9/22/98 to 10/27/98

Title:  Sam The Sham&The Pharoahs - Pharoahization! The Best Of…

Label:  Rhino R2 75329

Comments:  What we have here - is a failure to communicate. How else to
explain a CD that bears no resemblance as far as order to the track-listing on
the actual package? OK, it's nice to have 24 tracks of Pharoahs mid-sixties
rock and roll with only seven overlapping the Polydor best of CD from 1986.
And the booklet is nice with some cool pics of the band (Domingo Samudio
always looked sharp in that turban, didn't he?), however… let's be upfront.
Rhino is not a favorite of stereo fans like yours truly. Mono used to be
known as the kissing disease and Rhino certainly tries to live up to that old
definition by "kissing off" fans with two ears. It's always cool when someone
like Bob Irwin with Sundazed puts out a CD as he seems to come up with new
stereo mixes that blow away the listener (check out all his Paul Revere & The
Raiders sets for instance). On the other hand, when Rhino puts out a CD, you
can be assured that they will cavalierly push the mono button (Love in mono
anyone?). Thus, this is a good news/bad news release. The good news is all
the new music on CD, the bad news is most of it sounded better on the old
stereo LPs. On the old Polydor CD, only "Li'l Red Riding Hood" and "Ju Ju
Hand" are in mono while here virtually everything (including "Wooly Bully" and
"Ring Dang Doo") is. Plus, you get to try and figure out what song you are
listening to as the tracks follow no apparent order when compared to the jewel
case. Boo!

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist.   10/27/98

Title:  The Big Hits Of Mid-America - The Soma Records Story 1963-1967

Label:  Plum 14132

Comments:  Wow - what a cool package for some fairly unknown music. This is a
two CD 48 track box with a nifty book about each track. Close inspection only
turns up a few songs the average fan may recognize ("Liar Liar" by the
Castaways and "Surfin' Bird" by the Trashmen mainly), but there are other
decent white boy garage singles included here. Perhaps the main reason to buy
the set is to finally acquire "Run Run Run" by the Gestures in stereo (its in
mono on other packages). Most of the rest is in mono, but there is little
that can be done to remix songs that were recorded for the singles format
originally. A large portion of the songs are only so-so, but many are top-
drawer including "The Grind" by Gregory Dee & the Avantes and "I'll Be Gone"
by the Rumbles of Nebraska. Most of the songs were from two old LPs (The Big
Hits Of Mid-America Vol. 1 and 2) which compiled the best singles from this
Minnesota label. The only curiosity is that Soma's big hit "Muleskinner
Blues" - the Fendermen is not included, but this is a lovingly assembled
package by a fairly new and promising label (Plum).

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist   10/27/98

Title:  Ets Go Rock And Roll

Label:  Rock 'n' Roll CD 500

Comments:Ok, so the title of the CD is actually supposed to be Lets Go Rock
And Roll, but like most bootlegs there is some sort of flaw in the package -
in this case the title is missing a letter on the cover, but what the 'L?
This is a 30 track various artists package from the pre-British invasion era
of innocent rock and roll when every single song had the same chords and tune
as "Johnny B Goode". There is some good music here (especially when the
chords change, which isn't very often). The main reason to buy may be the
inclusion of a stompin' version of the Bell Notes' "Shortnin' Bread" which
curiously did not appear on their recent domestic best of CD. Other bands
here are the Castle Kings, Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones, the Del-Vikings,
the Fabulous Four, the Del Chords, etc. The Mark IV contribute "The Shake"
while the Rebelaires go north for "Alaska Rock". Very few of these songs
charted, but there are some gems. The sound is decent considering they
probably all came from vinyl sources.

Posted by: George W. Kreiger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 10/27/98

Title:  Gary Stites - Lonely For You

Label:  Carlton #6001

Comments:  Thirty tracks of Colorado's first rock and roller circa 1959 - 65 (he
now goes by Cloud and works in horse racing). Of course this is also a
bootleg which is too bad as the sources are in some instances not as good as
my old records, but generally this is a cut above with virtually all his
output represented (some in rare stereo). The Carlton label is one of those
that no one seems to be able to license from so this is probably the only
chance you will have to own stuff like the Conway Twitty-ish title track and
the rockin' "Lawdy Miss Clawdy". (By the way, guys the label name is Mr.
Peeke not Peek).

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist   10/27/98

Title:Ringo Starr - VH 1 Storytellers

Label:  Mercury 314 538 118-2

Comments:  Hot on the heels of Mercury's earlier release Vertical Man comes a
much better CD which is the soundtrack to the excellent show Ringo did for
VH1. The material on this LP is much stronger than that earlier Mercury CD
mixing all the hits ("It Don't Come Easy", "Photograph") with Beatles LP
tracks ("Don't Pass Me By", "Octopus's Garden") and newer Ringo ("La De Da"
and "King Of Broken Hearts"). Ringo's singing is surprisingly strong and the
band (including Mark Hudson, Simon Kirke and Joe Walsh) is complimentary to
his style. There are 12 actual songs here with stories about many of them
interspersed between. It's good to see Ringo still in fine happy-go-lucky
form.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist   10/27/98

Title: Barry Scott Presents The Lost 45's Of The '70s & '80s

Label: Varese Vintage 5955

Comments: For collectors looking for first time top 40 hits on compact disc, this cd proves to be worth its weight in silver.  There are 14 tracks on this cd and 4 have never appeared on cd at all (Chilliwack's "My Girl", Franke & The Knockouts "Without You", Van Stephenson's "Modern Day Delilah" and Sneaker's "More Than Just The Two Of Us").  Two more songs make their 45 version debut and those are Tycoon's "Such A Woman" and Quarterflash's "Find Another Fool."  The other 8 tracks have appeared previously on cd and those tracks are Men Without Hats "The Safety Dance", Toney Carey "A Fine Fine Day", Steel Breeze "You Don't Want Me Anymore", Starbuck "Moonlight Feels Right", Eric Carmen "I Want To Hear It From Your Lips", Balance "Breaking Away", Kenny Nolan "Love's Grown Deep" and Rupert Holmes "Him."  All tracks are stereo and sound great.

Posted by:  Pat Downey  10/25/98  e-mail patdowney@uswest.net

Title:  Strawbs - Ghosts

Label:  A&M (UK import) 540 937-2

Comments:  During the decade of the '70s, a style of music evolved known as
progressive rock. Intelligent lyrics and complex musical parts played by
skilled musicians categorized the style. Bands like the Moody Blues and
Procol Harum spearheaded the music with second tier bands like King Crimson,
Genesis and Barclay James Harvest following. One of the best of these bands
was the Strawbs lead by Dave Cousins. Early on they boasted the late Sandy
Denny for one LP then keyboardist wizard Rick Wakeman for two more (before he
split to join Yes). As they evolved, the guitars got louder, the songs got
catchier and the hits started (in the UK at least). In celebration of the
impending 30th anniversary of the band, A&M UK has begun reissuing all their
classic LPs with a bonus track or two. Grave New World, Bursting At The
Seams, and Hero&Heroine have all been released before and are worth purchasing
if you don't own them already, but this release marks the first time 1975's
Ghosts has come out on CD. This was the Strawbs' highest charter in the US
(#48), but spawned no hit singles (though they tried with the so-so "Lemon
Pie"). The title track and "The Life Auction" are fine long suites with nice
use of mellotron (a personal favorite). The strongest tracks are the wistful
"You And I (When We Were Young)" and the chill inducing "Grace Darling" which
uses church organ and children's chorus to great affect. The bonus track is
the single B-side "Changes Arranges" which is ok, if not very representative
of their sound.
The booklet reproduces the cover and includes a nice band history and
discussion of the LP at hand. A fine release. Look for a possible boxset and
a best of Hudson-Ford to come out if we are all very good.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist   10/25/98

Title:  Booker T & The MGs - Time Is Tight (3 CD Boxset)

Label:  Stax 3SCD-4424 2

Comments:  Crusing through disc number one and the first 6 tracks of disc number
two, your intrepid reviewer was preparing to hand out a glowing review of this
release when
'bang' they screwed it up bigtime by including the wrong version of the band's
second biggest hit "Time Is Tight" - and it's the title track, for heaven
sake. Suddenly everything seemed wrong - the booklet seemed cheesy with the
weirdly tinted pictures (purple, turquoise, orange, ugh), the song selection
seemed incomplete without their set at the dedication of the Rock And Roll
Hall Of Fame, the box didn't fold right, etc. Too bad, as this is generally a
good set with each disc crammed full of soulful grooves (78 minutes per disc)
tracing for the first time their whole career instead of dividing it between
the Atlantic/Stax years and the Stax/Fantasy years. Hey, morons - how could
you include an alternate version of the best track the band ever did next to
the nasty instrumental groove of "Green Onions"? On the single, the groove
chugs along like a steam train propelled by my MVP, drummer Al Jackson' s
driving beat. On this sets' version, the song starts slow then speeds up much
faster than the single and the drums are virtually non-existent. Oh, well,
buy the set and also buy the title track on another because there are some
cool rarities including the guys backing Neil Young on a concert version of
"Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" from 1993. Other guests are Boz Scaggs and
Albert King. The book makes a great read, but the pictures are tinted poorly.
There is no rare stereo, so the early stuff is still mono, but the rest are in
stereo as you expect.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist   10/25/98

Title:  Rockabilly Essentials

Label: Hip-O 40128

Comments:  A rather unusual piece for the budget label Hip-O becasuse you rarely see any collector's items included in their releases.  This is an 18 track collection of some good rockabilly artists both well known and obscure.  The highlight though is the first time  U.S. release of Jacks Scott's "The Way I Walk" in stereo.  The sonic difference between this version and all previous mono versions is just unbelievable.  Other top 40 hit tracks included are: Jerry Lee Lewis "Great Balls Of Fire" (M), Dale Hawkins "Suzie-Q" (M), Gene Vincent "Be-Bop-A-Lula" (M), Carl Perkins "Blue Suede Shoes" (M), Wanda Jackson "Let''s Have A Party" (M), Joe Bennett & The Sparkletones "Black Slacks" (M), Sanford clark "The Fool" (M), Eddie cochran "Summertime Blues" (M) with the cold ending and missing the reverb on the character responses.

Posted by: Pat Downey 9/30/98  e-mail patdowney@uswest.net

Title: Original Versions From The Movie "Why Do Fools Fall In Love"

Label:  Rhino 75564

Comments:  Truth in packaging should be required in the music biz.  A better title for this cd might be "Rhino Presents April Fool's Day."  Does Rhino tell you on the exterior packaging that Little Richard's recording of "Tutti Fruitti" is a rerecorded version?  What is Bobby Womack's version of "California Dreamin'" doing on a package that is titled "Original Versions?"  Other top 40 hit tracks from the cd are Frankie Lymon singing "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" (M) and  "Goody Goody" (M), Little Richard "Tutti Frutti" (rerecorded), "Platters "Great Pretender" (M) and Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (S), Mama's & Papa's "California Dreamin'" (S) (in addition to Bobby Womack's version), Kinks "All Day And All Of The Night" (M), Shirelles "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (S), Clyde McPhatter   "Long Lonely Nights" (M) and Otis Redding "Try A Little Tenderness" (M).

Posted by: Pat Downey  9/26/98   e-mail patdowney@uswest.net

Title:  The Very Best Of Jerry Wallace

Label: Collectables 6035

Comments: I keep hearing of how Collectables has really cleaned up their act recently so I decided to pick up "The Very Best Of Jerry Wallace" cd since no label has done a respectable job of packaging his greatest hits yet.  This is undoubtedly one of the worst cd's I have ever been forced to listen to.  Jerry Wallace had 7 top 40 hits and with a title like "Very Best Of" you would expect to find most of them included but not so.  There are only 3 of his hits on this cd (Primrose Lane, How The Time Flies and In The Misty Moonlight).  A better title for this cd would have been Jerry Wallace meets the Chipmunks as Primrose Lane and In The Misty Moonlight are much much faster than the vinyl counterparts.  If you can pick this cd up for 25 cents or less it might be a worthwhile investment - otherwise don't even consider picking up this puppy.

Posted by: Pat Downey  9/26/98   e-mail patdowney@uswest.net

Title:  Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes-The Anthology (3 CD Boxset)

Label:  Columbia 491400 2 (U.K. import)

Comments:  Right off the bat let me say that this one is for obsessives like
yours truly who worship Mott the Hoople and especially Ian Hunter as the link
between limpwristed glam a la David Bowie and the spit-in-your-face rock
embodied by punks like the Sex Pistols. If you are only in need of a good
compilation, check out the 2 CD set on Legacy The Ballad Of Mott:A
Retrospective. For fans already on board and desiring more than this is flat
out manna. One of the discs is devoted to 19 of Mott The Hoople's best
Columbia tracks like "All The Way From Memphis" and the title track in best
ever remixed sound (overseen by drummer Dale Griffin). Frankly it's as if
someone wiped away a layer of gauze and allowed more of the sound to get out.
"The Golden Age Of Rock 'n'Roll," "Sweet Jane," "Violence," etc. all sound
louder and gutsier then they ever have, but the reason to buy the box is to
get the 37 previously unreleased tracks.
Disc one is devoted to rarities from the Island years (1969-72) with the
highlights being a live version of Neil Young'' "Ohio" and an early demo of
guitarist Mick Ralphs' "Movin' On" which would later be a hit for his next
band Bad Company. The demos for the Brain Capers LP are also flat out hot and
are better than the released versions ("How Long?[Death May Be Your Santa
Claus])" and "Mental Train[The Moon Upstairs]").
Disc three is all over the place starting with a mix of Bowie's demo
vocal and Mott's released version of "All The Young Dudes" to make a brand new
version. Several tracks appear by bands that predate Ian Hunter joining the
rest and they're decidedly so-so but are interesting for fans that didn't
realize that Stan Tippens was the original lead singer. Tippens' voice (and
Ralphs' for that matter) were technically superior to Hunter's, but as a rock
and roll shouter and the embodiment of cool, few could best Ian Hunter. A
couple of odd tracks appear from the time after Ian Hunter quit to go solo,
but they don't measure up. Oddly, rather than pick the best released tracks
by the band Mott they went with demos and such (though one is great - "Get
Rich Quick" - and coulda been a hit if recorded properly). The single
"International Heroes" is included by British Lions which is simply Mott with
a different singer. The disc closes with several really hot live versions of
the hits leaving a grand total of 62 tracks for the Mott the Hoople fan to
enjoy. The package is glossy foil on the outside and an nice looking book on
the inside: long photos and comments on each song, but short on band history
(they want you to buy the companion book it seems).

Posted by:   George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist  9/22/98

Title:  Gary Wright - Best Of The Dream Weaver

Label:  Warner Archives/Rhino R2 75565

Comments:  As a great career retrospective, this CD drops the ball, but as a
good overview it works great. Gary Wright played keyboards and sang for
Spooky Tooth, a band that also yielded members for Mott The Hoople and Humble
Pie. After a few other projects (notably helping George Harrison on All
Things Must Pass), Wright embarked on a solo career the started with two great
LPs for A&M. The four tracks here do a decent job of representing those LPs
("Get On The Right Road." "I Know A Place," "Stand For Our Rights" and "Two
Faced Man"). While it would be nice to have a few others perhaps A&M will do
their own CD and include the killer track "I Know" with Wright's Wonderwheel
(including Mick Jones later of Foreigner) and a few Spooky Tooth tracks like
"Waiting For The Wind."
Wright's biggest success came on the Warner Brothers label in 1975 with
the title track and "Love Is Alive." It would have been nice had they
included the other standout track from that LP "Power Of Love" rather than
concentrate so heavily on the next LP The Light Of Smiles, but everybody will
likely have their own selections missing on a project like this. "Are You
Weepin'" plus "Touch And Gone" are standout synth rockers from the mid-70s
when his LPs were selling fewer and fewer units. His 80's charters are also
here with "Heartbeat" and "Really Wanna Know You." The unreleased piano-based
ballad "Someone Like You" and the brand new "If You Believe In Heaven" round
out the collection at 19 songs (18 really since "I Am The Sky" is more
correctly a short intro to "Who Am I"). While his sweet high pitched vocal
style and reliance on synthesizers (at least on the Warner Brothers' songs)
sounds a bit dated, his strong sense of melody shines through. The booklet
gives a nice history and includes some rare photos.

Posted by: George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist   9/22/98

Title:  Gary Puckett - Europa

Label:  Riviere International Records RIVI CD 71

Comments:  In the 60s, Gary Puckett embodied guilty pleasure rock with his band
the Union Gap scoring a number of hits via anguished tenor-driven songs like
"Over You" and "Young Girl." While everybody was getting psychedelic and
dropping out, Puckett used his throaty operatic voice to drive home his lust
for young girls in cute double entendre fashion. Needless to say, after 30
years away from the charts he qualifies in the 'where are they now' category.
Apparently, where he is now is recording in Munich with a bunch of guys named
Rainer and Jurgen while doing songs that have the late 70s written all over
them. Most of these 13 tracks sound like electronic ABBA backdrops doing faux
Latin songs reminiscent of "Una Paloma Blanca or "Fernando." I gotta say,
however, that makes for a surprisingly winning formula. Puckett's overly
dramatic vocals are still here, though his voice sounds different than the old
days (you would probably not recognize him right away till he sings the covers
"Young Girl" and "Lady Willpower" which feature more dance beats than the
originals). Standout tracks include "Layana" and "Love Me (Give Your Whole
Heart To Me)." Fans shouldn't shy away from this release on a small U.S.
label and will find it a hidden gem. Where's the cover photo Gary?

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist   9/22/98

Title:  The Hollies/The Paramounts/The Scaffold - At Abbey Road

Label:  MI 496434/36/35

Comments:  In celebration of the great music created in this studio made famous
by the Beatles LP of the same name, EMI have been releasing what amount to
greatest hits CDs by 60s British Invasion acts like the Swinging Blue Jeans
and Billy J Kramer. The newest batch includes a third volume by the Hollies
(1973-89) and first time sets for the band that became Procol Harum - the
Paramounts and Paul McCartney's brother Mike's band Scaffold.
Fans of the Hollies will buy this CD for the four previously unreleased
tracks among the 20 total, but there are some other great gems from the LPs
after "The Air That I Breathe" (included here) that may have slipped through
the cracks. "Harlequin," "Say It Ain't So Joe" and "Too Many Hearts Get
Broken" are a few of the top tracks. Three of the unreleased tracks are
worthwhile including "Samuel" and the ballad "Lovin' You Ain't Easy."
The Paramounts started in 1963 as an R&B cover band recording notable
U.S. tracks like "Poison Ivy" and "Little Bitty Pretty One." Gary Brooker,
B.J.Wilson and Robin Trower would later go in a more progressive direction
with Procol Harum, but many of these songs are surprisingly good ("Blue
Ribbons" and "Baby I'm Yours" for example). 12 of the 28 tracks are
previously unreleased including six sloppy/fun rockers from 1970 when Procol
Harum recruited original Paramounts bassist Chris Copping to record the
excellent LP Home. During those sessions, a number of standards like "The
Girl Can't Help It" and "Kansas City" where recorded by the guys as Liquorice
John Death & the All Stars and make their debut on this CD. Needless to say
these are the standouts here and show the growth of the band as players
(especially Trower who just sounded ordinary on the Paramounts tracks). Most
of the CD is mono.
Scaffold scored a minor U.S. hit during the British Invasion with "Thank
You Very Much" which was all sweet and sing-songy. If you want that song on
CD, than here 'tis. The problem is that well over half the remaining 26
tracks here are fairly awful comedy(?) sorta in a Monty Python vein. Mike
McGear (McCartney) was a pleasant enough pop singer and crafted some decent
music (his LP McGear done in conjunction with his brother Paul's band Wings is
worth checking out). It is too bad that he decided a humor trio was more his
speed. The other hit here is the great sing-along "Lily The Pink" (in mono as
are most of the songs). The strange thing is that their third 'hit'
"Liverpool Lou" isn't included on this CD with no explanation as to why (one
assumes it must have been on another label or it wasn't recorded at Abbey
Road, but it's still irritating). There are other good songs here including
"Gin Gan Goolie" and "Uptown And Downtown," but I wonder if the veddy
Brrritish comedy of the other songs might fall flat on U.S. ears.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist   9/22/98

Title:  Chris Isaak - Speak Of The Devil

Label:  Reprise 9 46849-2

Comments:  This dude came out in 1985 sorta lookin' like Ricky Nelson, croonin'
like Roy Orbison and playin' like the Shadows - not exactly a top of the pops
formula in this era. After his surprise hit "Wicked Game" in '89, it's been a
struggle to get back to the charts. This new disc probably won't do it, but
it is a major improvement over '96's Baja Sessions. I love the guys music and
'who cares' persona, but it's still hard to forgive him for dumping the
brilliant guitarist James Calvin Wilsey a few years ago. Wilsey was as much a
factor in the songs as Isaak was. The first three songs are far and away the
best ("Please," "Flying" and "Walk Slow"). At once moody and powerful, these
guitar throwbacks to the era of late 50s tunefulness deserve a wider
audience, but in this era of rap/hip hop won't be heard by anyone other than
us fans of quality rock and roll.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist   9/22/98

01/19/08