I promise I'm not going to make one of these threads for every reisssue label under the sun. That said, Ace is another one that deserves special attention. They're always working on something interesting, not to mention well-researched. Some standouts for me include: The Zombies - Zombie Heaven: Probably one of the most well-constructed box sets ever, it serves a testament to the group's remarkable consistency. Masaaki Hirao and His All Stars Wagon - Nippon Rock 'n' Roll: The Birth of Japanese Rokabirii 1958-60: I went in expecting this one to be kind of goofy and campy, but it turns out Masaaki was tougher than that, and definitely lives up to his title of "The Japanese Elvis". Dean Carter - Call of the Wild: Tracks the man's career from a basic 50's rockabilly bopper to a wigged-out psychedelic garage rocker. His gloriously cacophonous take on "Jailhouse Rock" has to be heard to be believed. Etta James - The Complete Modern & Kent Recordings: Etta's oft-overlooked 50's work, which had her in more of a rough-and-tumble R&B mold. Great to have all her pre-Chess recordings in one place. The Jesters - Cadillac Men: The Sun Masters: Despite being recorded on Sun Records a decade after the label's heyday and featuring Sam Phillips' son on guitar, the group owes more of its blues-infused garage sound to Chess Records. What little they recorded is really solid. Various - The Big Beat: The Dave Bartholomew Songbook: Some of Ace's songwriter compilations are pretty uneven, but this one taskes the wise approach of starting in New Orleans with Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, Shirley & Lee, etc. before gradually rippling out across the States and beyond, ending with Dave Edmunds' version of "I Hear You Knocking".
I like the artist-writer-producer series. I have about 20 of them, and it's really great because of the variety of performers and styles on a single disk. Wish I could afford more space for, money to buy, and time to listen, to an enormous number of the Ace productions.
Love their Big Beat imprint. Here's what I have: The Chocolate Watch Band: No Way Out The Inner Mystique/One Step Beyond 44 Melts In Your Brain...Not On Your Wrist Count Five: Psychotic Revelation: The Ultimate Count Five Mighty Baby: Mighty Baby The Music Machine: The Ultimate Turn On Bonniwell Music Machine The Seeds: The Seeds A Web Of Sound Future Raw & Alive Singles As & Bs 1965-1970 Other OOP Big Beat titles that I have: The Alan Lorber Orchestra: The Lotus Palace Ultimate Spinach: Ultimate Spinach Behold And See The Zoo: Presents Chocolate Moose I have other CDs by artists that Big Beat has put out but are on other labels which don't contain the bonus tracks that Big Beat adds to their reissues. If I had the money I would buy all the Big Beat issues of what I have. I would still keep my original issues though. Big Beat is a great label!
It was great to finally get a complete set of Fats Domino's Imperial Singles (3 volumes released - then a big gap and finally two more) - the mastering is not ideal, however.
Is there any place one can view a complete list of their releases, including OoP ones? I can't find a complete catalog like Bear Family has. Lots of Big Beat's 60's garage/pych releases look interesting, but there are so many that I'm not sure where to start. I have yet to look into The Charlatans, Frumious Bandersnatch, Fugs, Knickerbockers, Mojo Men, Music Machine, Nightcrawlers, Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Standells, Zakary Thaks, and tons of others both in and out of print. Melts In Your Brain is a really good one.
Not a list that I know of. The discogs link below has their reissues listed but you will have to sort through vinyl as well going back to the early 80s if you are only looking for CDs. Same goes for the OOP titles: http://www.discogs.com/label/33212-Big-Beat-Records You can go to Big Beat's site for their in print reissues: http://acerecords.co.uk/big-beat-label
This one seems to be a favorite of many forum members, including me! Hits With Strings and Things, in Ace's " The Golden Age of American Popular Music" series:
I love the Ace compilations. I have a few cool titles: Criminal Records: Law, Disorder And The Pursuit Of Vinyl Justice (2012) The Rebel Kind: Girls With Guitars Volume 3 (2014) C'est Chic: French Girl Singers Of The 60s (2010) A Rocket In My Pocket: The Soundtrack to The Hipster's Guide to Rockabilly Music (2010) Nippon Girls: Japanese Pop, Beat & Bossa Nova 1966-1970 (2009) A Soldier's Sad Story: Vietnam Through The Eyes Of Black America 1966-1973 (2003) How Many Roads: Black America Sings Bob Dylan (2010) Further Mellow Cats 'n Kittens: Hot R&B and Cool Blues 1946-1951 (2011) Plus comps of Goffin and King, Sedaka and Greenfield, Greenwich and Barry, and Johnnie Allan. I don't think that's all I have, but they are all either really brilliant or a lot of fun.
Have (or had) all those. But found the Nippon Girls not too much to my liking and sold it. There is a great new one focussed on Train songs, which I'm on board with.
It's Not Just Sentimental, the "lost" Otis Redding album. If you doubt it's quality, just listen to the new Sonos (Hifi/wifi) TV advert, which features Send Me Some Lovin' . 2 minutes of "ace" southern soul. [i hadn't realised that Maggot Brain - listed earlier - was also licensed to Ace. i was playing the same coloured vinyl earlier this week, very nice !].
Something great released almost every month. Just from this year - Zakary Thaks - It's the End / Definitive Collection Jimmy Holiday - Spread Your Love / Complete Minit Singles Keep a Hold on Him / More Garpax Girls Eddie Bo - Baby I'm Wise / Complete Ric Singles Reaching Out / Chess Records at Fame Studios The London American Label Year by Year - 1966 and the latest Goffin/King and Greenwich/Barry song compilations and I'm looking forward to this (to be released on Friday) http://acerecords.co.uk/back-to-the-river-more-southern-soul-stories-1961-1978 40 years now since I bought their first release (the "Speedball" EP by the Count Bishops on the Chiswick label) from the "Rock On" stall in London's Soho Open Market.
Chess Club Rhythm and Soul is my longtime favorite, followed by both Nippon Girls comps, and lately Vamps et Vampire: The Songs of Serge Gainsbourg Do any of the streaming services carry the Ace catalog?
I've had lots of Ace CDs over the years. Some of my faves are the King/Starday country reissues and the Chordettes' Mainly Rock 'n' Roll.
I have the folk-music edition in their Golden Age series, which is quite good as well. Actually got it for my mom, as she likes music that brings her back to her hootenanny years. My favourite on it is Joe & Eddie's "There's a Meeting Here Tonite" I actually meant to list that in my opening post, but forgot once I got around to writing it. They need to put that back in print ASAP.