The last Lee Dorsey compilation thread was in 2004 with a little flurry of activity in 2013 but is now closed. Since things likely have changed since then I wanted to throw out a new request for any suggestions on good sounding and good track list compilations on CD for Lee Dorsey. It seems that Bob Irwin remastered Wheelin And Dealin is pretty well regarded, but it is missing some pretty prime cuts, and it seems mostly in stereo https://www.discogs.com/Lee-Dorsey-Wheelin-And-Dealin-The-Definitive-Collection/release/4857311 Lee Dorsey – Holy Cow - The Very Best Of Lee Dorsey on Charly, if the samples I have found are correct is mostly mono. This is from 2005 so maybe has more modern mastering. https://www.discogs.com/Lee-Dorsey-Holy-Cow-The-Very-Best-Of-Lee-Dorsey/release/3164394 I am wondering if anything from the early 90’s would be better from a mastering standpoint, I found this Soul Mine from Charly https://www.discogs.com/Lee-Dorsey-Soul-Mine/release/2340301 it says 15 of 18 cuts are in mono. But then I also found this using the same Soul Mine title but with a 2nd disc from 2011 https://www.discogs.com/Lee-Dorsey-Soul-Mine-The-Greatest-Hits-More-1960-1978/release/4860741 So as you can see a little confusing for this artist, but these are the ones I am looking at trying out. I prefer the mono versions myself. Does anyone know about who had better sources for these compilations, or have any experience with them directly or know of others? How is Charly as a label? I am not too familiar with them but they seem the main label for Lee Dorsey.
Why was the "The Essential Lee Dorsey" compilation only a digital release without a cd release? I don't find any informations about the album on the websites of Allmusic and Discogs. I bought some songs at Qobuz which are really expensive with 2.49 euro for each lossless song: The Essential Lee Dorsey | Lee Dorsey
Well this thread never got any traction! It looks like that is a Sony Legacy release and given their recent statements that they are winding down physical product I’m not surprised. I also note there aren’t many major label compilation releases for him, and with Arista rolled up under Sony 2011 range, maybe this is just getting something back in print again using their new business model. I can’t remember everything I tried but I’ve ended up liking the 2005 Holy Cow The Very Best Lee Dorsey - Holy Cow - The Very Best Of Lee Dorsey
I have this 1991 Charly comp... ...and this 1993 Polydor release by Joe Palmaccio. I've been good with these since then.
I have a BUNCH of Lee Dorsey comps. For sound quality alone, this one can't be beat as it uses the Masters and some unique stereo mixes: Lee Dorsey - Ya Ya The 2015 Charly "Soul Mine" has decent quality, covers a lot of ground and has some country tracks unavailable elsewhere (not that they get a lot of play on my end). The Raven 2fer of Yes We Can and Night People is great quality for the two 70s LPs.
I avoid the Charly label, if possible. The See For Miles compilation, The E.P. Collection...Plus (2000), has 18 cuts in mono out of 26 total. I'd be interested to hear feedback on the Fuel compilation, Absolutely the Best. The 7" label for "Yes We Can - Part 1" has a listed running time of 3:04. How does this compare to the "Part 1" version on the LP (3:27)? I imagine the 7" shortens the intro. Is there anything unique about the 4:49 version or is just a re-edit of the LP's "Part 1" and "Part 2"?
I've ended up mostly avoiding Charly as well but this one turned out to be an exception. I'm not saying it can't be beat and I might try a few of these out so thanks for the suggestions, but I found Holy Cow quite acceptable.
Normally I'd say avoid Charly as well, but honestly the sound quality on the (sorry I thought I had the 2015, but the date 2011) 2 CD Soul Mine (that comes in a thick digipack/book with embedded liner notes) really sounds decent. You aren't going to get a better overview of his career for the money (it's under $13 U.S. on Amazon right now). If you want the absolute best sound quality available, the two Sundazed discs (Ride Your Pony and The New Lee Dorsey) use the master tapes, so they sound excellent, as does the Ya-Ya disc from Relic that I mentioned earlier. The 1993 Polydor of Yes We Can sounds excellent as well (and it sounds like this has been re-issued with the songs now in the correct order for the main LP) as does the Raven combo disc of YWC & Night People. The 1970 LP Yes We Can is considered a classic and I believe it should be heard in it's entirety, so I'd definitely get either the reissue of the Polydor version or the Raven 2fer (it depends on how ou feel about Night People - I like it but it definitely has some disco influences creeping in throughout). I acquired different comps over the years based on what was available at the time and if a song that was new to me happened to be included. For what it's worth, I own the following: Can You Hear Me? - Charly single disc from 1987 Great Googa Mooga - Charly 2 disc fatboy from 1991 Ya Ya - Relic from 1991 Yes We Can...And Then Some - Polydor 1993 Ride Your Pony & The New Lee Dorsey - Sundazed 2000 Yes We Can/Night People - Raven (Australia) 2005 Funky As I Can Be - Great American Music 2007 Soul Mine - Greatest Hits & More 1960-1978 Charly 2 disc digibook It's interesting (to me) to note that out of all of those comps, only Soul Mine has the flip side of Lee's first single on Valiant (later to become Minit/Instant), "Lover Of Love". The A-side, "Lottie Mo", is available everywhere, but no so for "Lover...". It's a great song (IMO) and Allen Toussaint (it's author) must have thought so as well, as he re-recorded the song on his own 1978 LP Motion. I wonder if the tape is lost as it sounds like a needle drop on Soul Mine to me?
I checked the See For Miles compilation, The E.P. Collection...Plus and it seems nice, maybe a little louder and brighter than the Charly 2005 Holy Cow. I'd note its back cover says Original sound recording made by Charly Records courtesy of Charly Licensing APS. I'm beginning to think nobody is really doing more comprehensive Lee Dorsey comps, since the 80's, except Charly (or licensed from Charly). I checked some of those Essential Lee Dorsey samples on Amazon and its mostly stereo so while it sound pretty nice I prefer the mono, but that is just me.
If I may, here's the tracklist for The E.P. Collection: 1 Ya Ya 2:24 2 Do-Re-Mi 1:56 3 Ride Your Pony 2:47 4 Can You Hear Me 2:38 5 Work, Work, Work 2:26 6 The Kitty Cat Song 2:05 7 Get Out Of My Life, Woman 2:22 8 Here Comes The Hurt Again 2:32 9 Shortnin' Bread 2:51 10 Hello Mama 2:28 11 You're Breaking Me Up 2:11 12 Messed Around 2:24 13 Working In The Coal Mine 2:43 14 Mexico 2:02 15 Confusion 2:24 16 Neighbour's Daughter 2:35 17 Organ Grinder's Swing 2:21 18 I Gotta Find A New Love 2:16 19 Holy Cow 2:28 20 Rain Rain Go Away 2:47 21 Gotta Find A Job 2:24 22 A Mellow Good Time 2:14 23 My Old Car 1:57 24 Love Lots Of Lovin'Featuring – Betty Harris 2:50 25 Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky (From Now On) 3:09 26 Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley As I stated earlier in this thread, tracks 1, 2, 11, 12 and 13 are on the Ya Ya comp from Relic and are from the absolute masters. It came out in 1991. Interestingly "Do Re Mi" is stereo on every comp I have. "You're Breaking Me Up" and "Messed Around and Fell In Love" are also stereo on Ya Ya. Most of the others are on the Sundazed releases of The New Lee Dorsey and Ride Your Pony taken from the master tapes, however the bulk of the cuts are in stereo. Only "My Old Car", "Love Lots Of Lovin'" are mono. There's some great stuff on all three of those discs IMO. The tracklist above is light on the early material (only 5 songs) and that's a crime (again IMO). There are also some key funky tracks from the late 60s missing. I'm primarilly thinking of "Little Baby" (aka "Little Ba-by") and "Give It Up". GIU in particular is a funk masterpiece. "Organ Grinder's Swing" and "I Gotta Find A New Love" were the tough ones to find as for a long time (digitally) they were only on The E.P. Collection. Trivia time: There are actually two versions of "Messed Around and Fell In Love" and "Working In A Coalmine". "Messed Around..." had an organ overdubbed later, so there are organ and organless versions out there. The version on Ya Ya is sans organ. The Charly comps seem to have the version with the organ overdubbed. "Coalmine..." has an (apparently) rare version with "work" sounds overdubbed at the start (sledgehammers banging, jackhammers rattling and such). I have the overdubbed version on a compilation of New Orleans music from Ripete Records called "Walkin' To New Orleans". There's also a great sounding compilation called "Cracking The Cosimo Code" on Ace UK that has the mono of "Get Out Of My Life Woman" from the absolute master tape. In the liner notes to this one they make a big deal about the great pains they went to get the master tapes for all the songs included on the compilation.
Fantastic info @jhm a very big help. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for that Cracking The Cosomo Code as it’s an all time fav song and I’d love to hear something from the mono master as I’m not sure I have yet. I plan on getting into more of stereo next so will head to Ya Ya and Sundazed next. I’d like to try that ‘93 Polydor Yes We Can but it’s pretty tough to find. Thanks again everyone fo waking the thread from the dead to make it plenty helpful.
I'm glad it helped . I'm happy to do so as I honestly don't know many people who are into this stuff. Per Amazon, the '93 Yes We Can has been re-issued and should be easier to get: https://smile.amazon.com/Yes-We-Can...3858313&sr=8-2&keywords=yes+we+can+lee+dorsey One associated review speaks highly of the mastering. "Get Out Of My Life, Woman" on Cracking The Cosimo Code is probably as this song is ever going to sound. It's a nice comp; extensive, well written liner notes with photos galore and a good mix of well known and obscure New Orleans tunes.
All my previous songs with Lee Dorsey are mono: Do-Re-Mi Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky Get Out Of My Life Woman Go-Go Girl Holy Cow Ride Your Pony Working In The Coal Mine I have the songs only as Flac files and I don't remember where I got the songs from except the last two songs: The Best of New Orleans Rhythm & Blues, Vol. 2 - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic
I found this for 3.99 in a bin today. Lee Dorsey - Golden Classics . Trust me I'm already wary of Collectables stuff, and although an in print version of the following I purchased this year was a CD-R, I was able to get the early CD version of this, same mastering, and I've always enjoyed it; seemingly a pretty flat transfer I'd guess. Cymande - Cymande Based off the strength of that, when there are cases with few digital offerings, I'll usually give them a go; a recent Bobbie Gentry Best of from them was pretty good. I've only spot checked a few things so far but so far so good with this one as well, feels like a flat transfer of something or other. Comparing to the Charly Holy Cow I'm detecting a little less tape compression is how I'd describe it, Golden Classics is a little brighter, open, more accurate, but not jacked up high end seeming. Golden Classics has some stereo in it, Ride My Pony for example. Do Re Mi is mono btw. I also have the Ya Ya comp coming so I'm looking forward to hearing something confirmed as from master tapes.
I have Ya Ya in the house and it is very good. It is now making me think that the Collectables Golden Classics is coming from similarly good sources. Ya Ya is maybe a better mastering job that downplays any possible recording issues on those early tapes. Golden Classics seems to let it all through, so more brightness and often more bass (or more visibility into the bass lines) when I'm comparing the mono tracks level matched. I'll be listening to Golden Classics over any common tracks although it is a matter of taste because again you are hearing it all and so it can be a little edgy (I tend to think Golden Classics is more flat transfer vs. a lot of eq, but I am not an expert on that type of stuff so could be wrong) and these early tracks sound far from audiophile quality. Next step for me is to check out the Sundazed stuff but I'm now really happy with the early tracks in mono as I prefer them.
I've read that "Give It Up" is in mono on the Fuel 2000 "Absolutely the Best" compilation for Lee Dorsey. Can anyone confirm and/or weigh in on the sound of that CD?
Allmusic is usually pretty accurate with samples, maybe worthwhile more for the mono / stereo question anyway. Absolutely the Best - Lee Dorsey | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic
Amazon has a listing for Night People: The Best Of Lee Dorsey, a 3 disc collection from Sunset Blvd Records, which is due for release November 16th 2018. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HCCWWWB/ I'm not familiar with Sunset Blvd Records. Forum members have stated that needledrops abound on the label's Ron Dante Anthology and Slim Gaillard Searching For You CDs. In contrast, the label website states that their Roscoe Shelton The Best of was "remastered from the original source tapes".
Release Date: November 16th 2018 Label: Sunset BLVD Records UPC: 708535793526 Disc 1 1. Ya Ya 2. Give Me You 3. Do-Re 4. People Gonna Talk 5. Eenie - Meenie 6. Behind The 8-Ball 7. Chin Chin 8. Mess Around 9. One And One 10. Yum Yum 11. Ixie Dixie Pixie Pie 12. You Are My Sunshine 13. Give Me Your Love 14. Hoodlum Joe 15. When I Met My Baby 16. Great Googa Mooga 17. Lil Liza Jane 18. You're Breaking Me Up 19. Hello Good Looking 20. Someday 21. As Quiet As It's Kept 22. People Sure Act Funny Disc 2 1. Organ Grinder Swing 2. I Gotta Find A New Love 3. Oo-Na 4. You Better Tell Her 5. Lonelyology (For Your Love) 6. Ay-La 7. My Babe 8. What Am I Living For 9. When Can I Come Home? 10. Lonely Avenue 11. Radio Commercials 12. Lottie - Mo (live) 13. Ride Your Pony (live) 14. Working In The Coal Mine (live) 15. Yes We Can Part 1 16. Yes We Can Part 2 17. Riverboat 18. Tears, Tears And More Tears 19. O Me-O, My 20. Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley 21. Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further 22. Games People Play Disc 3 1. When The Bill's Paid 2. What You Want (Is What You Get) 3. Occapella 4. Gator Tail 5. Would You? 6. Freedom For The Stallion 7. If She Won't 8. On Your Way Down 9. If I Were A Carpenter 10. A Place Where We Can Be Free 11. Honest I Do 12. Am I That Easy To Forget 13. Before The Next Teardrop Falls 14. Night People 15. Can I Be The One 16. Say It Again 17. God Must Have Blessed America 18. Soul Mine 19. Keep On Doing It To Me 20. Thank You 21. Babe 22. Draining
I have this cheap looking Portuguese compilation CD. The sound quality is variable and mediocre in places, but the track list is perfect and I play this a lot. Lee Dorsey - Working In A Coalmine
It looks like it doesn't include anything from the Amy label, which means a big portion of his best work is absent.
This collection is pretty useless as an overview, but if the sources are good it would be a nice complement to the Sundazed releases of The New Lee Dorsey and Ride Your Pony.
That would explain it. I'm slightly tempted by the presence of just about everything he recorded up through 1964, but everything else seems iffy. The live versions are probably from the 80's or 90's, and there's no attempt to include any versions of "Holy Cow" or "Get Out My Life Woman." As jomo48 said, definitely not a good starting point for collecting Lee Dorsey.
