set with 78 tracks
sounding better than ever. "What A Fool Believes" and "Black Water" where
the number ones, but you get all the other hits as well (generally in single
form - "Listen To The Music," "Sweet Maxine" and "Rockin' Down The Highway"
for example). There is a new track, a cover of the old rocker "Little Bitty
Pretty One" which really smokes (man when the bass guitar comes in it gives
ya chills) plus lots of great LP tracks like the Moody Blues a-like "I Cheat
The Hangman" and "Wynken, Blynken And Nod" from Sesame Street. One whole
disc is nothing but unreleased songs, demos and live versions. Unless you're
an obsessive, most of these tracks feel like leftovers, but no mind since
it's this mix of all the hits plus oddities for the true fans that make these
boxes special. The book is great mixing a history with rare pictures and all
the LP covers reproduced (including the inside bits and posters!). This is
how to do it (one memo to Rhino, however, could you have possibly come up
with a better cover picture or a train that actually looks like something?).

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 10-11-99

Title:Steeleye Span & Maddy Prior - A Rare Collection 1972-1996

Label:Raven RVCD-90 (Aust. Import)

Comments:This is a 20 track update of the great 1981 Australian-only vinyl
rarities piece Recollections. If you already have that on vinyl, the bad
news is you simply must rebuy it on CD as this disc adds a lot of odd goodies
like a Rick Kemp/Maddy Prior solo single "Fire On The Line" and an 8+ minute
live medley of "Marigold/Harvest Home/The Spring Will Bring Us Together."
Maddy Prior with rock group Status Quo redoes "All Around My Hat" and the odd
singles "Rag Doll" and "Rave On" are also here. There is a single edit of
"Elf Call" and the full version of "Thomas The Rhymer" (nifty to here, but
Ian Anderson made the right call to edit it on the LP). This reviewer simply
can't get enough of "The Boar's Head Carol" which starts as an incredibly
sung a cappella madrigal and then ends with loud instrumental accompaniment.
Other live goodies are "The Royal Forester" and "I Have A Wish." Again,
these sort of releases are what make the CD technology so worthwhile. The
booklet includes memories by drummer Nigel Pegrum along with a song by song
discussion.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 10-11-99

Title:  Rocky Sharpe & The Replays - Looking For An Echo - The Best Of…

Label:  Chiswick CDWIKD 194 (English import)

Comments:  Sort of the English version of Sha Na Na, this is Sharpe's second
band after the basic members of Rocky Sharpe & the Razors became the Darts
(both these outfits have CDs in the same vein). The age of these tracks
range from 1979 - 1984 and are mostly doowop classics. There are 27 tunes
here (yowzah!) with standouts being their hits "Rama Lama Ding Dong," "Never"
and "Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)." Other goodies are "Tick Tock,"
"Imagination" and the old Rockpile track "Heart." You know the sound is good
since keyboardist Pete Wingfield and producer Mike Vernon are on board. Some
of the originals aren't too shabby either - "Take My Hand" and "Oop Doop
Doop." Ok, outta 27 tracks there are a few lesser lights like "Martian Hop"
(the original kicks the Replays all the way outta the galaxy) that coulda
been left off, but why quibble. There is a nice story of the band and
discussion of all the songs in the booklet plus color pictures - "rock and
roll is here to stay, it will never die!"

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 10-11-99

Title:  Sun Records - 25 All-Time Greatest Hits

Label:  Varese Sarabande 302 066 048 2

Comments:  OK, the Sun records and Sam Phillips story is so well known by now
that it's an American legend not unlike young George Washington chopping down
that cherry tree. When Phillips heard a raw young white kid that could meld
black R&B with country jump, a style of music was born that ripped the music
industry and American generations in two. Gone away was the smooth adult
pudding that had dominated the charts to be replaced by the salacious sounds
of raging youthful hormones on the prowl. Elvis Presley was, of course, that
kid and he ushered in other kids who wanted to follow in his footsteps at Sun
records - Carl Perkins, Billy Riley, Johnny Cash, Carl Mann, Jerry Lee Lewis,
etc. Back in 1987 when CDs were just hitting, Rhino put out a pretty fair 20
track disc called The Sun Story. When the rock and roll Dentist saw this new
Sun CD on Varese's release sheet, I had to wonder if this was simply a
replacement for that old disc. In one way it is, but generally this is a
disc to be bought in addition to that old disc because only 14 of the tracks
duplicate.
Perhaps the biggest difference is that Elvis is not on this new disc
since RCA now has the rights to his stuff on Sun. Well, the Rhino disc only
had "That's All Right (Mama)" and "Good Rockin' Tonight" on it anyway so the
best thing to do (if you haven't already) is to buy the great 2 CD set RCA
has called Sunrise - the definitive early Elvis with 38 tracks of Sun heat.
The only other songs on the Rhino set that are missed (bigtime) on the new CD
are two crazed rockers: "Ubangi Stomp" by Warren Smith and "Flyin' Saucers
Rock 'N' Roll" by Billy Riley and His Little Green Men.
What makes the Varese CD worth owning is a big upgrade in sound over the
Rhino set which is expected since digital technology has improved. A listen
to Roy Orbison's "Ooby Dooby", for example, reveals more highs and lows and
better depth of sound. Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis make up 10 of the
tracks with Carl Perkins chippin' in another 5. The other 10 are divided
between people like Rufus Thomas and his nasty "Bear Cat" answer to "Hound
Dog" from 1953 and Carl Mann's rippin' rock take on Nat King Cole with "Mona
Lisa" (who played that great guitar lick?!). Phillips and Jack Clement
created a sound that still sounds great as can be heard on the 46 year old
record (!) "Feelin' Good" by Little Junior's Blue Flames or the 42 year old
"Red Hot" by Billy Riley. While the sound is very different, Varese has
chosen to tack on another Sun hit from 1970 to make the set more complete.
The Gentry's version of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" is the only song in
stereo on this set. The liner notes are decent and have some cool early pics
included (though there is a strange black ink 'amoebae' that obscures some
of the notes on the third page). If you don't own this stuff your collection
is most definitely not complete.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 9-30-99

Title:Wayne Newton - Sings The Hits Of The '70s (I Believe In Music)

Label:Varese Sarabande 302 066 023 2

Comments:You're probably saying the same thing I was when this CD showed up.
Wayne 'freakin' Newton, why would anybody want his stuff on CD? Well kids,
this 16 track CD is actually pretty decent. This is the Chelsea records era
of the '70s for Newton and frankly if he would have recorded all his stuff
with Wes Farrell (Partridge Family) and John Madara in charge like here, he
would probably have been a lot better off. These guys could really craft a
pop record and nothing here is unlistenable. OK, you probably don't need to
hear Newton do Paul Simon's "Loves Me Like A Rock" and that could have been
left off in favor of his charting single "Anthem" which is curiously missing,
but otherwise Newton has the goods here. Three of the songs were charting
singles, the hit "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast," "Can You Hear The Song?" and
Neil Sedaka's great "The Hungry Years." If you can remember what Paul Anka
was doing during that era (stuff like "The Times Of Your Life"), this is of a
piece with that. At times, Newton's voice is very similar to Harry Nilsson's
sort of pinched tenor which makes his cover of "Without You" a natural, but
also makes "You Are So Beautiful" most appealing removed from Joe Cocker's
croak (I love Cocker, but not on that song). Other highlights are Leon
Russell's "A Song For You" and a really great cover of Paul McCartney's "My
Love." Aside from the three chart singles and those two, the best song is a
cover of the Clint Holmes charter "Playground In My Mind" which is better
than the original (it eschews the wimpy kid vocal used on the Holmes version,
for instance). If you like '70s pop, this one's for you.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 9-30-99

Title:  The Blues Band - The Best Of The Blues Band

Label:  Varese Sarabande 302 066 037 2

Comments:  The rock and roll Dentist loves de blooz especially when it jumps
and quakes like what Canned Heat, Savoy Brown, Fleetwood Mac, Chicken Shack,
Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Clapton did to it. When ex-Manfred Mann
vocalist/harpist Paul Jones linked up with some other old players and formed
the Blues Band, yours truly went on a quest to find and buy their LPs
available only on import from Arista. With that in mind, it's great that
Varese has taken a chance and licensed a 16 track best of for you American
listeners so scarf it up if you too love de blooz. As with any compilation
that doesn't rely on hits and is a collection of someone's idea of the best
LP tracks, there are omissions. It's hard to quibble with any release on
these guys, but it would have been nice to have more of the first 5 LPs they
did, which are pretty straight blues, and less of the last two which are
smoother (not unlike what happened to Climax Blues Band who started strong,
but wimped out over their career). Especially missed by yours truly is
"Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights)" from their first LP. Rather than cry over
what's not here, however, let's rejoice at what is. You get spiffy versions
of "Diddy Wah Diddy" (not the Capt. Beefheart rocker), Son House's "Death
Letter" (incredibly dirty blues), Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" and "I Can't Be
Satisfied." Jones really shows off his harp prowess on the instrumental "Bad
Penny Blues" which features some killer Ian Stewart barrelhouse piano along
with his Stones mate Charlie Watts on brushed drums. Jones most resembles
the traditional blues of a Little Junior Parker on songs like "I Want To Be
Loved" which doesn't rock quite as hard as the old Stones version. "Find
Yourself Another Fool" is an original that could be a Dr. Feelgood song. The
first 9 tracks pack the goods while the last 7 are hit and miss (with the
exception of "Country Blues No. 48"), but the music is still worth owning if
you like old blues.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 9-30-99

Title:  Susan Raye - 16 Greatest Hits

Label:  Varese Sarabande VSD-6028

Comments:This is a first-time collection collection for Capitol records'
seventies country sweetie Susan Raye. Raye gave the country charts 29 rays
of sunshine in toto till she quit the business in the late '70s to work with
placing kids in foster homes. She almost gives country a bad name by not
singing sad songs about drug-out women getting' a divorce and tryin' to raise
10 kids on $5 a week. These are all produced by Buck Owens and his band
backs he on the records so it's not surprising that the songs sound great.
"Pitty Pitty Patter" is a country bubblegum song that you'd love to hate, but
as soon as it's over you want to hear it again. She only placed one record
on the pop charts "L.A. International Airport" which is surprising since her
records aren't so country sounding that they would have been out of place
next to Juice Newton or Anne Murray who perhaps more country. "Willy James"
is a great record as is here note perfect cover of the Connie Francis hit "My
Heart Has A Mind Of It's Own." She also covered "Put A Little Love In Your
Heart" a bit faster than Jackie DeShannon, but to good effect. The last song
on here ("Whatcha Gonna Do With A Dog Like That") leaves you wanting a volume
two from this sunny Raye.

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 9-30-99

Title:  Bobby Darin - The Very Best Of 1966 - 1969

Label:  Varese Vintage VSD-6007

Comments:Bobby Darin was simply too talented for his own good. If you've
read other reviews yours truly has done on Darin, you'll appreciate that I
think Darin was/is one of the most overlooked American talents. Here's a guy
who could have been a star strictly doing any of the following: movies,
Sinatra crooning Vegas style, '60s pop/rock, folk, adult contemporary,
songwriting. The fact that he excelled at all these actually worked against
him since it was hard for a kid who had just purchased a great 'serious kids
folk' record in "If I Were A Carpenter"to then buy his next years single
"Talk To The Animals" which was not what any serious '67 hippy would be
caught dead with. Yet they were both good. This CD concentrates on the more
serious singles Darin made for Atlantic and Direction in the late '60s. If
you want the adult stuff from the same era, check out Varese's Swingin' The
Standards (VSD 6884). If you don't want to shell out the bucks for the Darin
boxset on Rhino and already have the fine two CD set on Atco from 1991
(Splish Splash, the Best Of Bobby Darin Vol. One and Mack The Knife, the Best
Of Bobby Darin Vol. Two) this makes a nice purchase since it only duplicated
"If I Were A Carpenter" and "Lovin' You" from the Atco set (out of 18 tracks
on this set). Most of the 18 tracks are in mono with the exceptions being
"Misty Roses" and the three Direction singles ("Jive," "Long Line Rider" and
"Distraction (Part 1)").
A listen to the old stereo versions confirms that the mono mix was indeed
hotter (though I still am a stereo freak, I'll concede that one to Varese).
Acoustic folk dominates, but that doesn't mean the songs don't rock. The
version of Tim Hardin's great "Don't Make Promises" (Gary Lewis did a
fabulous version of that song on his best LP Listen! which is still not on
CD for some inexplicable reason while his bad early LPs filled with cover
versions are on CD - there is no justice) starts quiet then builds to a real
acoustic stomper using the same riff that the Everly Brothers used on the
start of "Love Is Strange." Other highlights are the Bonner/Gordon ("Happy
Together") tune "She Knows" "The Girl That Stood Beside Me" (I disapree with
the liner notes, it deserved to be a single) and the Tim Hardin classic (at
least now after Rod Stewart's inferior version) "Reason To Believe." There
are five Tim Hardin covers here so it's ironic that Hardin's only chart
single was with a Darin original "Simple Song Of Freedom" here shown in demo
form like on the boxset. Darin could have done an entire LP of Hardin, but
also shows that he could have done the same with Randy Newman (like Nilsson
did) via a great cover of "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today." Lest anyone think
Darin was a cover artist, nine of the 18 tracks are Darin originals and they
stand up beside the other tunes (check out "Amy" or the viciously political
"Long Line Rider"). If you have overlooked Bobby Darin before now, perhaps
now is the time to reassess his career.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 9-30-99

Title:  John Mellencamp - Rough Harvest

Label:  Mercury 314 558 355-2

Comments:  Like Bruce Springsteen, who he seems to take his cues from (rock
populist speaking for the people while rocking their socks off), John
Mellencamp has had a history of placing nifty non-LP knock-offs on the
b-sides of his singles. When your's truly saw this CD from Mellencamp's old
label, the initial thought was that they had done the right thing and
collected all his rarities in one place. While the songs on this disc are
indeed rarities, as it turns out only two of his b-sides are included and
they're tacked on to the end of this 13 track disc as bonuses. While "Under
The Boardwalk" and a live version of "Wild Night" are great to have on disc,
it would be nice to see "Shama Lama Ding Dong" and "Cold Sweat" (for
instance) also on disc. That gripe aside, the other 11 tracks on this CD
were recorded in 1997 between tours and are stripped-down run-throughs of
previously released material and the odd cover. The covers are Dylan's
"Farewell Angelina" and the trad blues "In My Time Of Dying" while the
Mellencamp material are such midtempo workouts as "Rain On The
Scarecrow,""Key West Intermezzo" and "Human Wheels." These are not fully
produced, but cleanly played casual versions giving one the feeling of
sitting in a room with the band messing around. Perhaps the only unfortunate
aspect is the lack of a flat-out rocker or three. No mind, this is what
record companies should be doing instead of letting bootleggers get all the
oddities out without paying the artist royalties.

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 9-28-99

Title:Eternity's Children - Eternity's Children

Label:Rev-ola CREV062CD (English import)

Comments:  The '60s were littered with great here-today gone-tomorrow pop bands
that may or may not have charted, but left one or two charming confections
that labels continue to mine today. Here is a 25 track CD piecing together
the two Eternity's Children LPs on Tower with a few non-LP singles. While
their early A&M sides are not here, frankly it's great to get stereo versions
of most of the songs on disc. Sounding not unlike a cross of the Cowsills
pure pop with the Mojo (Men)'s more psychedelic side, the pinnacle was on the
#69 single "Mrs. Bluebird." That song is worth the price of the CD and it
comes as no surprise that it sounds of a piece with songs on the Millenium
and Sagittarius LPs (pick them up on CD at all costs) since they were all
produced by Curt Boettcher with Keith Olsen. Other tracks here are produced
by Gary Paxton who also could craft a pop extravaganza. To often people
overlook LPs like this because they don't contain played to death '60s hits,
but you won't overlook it because I told you not to. While you're at it, why
not go back and buy Gary Zekley's productions too, the Yellow Balloon and the
Clique. The cover, by the way, is a pale photocopy of the original LP (my
only gripe since my old LP cover looks cleaner).

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 9-28-99

Just some random notes this time that I wish to pass along.  For those of you that do not know, the 6th edition of Top 40 Music On compact Disc 1955-1998 has just been released.  This edition takes into account compact disc releases through May 31, 1999.  Releases of any merit have been few and far between for collectors since that date but I can run down the first time appearances of Top 40 hits on cd since that date.   "Ding Dong" by the McGuire Sisters appears in stereo on the "McGuire Sisters Anthology" (MCA 11978); "Never Been In Love" by Randy Meisner appears in stereo on a Sony Music Special Products piece "Forever Pop Volume 1" (#26455); "Day For Decision" by Johnny Sea appears in stereo on "American Reflections" (Lost Gold Records #4339); Mac McAnally's "It's A Crazy World" can be found on "Mac McAnally" (Dreamworks #50201).  So there's 4 more of those hard to find hits that you won't find in my book

Posted by: Pat Downey 9/19/99   patdowney@uswest.net

Title: Martha & The Vandellas 20th Century Masters/The Millenium Collection

Label:  Motown 012153399

Comments:  I have been asked to comment on the new series of cd's coming out of the Universal Music Group with the title "20th Century Masters/The Millenium Collection".  I will quickly add that this is not a series aimed at collectors, but rather the general public that is impressed with only pricing.  As an example, I have selected the Martha & The Vandellas release in this series.   There are 11 tracks on this cd with a whopping time of 30:31 (almost unheard of in today's marketplace).  Motown lately has been using almost exclusively mono masters but for this cd they selected all stereo masters which are eq'd way on the high end.   To top this off, the masters weren't selected with any care so that two songs on this cd use the wrong version (meaning neither the 45 or LP version).  Those songs are "Jimmy Mack" and "Heat Wave".  Even though this cd is budget priced, save yourself some money and pass on it.  Similar advice can be given for most of the remainder of the 20th Century Masters" series.  This is the 20th century as we do not wish to remember it.

Posted By:  Pat Downey  9/19/99  patdowney@uswest.net

01/19/08