2/25/99 to 4/2/99

Title:  Hot Rods & Custom Classics - Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits

Label:  Rhino R2 75688

Comments:  In the beginning there were CDs and they were good (and generally
single disc reproductions of vinyl albums). After awhile (in an attempt to
sell more of those CDs to affluent boomers), some label joined several of
those CDs together in one place with a book and called it a boxset. At first
these were mostly plain affairs, but sold well because they were new and
exciting. Soon, however, the boomers grew tired of dull lifeless boxes that
just laid there. So the labels became bolder in their colors and inserted
elements like t-shirts and guitar picks and life became good again. Which
brings us to Hot Rods & Custom Classics perhaps the coolest looking box out
there. The rock and roll Dentist admits to being suckered by a pretty face
and for buying this set not for the 88 car tunes on the four discs, but for
the sharp model car-like box and the spiffy purple fuzzy dice (not to mention
the Mooneyes keychain and decals). OK, slap me for not reading the Tom Wolfe
or California custom culture essays all that carefully and for wishing that
info about the songs could have been included; at least the set looks great.
Rhino has for years put out neat promo stuff for reviewers. It was about
time they finally did it for consumers. The sound is great, by the way. Any
set with two Dave Edmunds songs is aces by me ("Dear Dad" and "Crawling From
The Wreckage"). The idea is to show that car songs come in many genres
including country ("One Piece At A Time" - Johnny Cash), blues ("Mr. Highway
Man [Cadillac Daddy]" - Howlin' Wolf) and rockabilly ("Hot Rod Queen" - Deke
Dickerson). You, like me, probably have favorite tracks that should have
been included (where is the Astronauts' "Competition Coupe" for example?),
but the scope of the songs included leaves little room for argument (though
Pure Prairie League's "Two Lane Highway" hardly seems like a car song).
Interspersed here and there are nice vintage ads which are most welcome
(though again you gotta wish the old Back - a - ruda ad woulda made the cut).
How can you not buy a set that includes Nelson Riddle ("Route 66 Theme") and
David Lindley ("Mercury Blues")? Nice job guys

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 4-2-99

Title:  The 'Original' Bad Co. Anthology

Label:  Elektra 62349-2

Comments:  There are three very compelling reasons to buy this new two-CD
33-song set. First, the sound is exceptionally good. Comparing the crunchy
opening guitar chords of "Can't Get Enough" on this CD with the old greatest
hits set 10 From 6 is like comparing a clean window to a muddy one. Second,
there are several previously unreleased or singles-only side included. Check
out "Superstar Woman" and "Easy On My Soul" as prime examples. Third, the
original Bad Co. have reunited for four vintage-sounding rockers including
the Humble Pie soundalike "Hey Hey" (that's a compliment). If you're a fan
of these guys' brand of Stonesy/bluesy rock and roll, there is not debate
that you have to buy this set. OK, that's the good news, now for the bad.
For some strange reason they chose not to include the charting hits "Young
Blood," "Gone Gone Gone" and "Electricland" not to mention "Live For The
Music." Instead they did include dreck like "Untie The Knot" and "Downhill
Rider." Go figure. The lions' share of the set comes from their first two
LPs which is really not all that bad, by the way. The other negative is not
really their fault. It seems that the vocalist who replaced Paul Rodgers in
the 1986 Bad Co. edition, Brian Howe, now owns the rights to the name. For
that reason you will now see two versions of the band on the road, one with
the name Bad Company (Howe lame is that?) and one with the name the
'Original' Bad Co. (the real deal, kids) so don't be fooled. The only other
gripe about the set is that the very thick book contains little about the
music and a ton of superfluous lyrics (how many times are you gonna read the
lyrics to "Oh Atlanta" for example?). The new songs are so good that it
makes you wish they would have saved them for a totally new album and
substituted the previously mentioned omitted tracks.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 4-2-99

Title: Very Best Of Kool & The Gang

Label:  Polygram TV 314538058

Comments:  If you are into the funky stuff then here's a cd you absolutely must place on your want list.  Why?  Well how often do you see a compact disc with 21 tracks and a running time of 78:42!   To accomplish this Polygram used the 45 versions of all of the hits included which by the way are all in stereo.  Here is the track lineup: Celebration, Celebration (remix), Get Down On It, Fresh, Too Hot, Let's Go Dancin', Take My Heart, Jungle Boogie, Ladies Night, Cherish, Funky Stuff, Joanna, Hollywood Swingin', Tonight, Misled, Big Fun ,Victory, In The Heart, Steppin' Out, Take It To The Top and Hi De Hi.  Discollector I believe is selling this cd for $15.99.

Posted by: Pat Downey 4/3/99 e-mail patdowney@uswest.net

Title:  Deep Purple - Shades 1968-1998

Label:  Warner Archives/Rhino R2 75566

Comments:  Now that Warner Brothers has aligned itself with Rhino for reissue
purposes, things are definitely looking up. Till now, the Warner catalog has
been perhaps the most poorly represented of any major in the reissue market.
This four CD boxset contains 62 tracks and does a pretty decent job of
balancing the hits with the arcane to keep both fans and collectors happy.
Every era of the band is represented though 30 of the tracks date from the
early '70s version that established the Purple name with tracks like
"Fireball" and "Smoke On The Water" (here represented in studio and live
versions).
Upgraded versions of albums like Fireball and Machine Head have included
bonus tracks in the form of outtakes and some of those appear here as well
(i.e. "Cry Free," "Freedom," "Painted Horse"). This reviewer's favorite
Purple era is the Tetragrammaton "Hush" era which feels under-represented, but
at least has all the hits herein. Those first three albums deserve a better
release like Warners' old two LP set Purple Passages (hint to Rhino). Frankly
the perfect set opener would have been "And The Address" which isn't included
here (though at least "Anthem" is).
Still, it would be hard to eliminate many of the tracks included with all
the important LP tracks joining the hits (at least for Purple's Mark II lineup
with Gillan and Glover). Nine songs come from the Coverdale era which show a
Purple in decline, but at least sounding decent ("Burn," "Comin' Home"). Disc
four is left to mop up the '80s and '90s with the usual Mercury tracks
appearing "Knocking At Your Back Door," "Perfect Strangers," etc. Token
tracks appear from their last few LPs which is a pity as they have all been
good (especially Purpendicular). Again, though, it is hard to quibble with
the choices.
The package if attractive and contains a nifty book with song by song
annotation and lineup histories. Of special note is that Rhino has chosen to
print a page depicting all the Deep Purple album covers which should be a
requirement for all reissues (nice job guys).

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 3-31-99

Title:  Paul McCartney & Wings - Band On The Run - 25th Anniversary Edition

Label: Capitol CDP 4 99176 2

Comments:  Every now and then the members of the world's greatest rock and roll
band of all time (no not Wings, the Beatles) do something right for their
fans. Paul McCartney has loosened up his archives for this lavish revisit to
perhaps his finest post-Beatles LP. In this attractive box is a disc
containing the original LP. There is a second disc containing 50 minutes + of
what almost sounds like a radio presentation of the history of making that LP
under the most trying of circumstances (hands up those that remembered that
Paul, Linda and Denny Laine came within an eyelash of being murdered by
muggers?). The interviews with all involved are interesting though too much
time is spent interviewing the people who appeared on the cover (who cares
what Michael Parkinson or John Conteh has to say?) and not enough time is
devoted to the construction of the music. The few bonus tracks are fun, but
are not from the making of the LP, but rather are generally live versions of
the songs from 1993 rehearsals ("Jet" and "Let Me Roll It"). Again, though,
it would be wrong to gripe since this is so much more than just a standard
reissue with the nice book and poster included with the bonus disc. Perhaps
the rest of the guys can take a page and attempt to upgrade their catalogs as
well (George's All Things Must Pass especially). For that matter, why in
heavens name have lavish stereo versions of the first four Beatles LPs
appeared (the bootleggers can do it, why not the Beatles)?

Posted by: George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist   3-31-99

Title:  Barclay James Harvest - Nexus (Through The Eyes Of John Lees)

Label:  Eagle EAGCD 052 (UK import)

Comments:  If you're not familiar with these guys, their musical style has
recalled that of the Moody Blues even going so far as to title one of their
better songs "Poor Man's Moody Blues". Starting off as a four piece band
over 30 years ago, BJH saw the exit of keyboardist Woolly Wolstenholme in 1979
just as they were gaining popularity in Germany. Here in the US, BJH are
strictly a cult band which is a pity as they have been more consistent than
the Moody Blues (memo to Justin Hayward: you're to fine a musician to tread
water as an oldies act which is the story of the Moodies in the '90s).
Since 1997's UK import CD River Of Dreams (Polydor 537 576-2) there have
apparently been some significant changes in the BJH camp. Drummer Mel
Pritchard and bassist Les Holroyd have deserted the Harvest leaving guitarist
John Lees. That's the bad news, but amazingly keyboardist Wolstenholme is
back in the fold to be joined by new bassist Craig Fletcher and drummer Kevin
Whitehead. This means that Holroyd's smoothly nasal tenor and pop sense is
replaced by Woolly's rounder voice and classicism. This leads to the best
release in at least a decade by BJH albeit on a small label that may not gain
much notice. The only gripe this reviewer has is that of the 12 tracks, 4
are unnecessary remakes. The new version of "Mocking Bird" is actually
pretty darn good as is "Titles" isn't bad either while the new versions of
"Hymn" and "Loving Is Easy" are pretty inferior so why bother?
"Star Bright" has the classic BJH minor chord ballad sound down pat with
a screaming John Lees guitar solo. "The Devils That I Keep" and "Float" are
excellent also, but this reviewer's faves are the poppy "Sitting Upon A Shelf"
and the faux symphonic "The Iron Maiden." Lest fans of the Harvest fear the
reaper, this CD shows there's still life in the boys and that Lees and
Wolstenholme make a great team.

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 3-28-99

Correction:  Something about the Barclay James Harvest review of their great new
CD Nexus seemed wrong and so your intrepid reviewer decided to check out their
official website (www.bjharvest.co.uk) for clarification. While it's still
clear as mud, it appears that the LP could technically be deemed a John Lees
solo record with help from Woolly Wolstenholme (even though the spine and
front identify it as by Barclay James Harvest, there is a line at the bottom
which states Through Eyes Of John Lees). All indications are that BJH is
simply on hiatus with members Holroyd and Pritchard perhaps working on a solo
project as well. No, Woolly has not rejoined the band which is a pity (though
Lees and Wolstenholme are doing a concert tour of Europe). I also erred in
stating that there are four remakes on the new LP when there are indeed five
("The Iron Maiden" is also an old track). Please forgive me dear reader (buy
the CD anyway).

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 3-31-99

Title:  Ronnie Dawson - More Bad Habits

Label:  Yep Roc Yep 2012

Comments:  Old rockabillys never die apparently, they just get better. Ronnie
Dawson never had much success back in the early days of rock & roll, but since
his come-back in the late '80s he's been knockin' out some killer tunes. The
standard by which all Dawson needs to be compared to is still 1996's Just
Rockin'& Rollin' (Upstart CD 032) and while this disc is pretty hot, it still
comes in second. This sucker can still rock however and Ronnie-philes need to
have it NOW! Eatin' grease seems to dominate the best tunes this time out
("Mac Attack," "Chili Pepper Mama" and "The Frim Fram Sauce"). You know that
Dawson and his hot rockin' combo mean it by the titles: "Rippin' And A
Roarin'," "Party Slab," "Bobwire Betty," etc. Some of the tunes come down
more on the country side of rockabilly, but more often than not there's still
a screechin' 'lectic guitar lead shoehorned in the middle. If you wants that
oletime rock and roll, Dawson's still your man.

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 3-28-99

Title:  The Cave 4 - Bikini Crash

Label:  MuSick 0008

Comments:  This label never puts out anything but prime '60s style instrumental
thrash so you know what you're in for. These German cats (and one kitten)
have the cheesy surf guitar sound down even if they don't seem to worry too
much about playing together or in tune at all times. The title track is the
best of the 15 here. The biggest misstep by Cave 4 is the inclusion of 3
awful teutonic vocalizations (stick to the instrumentals guys). This is a
sleazefest not unlike Link Protrudi's disc on Get Hip. (Hey MuSick, what
happened to a second Shig & Buzz CD?)

Posted by:  George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 3-28-99

Title: Yesterday - Yesterday

Label: ? CDY 7421

Comments: This reviewer has a soft spot for Beatlesque pop music (all hale the
mighty Badfinger). These guys try real hard to fit into the
Spongetones/Pezband realm of pop and come close at times on this 14 track
self-produced disc. They even cover the Beatles with so-so results ("Please
Please Me"). Far and away the top track here is the closing Romantics sound-
alike "You Haven't Had Me." "See My Life About To Change" is also a worthy
contender. Concentrate on this stuff guys and you have a shot at being the
new Rubinoos at least.

Posted by: George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 3-28-99

Title: The Disco Box

Label: Rhino 75595

Comments:  For those of you into the disco era, here is a 4 cd compilation of disco hits that should take care of your needs for a long time.  There are 80 tracks included so I am not going to take the rest of the day to type each song title so just bear this in mind: all tracks are stereo, almost all of the tracks were top 40 hits and all tracks are the short (mostly 45 versions).  The liner notes included are excellent and the packaging is excellent and this was the golden opportunity for Rhino to correct some of their past mastering errors but they not only didn't correct past errors, they added at least one new error.

     As you would expect, "Ring My Bell" by Anita Ward is included but some of the instrumental overdubs are left off.  Old  errors have propogated their way into this collection like "Le Freak" by Chic which  is not the 45 version but an edit of the LP version that is included; "Knock On Wood" by Amii Stewart is as usual neither the 45 or LP version; "Doctor's Orders" by Carol Douglas is neither the 45 or LP version; "Fly Robin Fly" by the Silver Convention is neither the 45 or LP version; "Shame, Shame, Shame" by Shirley & Co. has the usual narrow stereo separation.

     Some other tracks that are the correct 45 versions - "Love's Theme",  "Rock The Boat", "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Get Down Tonight", "Love Machine", "You Sexy Thing", "A Fifth Of Beethoven", "Disco Inferno", "Shame" and "Young Hearts Run Free" .  This should give you a sample of the top 40 type songs that Rhino chose to include.  The only problem that I have with the box other than the same old erroneous masters being used is that there are no full length versions of these songs included at all.  You normally associate disco music with extended 12" single versions and Rhino just doesn't give us any on this compilation.

Posted by: Pat Downey  e-mail patdowney@uswest.net   3/25/99

Title:  Blood, Sweat & Tears Greatest Hits

Label: Columbia/Legacy 65729

Comments:  This could be the surprise of the year because I was just expecting a 20 bit remastered version of the old Blood, Sweat & Tears "Greatest Hits" cd when I picked this baby up but no, Columbia really remastered this cd.  The older edition (Columbia 31170) presented the album versions of Blood, Sweat & Tears hits but this cd features the 45 versions of their hits in stereo!  Yep, "You've Made Me So Very Happy", "Spinning Wheel", "And When I Die", "Hi-De-Ho", " Lucretia MacEvil" and "Go Down Gamblin" are all here in their 45 versions in stereo and they sound great.  But wait, there's even more to tell you as this remastered cd includes two bonus tracks not found on the original issue and those songs are "So Long Dixie" and "More And More".

Posted by: Pat Downey  3/17/99  e-mail patdowney@uswest.net

Title: The Complete Dion & The Belmonts

Label: Collectors' Choice Music CCM071-2

Comments:  Well there's some good news and some bad news associated with this release from Collectors' Choice Music.  First the good news is that we get a first time stereo appearance of "I Wonder Why" along with an alternate take of the same song in mono for those of you that are in to that sort of thing.  We get mono versions of "No One Knows" and "Don't Pity Me" and a stereo version of "Teenager In Love" along with a stereo alternate take of the same song with studio talk. "Where Or When" is still in mono as it always has been on cd and "When You Wish Upon A Star" has the background vocals remixed so much that you can hardly compare it to the single or the other stereo appearances on compact disc.  Now for the really bad news, "In The Still Of The Night" is on this cd in stereo but it is not the correct take, it is an alternate take from what we know as the hit single version.  Also be advised that as the title states, this is a Dion & The Belmonts collection and does not include any of Dion's hits without the Belmonts.

Posted by: Pat Downey  3/14/99  e-mail patdowney@uswest.net

Title:  Rock & Roll's Greatest Love Songs

Label:  Varese Sarabande 5992

Comments:  There has been a lot of criticism amongst the collector community regarding this new release from Varese Sarabande because they seem to have abandon their goal of providing new stereo and hard to find songs on their releases.   What no one has pointed out is that you do get a hard to find song on this cd - the never before released single version of "Cherish" by the Association.   Let's face it, there just isn't a lot of unreleased material that can be licensed anymore to put on a cd and that is to a large part due to the efforts of Varese Sarabande who for years has been releasing product that no other record label wanted to touch.   Can you blame them for trying to release a cd once in a while that will appeal to the general public rather than just the collector community?  What other label these days is going to release a cd with 16 tracks  along with liner notes?

Here is the complete track lineup: Temptations "My Girl" (M), Turtles "Happy Together" (S), Shirelles "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (S), Association "Cherish" (M) 45 version, Everly Brothers "All I Have To Do Is Dream" (M), Dixie Cups "Chapel Of Love" (S), Troggs "Love Is All Around" (M), Ruby & The Romantics "Our Day Will Come" (S), Percy Sledge "When A Man Loves A Woman" (M), Climax "Precious And Few" (S), Penguins "Earth Angel" (M), Shelley Fabares "Johnny Angel" (S), Vogues "You're The One" (M), Mercy "Love (Can Make You Happy)" (S) Sundi version), Frankie Avalon "Venus" (S) and Lulu "To Sir With Love" (M).

Posted by: Pat Downey  2/28/99  e-mail patdowney@uswest.net

Title: Billboard Top Rock & Roll Hits 1960 - 1969

Label: Rhino Various numbers (see below)

Comments: I just picked up some more of the remastered volumes of the Rhino series "Billboard Top Rock & Roll Hits Of....." series and found that they have completely remastered this series of cd's from the decade of the 60's only.  So that everyone will now know, I will give the changes for each year in the 60's that has been remastered so that you can make the decision if you need to upgrade to the new (1993) remastered editions.  Apparently Rhino did not remaster the songs that are still found in common on both the original issue cd's (circa 1988) and the remastered (1993) cd's.  If anyone else has found other titles in the Rhino catalog that have been remastered with a new track lineup, please let me know. Here we go year by year--

Billboard's Top Rock & Roll Hits 1960           Rhino 70621

Deleted: Elvis Presley " It's Now Or Never" (S) and Elvis Presley   "Stuck On You" (S)  Added:  Joe Jones "You Talk Too Much" (M)  and Brenda Lee "Sweet Nothin's" (S)

Billboard's Top Rock & Roll Hits 1961             Rhino 70622

Deleted: Bobby Vee "Take Good Care Of My Baby" (S), Marvelettes "Please Mr. Postman" (M), Ernie K-Doe "Mother-In-Law" (M) and Tokens "Lion Sleeps Tonight" (S).  Added: Chris Kenner "I Like It Like That" (S), Shep & The Limelites "Daddy's Home" (M), Ben E King "Stand By Me" (M) and James Darren "Goodbye Cruel World" (S).

Billboard's Top Rock & Roll Hits 1962             Rhino 70623

Deleted: Four Seasons "Big Girls Don't Cry" (S)  Added: Booker T & The MG's "Green Onions" (M).

Billboard's Top Rock & Roll Hits 1963              Rhino 70624

Deleted: Stevie Wonder "Fingertips" (E) and Four Seasons "Walk Like A Man" (S).  Added: Jimmy Soul "If You Wanna Be Happy" (S) and Nino Tempo/April Stevens "Deep Purple" (S).

Billboard's Top Rock & Roll Hits 1964               Rhino 70625

Deleted: Manfred Mann "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" (S) and Four Seasons "Rag Doll" (M). Added: Drifters "Under The Boardwalk" (S) and Dixie Cups "Chapel Of Love" (M).

Billboard's Top Rock & Roll Hits 1965               Rhino 70626

Deleted: McCoys "Hang On Sloopy" (M), Byrds "Mr. Tambourine Man" (M) and Byrds "Turn Turn Turn" (M).  Added: Shirley Ellis "Name Game" (S), Toys "Lover's Concerto" (M) and Sonny & Cher "I Got You Babe" (M).

Billboard's Top Rock & Roll Hits 1966                Rhino 70627

Deleted: Supremes "You Can't Hurry Love" (S), Nancy Sinatra "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" (S) and Four Tops "Reach Out" (S).  Added: Percy Sledge "When A Man Loves A Woman" (M), Mitch Ryder "Devil With A Blue Dress On" (S) and Young Rascals "Good Lovin'" (M).

Billboard's Top Rock & Roll Hits 1967               Rhino 70628

Deleted: Monkees "Daydream Believer" (S), Buckinghams "Kind Of A Drag" (S) and Paul Revere & The Raiders "Good Thing" (M).  Added:   Sam & Dave "Soul Man" (M), Aretha Franklin "Respect" (M) and Young Rascals "Groovin'" (M).

Billboard's Top Rock & Roll Hits 1968               Rhino 70629

Deleted: Marvin Gaye "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" (S), Hugh Masekela "Grazing In The Grass" (S), Steppenwolf "Born To Be Wild" (S) and Supremes "Love Child"  (S).  Added: Archie Bell & The Drells "Tighten Up" (S), Otis Redding "Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay" (M), Rascals "People Got To Be Free" (S), Aretha Franklin "Chain Of Fools" (M).

Billboard's Top Rock & Roll Hits  1969               Rhino 70630

Deleted: Temptations "I Can't Get Next To You" (S), Cowsills "Hair" (S) and Youngbloods "Get Together" (S).  Added: Tommy James & The Shondells "Crystal Blue Persuasion" (S), R B Greaves "Take A Letter Maria" (S) and Oliver "Good Morning Starshine" (M).

Posted by: Pat Downey  2/25/99  e-mail patdowney@uswest.net

01/19/08