It’s been a while since girl group collectors have had a collection to get rampantly excited about, but here’s one to satisfy even the most hardcore. Gathered from the vaults of Red Bird, Vee-Jay, Sound Stage 7 and the Fire and Fury labels, the compilers have gone for the less obvious cuts, focusing on rarer B-sides and many new-to- CD choices.
Among the sweet teen dreams and Motownesque stompers we have The Bouquets’ slinky Ain’t That Love, The Ad Libs’ On The Corner, Roddie Joy’s Stop and Ellie Greewich’s fine demo of Another Boy Like Mine. Though there are tracks from big names such as The Shangri-Las, Gladys Knight & The Pips and The Dixie Cups, the lesser-known likes of The Angelos, The Sunbeams, The Fabulettes and solo artists such as Karen Kelly, Tracey Dey, and Cathy Saint will tickle collectors.
Perhaps best of all is Evie Sands’ You Got Me Uptight and The Inspirations’ version of the fabulous Goffin/ Titelman song, What Am I Gonna Do With You, Hey Baby, which certainly rivals better-known versions by Lesley Gore and The Chiffons. With a booklet stuffed with photos and label shots, this is a must-have for aficionados.
