7/7/00 to 7-18-00

Title:Dave Edmunds - A Pile Of Rock Live
Label:Essential ESMCD 876 (UK import)

Comments:Dave Edmunds is the rock and roll Dentist's favorite performer of 
all-time. Keeping in mind that a CD of him tuning his guitar would be worth 
a couple of spins, this is pure manna from Chuck Berry 3 chords and an 
retro-rock attitude heaven. Having recently seen Mr. Edmunds on stage with 
Ringo's All-Starr band, while he looks thinner than he should, his chops are 
intact. In the rock encyclopedia, under the word 'cool' it should say 'see 
Dave Edmunds.' There are 15 tracks of hot live vintage rock from a '99 
Swedish swing by Edmunds backed by Billy Bremner from Rockpile, Geraint 
Watkins from DE7 era Edmunds and the band the Refreshments. The roll 
through "King Of Love," "Standing At The Crossroads" and "Queen Of Hearts." 
They rock through "Ju-Ju Man," "Here Comes The Weekend" and "I Knew The 
Bride." The oldies abound with "Let It Rock," "Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller" 
and "The Wanderer." Edmunds shows off his guitar prowess with and acoustic 
"Lady Madonna" and an amazing revved up charge through "Sabre Dance." If 
you're an Edmunds junkie, this is the real deal - If you're not, then what is 
the matter with you? If you get to see him live, do check it out.

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-18-00

Title:Maybe Baby - Original Soundtrack
Label:Virgin 7243 8 49394 27 (UK import)

Comments:For now, this is not a US piece, so if you wanna hear Paul McCartney 
(ex-Wings as I recall) do the Buddy Holly title track, you got's to pay 
import prices. It really is a spiffy cover version, though, so it's worth 
it. Sorta sounds like Jeff Lynne meets the Beatles (oh wait, that's ELO) 
doing rocked up classics. The rest of the CD is a mixed bag. A surprising 
keeper is Melanie C of the Spice Girls doing a veddy Beatlesque midtempo 
piece titled "Suddenly Monday." The old glam of "Do the Strand" by Roxy 
Music joins with Madness ("It Must Be Love") and Elvis Costello&the 
Attractions' best rocker "Pump It Up." If you're a George Michael fan you do 
have "I Can't Make You Love Me" (but I can pretend to in an outdoor 
bathroom). The rest of the 16 track disc is made up of wannabe 
kiddie/disco/pop by bands you don't know (Westlife, Lene Marlin, Shack, Kasey 
Chambers, Atomic Kitten, ad nauseum). Ok, so my young daughters find the 
songs to be ok, so buy the disc for you and tape the pop for them.

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-18-00

Title:Family - A Family Selection - the Best Of Family
Label:Castle Comm. ESDCD 839 (UK import)

Comments:This is a 2 CD box with poster of 37 tunes by Family. Basically 
it's the old Castle CD A's & B's fleshed out with a ton of album tracks (but 
sadly no rarities - aren't there any demo's, unreleased stuff or live 
tracks?). The first Family LP Music In A Dolls House remains a UK psyche 
masterpiece and belongs in your collection. The second Family LP 
Entertainment was more conventional late '60s tuneful pop/rock and just 
happens to be paired with the former LP as a 2 CD set on See For Miles. Buy 
it as none of these songs are duplicated there. Roger Chapman's voice is 
most definitely an acquired taste, but you must say the man is distinctive 
with his billy goat gargle of a vocal style. The songs are good, but what 
made them interesting besides the unintelligible lyrics trilling from 
Chapman's throat was the use of violin, flutes/saxes and vibes with a 
standard rock lineup. Best songs are "No Mules Fool," "Drowned In Wine" and 
"Burlesque." They did a pretty good job of distilling five LPs to two CDs 
leaving out only "Larf And Sing" from my faves. The package is very 
attractive and the liner notes a worthwhile read.

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-18-00

Title:Dream Girls - various artists
Label:CC - 1492

Comments:Over two CDs you get 60 very rare '60s girl-pop tunes mostly by 
people you never heard of. Don't let the fact that you may not know Piccola 
Pupa, Vicki Sallee or The Gee Sisters stop you from buying and enjoying the 
music if you like girl sounds. There are a few you will recognize like 
Shelly Fabares "Football Season's Over" or Ann-Margaret "Hey Little Star." A 
version of the Honeys called Ginger & the Snaps is also on here doing "Seven 
Days In Sept." and "Growing Up Is Hard To Do." You get Connie Stevens' "Lost 
In Wonderland" and Ellie Gaye (Greenwich) doing "Cha Cha Charming." The 
music is fun, but don't buy the CD for the packaging. There are no liner 
notes at all on the single sheet insert and the cover picture shows three 
prominent female bums with very uncomfortable looking thongs on (and not 
tops) - definitely not a '60s girl outfit (and frankly I'd rather see Shelly 
Fabares or Connie Stevens in a less revealing, but sexier suit any day).

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-18-00

Title: Reverb Oldies

Label: Thump 206579019

Comments: Always coming up with new ideas to sell product, this record
label has come up with the most disgusting cd yet to be released in
2000! 15 classic oldies tracks with the likes of Santo & Johnny
"Sleepwalk", Ritchie Valens "Donna", James & Bobby Purify "I'm Your
Puppet" and Gene Chandler "Duke Of Earl" all processed with an obnoxious
level of reverb. To make matters worse, there is a 6:45 version of
"Dedicated To The One I Love" credited to the Shirelles but unless the
Shirelles have had a sex change this isn't the group you would be
expecting to hear. Don't even consider buying this piece of ****.

Posted By: Pat Downey patdowney@uswest.net 7/16/00

_________________________________________________________________________________

Title: Soundtrack "Cooley High"

Label: Motown 012157676

Comments: This has to be the most pleasant surprise of the year 2000!
Of most interest to collectors has to be the stereo "Fingertips Parts 1
& 2" by Stevie Wonder which sounds terrific. But there are other
surprises like "Baby Love" by the Supremes which has been remixed to
remove the echo which everyone has become accustomed to hearing. Check
out the Four Tops "Reach Out I'll Be There" which had the same remixing
applied and sounds better than any version of that song to date! In
addition to the above mentioned, you will find a nice compilation of
60's Motown hits in stereo with tracks by the Marvelettes "Beachwood
4-5789" (unfortunately in (E)), Martha & The Vandellas "Dancing In The
Street", Barrett Strong "Money" (unfortunately in (E)), Mary Wells "You
Beat Me To The Punch", Miracles "Mickey's Monkey", Jr. Walker
"Roadrunner" etc. Total time 63:17 and budget priced! Highly
recommended.

Posted by: Pat Downey patdowney@uswest.net 7/16/00

__________________________________________________________________________________

Title:Bobby Sherman - The Very Best Of
Label:Varese Sarabande 302 066 131 2

Comments:All that hair! All those teeth! The unbuttoned shirt! Yes kids, 
we're in teen idol territory here. This 18 song set replaces nicely the old 
12 song Sherman set on Restless from '91. The only reason to keep that old 
disc is for a dull version of the old Del Shannon song "Runaway" and for, 
arguably, a better package if you're a hetero guy (fewer pictures of Bobby's 
chest and more of retro goodies like lunchboxes and records).
Both sets sport all the guilty pleasures of retro bubblegum like "Little 
Woman," "Easy Come, Easy Go" and "Julie, Do You Love Me." The Varese set 
offers more rare 45 sides like "Sounds Along The Way" and "Jennifer" not to 
mention the seasonal offering "Goin' Home (Sing A Song Of Christmas Cheer)." 
Sherman had a limited vocal style as compared to other idols like Mark 
Lindsay or David Cassidy, but benefited from some very catchy songs like 
"Hey, Mister Sun" and "La La La (If I Had You)." Ladies, if you wanna gaze 
longingly into Sherman's limpid eyes one more time you can either go out to 
LA, pass out and hope EMT Sherman passes along to rescue you or buy this CD 
and save the plane fare. (Guys - if you buy it, don't be ashamed, but at 
least say it's for your wife or perhaps to counterbalance the Claudine Longet 
CD you bought from Mike and Pat).

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-7-00

Title:25 All-Time Greatest Bubblegum Hits
Label:Varese Sarabande 302 066 132 2

Comments:Hopefully you bought all the Bubblegum Classics CDs that Varese did 
a few years ago (for "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" and "Remember You're A 
Womble" if for nothing else). Now comes a single disc hits collection to 
distill the genre and also to add a few rarities like "Wait Till Tomorrow" by 
the Banana Splits and "Every Beat Of My Heart" by Josie & the Pussycats. If 
you're not familiar with the genre of bubblegum music, some of the titles 
from this set will clue you in: "Yummy Yummy Yummy," "Sugar Sugar," "Jam Up 
& Jelly Tight," "Funny Funny" by the Sweet, etc. I mean, the Sweet? Or 
how's about Salt Water Taffy "Finder's Keeper's?" Perhaps The Rock & Roll 
Dubble Bubble Trading Card Co. or Capt. Groovy and His Bubblegum Army? You 
got your "Alice Long," "Tracy," "Jennifer Tompkins," "Quick Joey Small" who 
of course was the creation of the Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus and 
the Monkees' "I'm A Believer." Delving close to UK glitter you also have 
Barry Blue "Dancing On A Saturday Night" (hopefully someone will get the 
Flash Cadillac version of that song from their 2nd Epic LP out on CD one of 
these days). Suffice it to say that all the big bubblepop records from the 
late '60s to early '70s is here. Varese needs to supply a toothbrush with 
each CD purchase, but the package holds up with cool pics to boot.

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-7-00

Title:The Champs - 25 All-Time Greatest Recordings
Label:Varese Sarabande 302 066 113 2

Comments:Some would say that the best of the Champs should be a single - 
"Tequila." For the casual fan, that may be true, but if you love 
instrumentals from early rock, collect Seals & Crofts or want to get as many 
obscure charting singles on CD as you can, than you need this set. Saxman 
Chuck Rio never could come close to the success of that first hit, but 
"Kahula," "Chariot Rock" and "El Rancho Rock" are still fun. When Jimmy 
Seals came in on sax with drummer Dash Crofts, they ran off some more fun 
instros like "Tequila Twist" and "Mr. Cool." The booklet is loaded with 
great pictures and posters and the sound it mono mostly with some later 
stereo. These 25 track US CDs are a real bargain considering that most of 
the old discs had 12 or so songs on them for the same$.

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-7-00

Title:Billy Burnette - Are You With Me Baby
Label:FreeFalls FFE 009 2

Comments:If you only know Billy Burnette from his short stint with Fleetwood 
Mac, more's the pity since he put out some cool rock LPs that got cruelly 
ignored years ago. His cousin Rocky at least scored with "Tired Of Toeing 
The Line" which was passable old rock, but Billy never got the hit. This new 
disc won't do it either, but that's not a knock at the music, but at the 
music charts. Buy this CD if you have a love of charged up rockabilly! 
Billy has been dabbling in country for a bit, but this is a real return to 
form with a cover of his old record "Gimme You" leadin' the way. Cousin 
Rocky put out a killer CD on Core (Tear It Up) in1996 and their late dad's 
(Johnny and Dorsey) old bandmate Paul Burlison also had a rockin' disc on 
Sweetfish in 1997 (Train Kept A-Rollin') which you need to look for. 
Highlights of this CD are a cover of the old Ricky Nelson by way of the 
Burnette brothers song "Believe What You Say" and the appropriately titled 
"(Can't Stop) Got A Little Rock In My Shoe." As the Cubmaster woulda said 
(r.i.p.) "check it out."

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-7-00

Title:Full Circle - Tribute To Gene Clark
Label:Not Lame nl057

Comments:My friend Bruce Brodeen at Fort Collins' own Not Lame label has done 
a great job over the years of keeping the flame alive of guitar driven pop a 
la the Beatles, Cheap Trick and the Byrds. It's the latter group that takes 
the spotlight here as these 2 discs sport 36 tracks mostly from the pen of 
the late Byrds frontman Gene Clark (he of the tambourine, cape and fear of 
flying). The Lears original "The Byrd That Couldn't Fly" alludes to that 
last fact. OK, so McGuinn is now seen as the frontman, but Clark had his 
moments as can be seen by the Merrymakers' "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better" and 
Myracle Brah's "Eight Miles High." Frankly, it's the lesser known songs that 
work best like the Retros' "Long Time," "That's Alright By Me" by Michael 
Carpenter and "She Don't Care About Time" by the Grip Weeds. Fans of neuvo 
pop will recognize the hard hitters on this disc like Jim Basnight, Bill 
Lloyd, Chris Von Sneidern and Walter Clevenger By the way, after you buy 
this CD you may wanna check out Brodeen's website www.notlame.com for more 
goodies in the same vein (jangly guitars and pristine vocal harmonies).

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-7-00

Title:The Dave Clark Five - The Early Years
Label:Rock In Box RIB CD 041 (Hungarian import)

Comments:The Dave Clark 5 were the group that finally won me over to rock and 
roll back in the Beatles' invasion of the US. Mike Smith was a tough R&B 
vocalist and the guys made great walls of noise - definitely not the wimpy 
stuff of other UK bands (plus they wrote really catchy songs). A few years 
ago Clark finally allowed Hollywood records to have 2 CD 'best of' CD and 
alluded to a boxset,etc. down the road. Well, we are down the road and Clark 
has yet to unleash the rest of the catalog (hopefully in full stereo!). To 
fill in the gap, small 3rd world countries have been releasing 2-fers of 
classic Clark LPs with bonus tracks. This set pairs the first 2 US DC5 
records Glad All Over and Return with 7 superfluous bonus tracks previously 
on CD ("Come Home," "Look Before You Leap," etc.). The transfer to disc is 
decent and the package sports some pretty spiffy pictures considering the 3rd 
world origins. You need to buy these at least till Clark wises up, stops 
ignoring his old fans and puts out his own sets. Were's the box?

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-7-00 

Title:Carl Perkins - The Complete Sun Singles
Label:Varese Sarabande 302 066 130 2

Comments:When Carl Perkins died, we lost an American rock and roll treasure. 
What self-respecting pick-up band hasn't played "Blue Suede Shoes?" Perkins 
had something that Elvis didn't have - the ability to write a nasty rock and 
roll song. But Elvis' hip-shakes induced swoons while Perkins always looked 
goofy doing the same - plus he was obviously balding even in 1956. While the 
hits on this 18 song set aren't as awe inspiring as Elvis', there still are 
some nasty rockin' licks that deserve a place in your collection if you don't 
already own a Perkins package. This set is the single A's and B's for Sun 
from 1954 to 1957 so really the only early song by him you need not included 
here is "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby." What you get is "Gone Gone 
Gone," "Honey Don't," "Dixie Fried," "Matchbox," "Boppin' The Blues," etc. 
When the Beatles came along Perkins place in history was solidified by some 
great copies, but you still need goodies like "All Mama's Children" and "Glad 
All Over" to remind you that the original hits were pretty special. The 
booklet has some fine pictures and rare ads reproduced.

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-4-00

Title:Jerry Lee Lewis - 25 All-Time Greatest Sun Recordings
Label:Varese Sarabande 302 066 129 2

Comments:Just like Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis recorded some great songs 
for Sun. You already know that, so if you don't already own a Lewis Sun set, 
buy this one now. Interestingly enough, a comparison with the old Rhino 18 
song set shows only 7 overlapping songs so you really need both (the old set 
can't be sold since you need "Big Blon' Baby," "It'll Be Me" and "Ubangi 
Stomp"). Of course you get "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On," "Breathless" and 
"Great Balls Of Fire," but you also get "End Of The Road" and "Lovin' Up A 
Storm" which rock like crazy. The picture on the back tells it all with 
Lewis standing on his piano leaning out while holding a microphone stand 
looking like some demonically possessed snake-haired preacher. Buy it for 
that reason alone, but this is a great set with cool pictures in the booklet 
and hot tunes in the laser.

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 7-4-00

Title:Freddy Cannon - Palisades Park-the Very Best Of Freddy Cannon
Label:Varese Sarabande 302 066 111 2

Comments:Those who dismiss the period between the death of Buddy Holly in
1959 and the British Invasion in 1964 as a wasteland for rock forget rockers
like Del Shannon and Freddy Cannon. This set collects all 20 charting
records Cannon recorded for Swan before moving to Warner Brothers. 13 of
these songs appeared on the '95 Rhino best of set which also included some
Warner's singles, but this is certainly the most complete way to get the Swan
songs. If someone would do a more complete Warner Brothers Cannon set than
it would dovetail perfectly with this CD (I mean, where is "The Laughing
Song" guys?). Varese has taken to reproducing the original record labels on
their CDs and this one has a spiffy recreation of the Swan label. The
booklet is pretty solid with some nice pictures of Cannon. While it's not
his fault, dude did not look like a crazed rocker even though songs like
"Tallahassee Lassie," "Patty Baby" and "Buzz Buzz A-Diddle-It" still pack a
punch. Had he looked like Eddie Cochran or something, he might have more
street cred today. If you don't already own this stuff, it's essential
American rock. The set includes the rare collaboration with Danny & the
Juniors "Twistin' All Night Long." Didn't we all wish we had a "Transister
Sister" in '62?

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 5-20-00

Title:The Beach Boys - Surfin'
Label:Varese Sarabande 302 066 085 2

Comments:This is a 15 track CD that effectively distills the cream of the old
DCC Lost & Found 1961-1962 CD. That '91 disc was for collectors with all the
studio chatter and the multiple takes of the Beach Boys in their infancy.
This CD cuts out the chatter and only presents eight complete masters (songs
like "Barbie," "Luau" and an early "Surfer Girl") with a failed attempt at a
stereo overdub to punch up an early take on "Surfin' Safari." Demos of
"Surfin'" and "Lavender" also turn up to show how the vocals came together.
To these 11 songs, Varese has added both sides of two Gary Usher produced
singles that feature Dennis Wilson on drums plus Carl Wilson on guitar for
two of the songs. The instrumental "Like Chop" by The Tri-Five shows that
someone was familiar with Paul Revere & the Raiders earlier "Like Long Hair"
while the vocal songs show why Gary Usher was a better producer than a
singer. Don't get me wrong, "My Sting Ray" and "R.P.M." are worthy songs and
I'm glad they're on here - still a listen to the recent Chesterfield Kings
cover of the latter on their Surfin' Rampage CD shows how it would have
sounded with better singing. The booklet is informative and the reproduced
Candix label is fun to have on the CD, but don't buy this expecting a
polished Brian Wilson production. He was learning his chops as where the
rest of the boys.

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 5-20-00

Title:Dick Bartley Presents Collector's Essentials - The All-time Greatest
Girl Groups
Label:Varese Sarabande 302 066 110 2

Coments:Anything with the Dick Bartley stamp on it is going to be a quality
package. The song selection is always first rate, but the main reason to buy
his sets is the first time stereo and the 45 versions always included. Among
the goodies here are a new stereo with longer fade for the single version of
the Angels "My Boyfriend's Back" (wonder why they were so interested in his
back?), true stereo single version for the Jaynettes "Sally Go 'Round The
Roses" and "He's So Fine" by the Chiffons in first time stereo. Motown
usually doesn't appear on these sets so it's great to see the Supremes ("Baby
Love") and Martha & the Vandellas ("Dancing In The Street" in a very clear
mix) along side the Dixie Cups ("Iko Iko"), the Chordettes ("Lollipop") and
the Murmaids ("Popsicles and Icicles"). The booklet has some nifty pictures
and thorough liner notes. You may already have many of these songs, but not
in these forms.

Posted by:George W. Krieger DDS, the rock and roll Dentist 5-20-00

01/19/08