New York Soul Serenade Zombie Heaven is perfect. C'est Chic Tres Chic The Phil Spector soundalike series has loads of surprises. Wild Thing: The Songs of Chip Taylor. Vamps Et Vampire (Serge Gainsbourg songs - highly recommended). Does Anybody Know I'm Here
Somewhat. A few tracks are improved over the 1993 Ace "Rides Again" CD, but a few are actually inferior. Gotta mix and match to get the best copies of each track!
For me their most rewarding releases are the Where Country Meets Soul CDs, so far a series of three collections of country songs covered by soul artists. My favourite is the first one, Behind Closed Doors: Various Artists (Where Country Meets Soul) - Behind Closed Doors - Where Country Meets Soul - Ace Records » There's also a reversal of the theme in Where Soul Meets Country, but I haven't sprung for that yet: Various Artists (Where Country Meets Soul) - Out Of Left Field - Where Soul Meets Country - Ace Records »
The Royaltones were a pretty typical late-50's/early-60's instrumental rock 'n' roll group, but this CD (Ace's first limited edition release, 1000 copies) is still definitely worthwhile. It also sports some of the nicest cover art I've seen on a compilation.
Definitely. The Royaltones are excellent and I never understood why Ace made that CD a limited release. Could be wrong, but based on demand, I'd assume they could've sold more than 1000 copies.
Well, these 'gangsta' are supposed to be The Royaltones [Also see this : *ROYALTONES - doo-wop » ] Was the label recycling the group name ?...or was there a conspiracy to get The Royaltones, working under two guises, sufficient number of vinyl sales to claim a 'Gold' record ?
Very interesting indeed! I'd be curious to know who was first to claim the name. I'd assume the doo wop group disbanded and the instrumental group were able to use the name from that point onward?
The doo-wop Royaltones were using the name by 1955, and had been disbanded for two years by the time the instrumental Royaltones took it on in 1958. The two groups never recorded for related labels, so it was probably just a coincidence. It is a great name. That could be said of a number of their limited releases. Another rare one I recently tracked down is Lula Reed & Tiny Topsy's Federal recordings.
Damn! You made me buy that. Hey look what I found regarding the cover art. The Royaltones - Niall McCormack Illustration & Design »
Very classy. I have the Etta James LP he designed for Ace, Good Rockin' Mama: Her 1950's Rock 'n' Roll Dance Party. It's like if Etta had an entry in Bear Family's Rocks series, except on cotton-candy pink vinyl. By no means essential, but plenty fun.
Speaking of Etta, any fan of hers should check out Sugar Pie DeSanto. The two were childhood friends, had comparable vocal styles, recorded for Chess at the same time, and even released a couple duets. Sugar Pie operated in a slightly more contemporary soul mode; think less Willie Dixon and more "Hi-Heel Sneakers".
Yes, I came cross that number on import VA LP in Ottawa in the 1980s. Immediately made the association with High Heel Sneakers. Awesome track!
Gonna have to get this. Just checking her out on the tube, she's pretty funky, this is cool, great sound too.
I love these. The best sound I've ever heard on almost all of these tracks. I may get the 2 1970s volumes, but there's a lot of overlap with the Rhino "Have a Nice Day" series
I love these. The best sound that I've heard on most of the tracks/ I may get the 2 1970s volumes, but there is a lot of duplication with Rhino's "Have a Nice Day" series
Thanks for posting this one, would never have known about it otherwise. I found a decently-priced used copy on Amazon the other week and went for it. For me, a highlight is his Fats Domino medley. Mom said she found it to be a very nice collection as well.
It's my pleasure and glad to hear you're enjoying the Tommy Mclain disc. If you're interesting in digging a little deeper, there are two enjoyable compilations released on Edsel's Crazy Cajun series. "Sweet Dreams" is my favorite of the two, because it showcases Tommy's swamp pop style with a mixture of country standards and some other nice surprises. "The Cajun Rod Stewart" includes his live album, which was actually a studio album overdubbed to sound like a live concert. Since most of his LPs are out of print and didn't sell in big numbers outside of his key regions, these compilations are a nice way to own that material. More recently, there have been a few different self-released CDs by Tommy, but the production on those is nowhere in the league of his classic material. Tommy mostly performs as a regional act around Louisiana and Texas, although he still tours Europe.
I might check out that first CD at some point. Maybe the second as well, but fake live albums rarely pan out. Some of Ace's compilations perplex me. Various Artists (Saint Etienne) - Saint Etienne Present Songs For The Carnegie Deli - Ace Records » Various Artists (Rock On) - Rock On - Ace Records » Some great music on these collections, but what's the audience?
Definitely. I've only heard this "Rock On" compilation and it's a strange collection of songs from multiple decades, all excellent artists of course. Essentially, this is the "mixtape of life" for Ace boss-man Ted Carroll. One title which appears to be currently out of print is the 2CD containing the complete Hickory recordings of Doug and Rusty Kershaw. Considering Doug is still active in music, hopefully Ace will re-release this set in the future.
Love that Rusty & Doug collection. It was already out of print by the time I discovered it so it cost a pretty penny, but it was worth it. They did all kinds of great stuff long before hitting Cajun paydirt. Less partial to the Wiley Barkdull solo sides as his vocals sometimes match his surname, but I'm glad they're included for posterity.
I really love my Four Seasons 2fers. I got rid of them and then tracked them all down and repurchased them. Great mastering and essential bonus tracks. And, of course, great music!
Definitely. Those twofers are an absolute essential purchase. It's a shame the"Classic Albums" box set didn't follow the same formula.