In 1963, the four members of the world’s biggest girl group turned 21 and, quite rightly, asked Scepter for the royalties they’d been accruing as minors for hits such as Soldier Boy. When they discovered that the coffers were near-empty, the girls refused to record during most of 1964, leaving the label to release two albums within months of each other, drawn from previously-unissued songs and recent singles. The rub was that the albums were launching Scepter’s new budget series, Pricewise, and therefore not eligible for chart status.
Swing The Most boasted mostly previously-unheard songs, many with convoluted stories behind them (explained in Tony Rounce’s excellent sleevenotes). Ignoring all the shenanigans, there are several heart-melting examples of classic Shirelles interplay in What Does A Girl Do?, Foolish Little Girl and Greenwich/ Barry’s That Boy Is Messin’ Up My Mind.
Oddly, Hear & Now repeats tracks from the previous year’s Foolish Little Girl album, but has its share of gems, notably luscious ballads like Make The Night A Little Longer and Doomsday. This drop in career momentum cost The Shirelles dearly, as The Supremes broke through and snatched their crown but, 45 years later, these lovely albums certainly don’t sound like a blot on their illustrious catalogue.
