An overdue look at the 50s work of
Charlie Gracie – a singer who could rock when he wanted, but also step back into a mellower pop ballad too – both of which are featured strongly on this set!
Charlie cut a lot of material in Philly, at a time when the city was a real laboratory for new styles of music in the postwar years – and the production on most of these cuts is nice and lean, with great use of echo and other early pop styles to bring the most out of
Gracie's surprisingly strong vocal style. There's occasional echoes of hillbilly and rockabilly modes at times – and the CD features material from the Cameo, Cadillac, and 20th Century labels – with 32 tracks in all, including the titles "Cool Baby", "Ninety Nine Ways", "Say What You Mean", "Wandering Eyes", "Crazy Girl", "Rock The Joint", "Butterfly", "Guitar Boogie", "Fabulous", "I Love You So Much It Hurts", and "A Heart Like A Rock".