Your favourite Ace Records (UK) releases

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by GodBlessTinyTim, Nov 16, 2015.

  1. Durm

    Durm Forum Resident

    Location:
    Durham NC
    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
     
  2. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    The "Sweet Dreams" comp by Tommy Mclain is enjoyable from start to finish.
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  3. Laservampire

    Laservampire Down with this sort of thing

    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!
     
  4. minibreakfast

    minibreakfast Forum Resident

    Location:
    Suffolk, UK
    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 »
     
  5. Willowman

    Willowman Senior Member

    Location:
    London, UK
    Chartbusters USA 1-3 - all great fun in the car
     
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  6. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    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.

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  7. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    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.
     
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  8. sszorin

    sszorin Forum Resident

    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 ?

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    Last edited: Oct 21, 2016
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  9. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    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?
     
  10. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    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.

     
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  11. The Killer

    The Killer Dung Heap Rooster

    Location:
    The Cotswolds
    Damn! You made me buy that. Hey look what I found regarding the cover art.

    The Royaltones - Niall McCormack Illustration & Design »
     
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  12. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    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.

     
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  13. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    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".

    [​IMG]

     
  14. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    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!
     
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  15. The Killer

    The Killer Dung Heap Rooster

    Location:
    The Cotswolds
    Gonna have to get this. Just checking her out on the tube, she's pretty funky, this is cool, great sound too.

     
  16. jjhunsecker

    jjhunsecker Senior Member

    Location:
    New York city
    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
     
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  17. jjhunsecker

    jjhunsecker Senior Member

    Location:
    New York city
    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
     
  18. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    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.
     
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  19. The Killer

    The Killer Dung Heap Rooster

    Location:
    The Cotswolds
    Yeah, this is great, Ace have done a really good job on the sound too.
     
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  20. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    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.
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  21. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
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  22. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    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.
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  23. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    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.

     
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  24. darbelob

    darbelob Senior Member

    Location:
    Orlando
    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!
     
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  25. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    Definitely. Those twofers are an absolute essential purchase. It's a shame the"Classic Albums" box set didn't follow the same formula.
     

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