A companion issue to the surf-based Spar records output, this covers all the girl group styles and adds versions of several of the major hits, the most convincing being The Avons’ shots at Be My Baby, Sally Go Round The Roses and Soldier Boy.
The set opens with Ricky Page’s effective Jerry Ragavoy song, Pata Pata, followed by the well-constructed You Can’t Trust A Friend from Delores Edgin (no, we hadn’t either). Connie Landers sounds particularly fine on Goffin/King’s I Can’t Stay Mad At You, as do The Kittens on Foolish Little Girl.
Among the originals there’s the easygoing Big Windy City from the unlikely-named Phoebe, Unky & Fatty Ann. Other decent covers include Sylvia Richards’ Hello Stranger and Peggy Thompson’s lively I Sold My Heart To The Junkman. This is certainly one for girlie collectors, but the 24 tracks will be also well received by more general sixties fans.
