... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

The golden hits of The Drifters, but a set that mostly features on the group's great second chapter at Atlantic Records – a time when original singer Clyde McPhatter had left the group, and Ben E King and Rudy Lewis came in with a very different style in the lead! Lieber & Stoller were strongly behind the group at this point, really making magic with the rhythms of the tunes too – those unusual rhythms that really set the early 60s Drifters apart from the pack – as you'll hear on cuts that include "There Goes My Baby", "(If You Cry) True Love, True Love", "Dance With Me", "This Magic Moment", "Save The Last Dance For Me", "I Count The Tears", "Some Kind Of Wonderful", "Up On The Roof", "On Broadway","Under The Boardwalk", "I've Got Sand In My Shoes", and "Saturday Night At The Movies". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work by The Drifters – not only proof that their career was still going strong, but also a landmark batch of uptown soul tracks that set the blueprint for so many other New York artists of the 60s! The album includes the hits "On Broadway", "Up On The Roof", and "Under The Boardwalk" – but there's a dozen tracks, and they're all great! Other tracks include "Rat Race", "I'll Take You Home", "Let the Music Play", and "If You Don't Come Back". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal work from the post-Clyde McPhatter version of The Drifters – a sublime batch of singles that really showcase all that's great from the second chapter of the group! The set's way more than a "best of" – as it was the only full album to feature most of these cuts – and together, they really illustrate the excellent changes the group had made – including their alliance with the Leiber & Stoller team, and their great use of exotic rhythms and instrumentation! Some cuts still echo earlier R&B, while others have plenty of cool Latin elements in the mix too – a rhythm that really works well for the vocals of Ben E King's lead with the group. Titles include "Sweets For My Sweet", "There Goes My Baby", "Stranger On The Shore", "Save The Last Dance For Me", "When My Little Girl Is Smiling", "Ruby Baby", "True Love True Love","Another Night With The Boys", "What To Do", "Mexican Divorce", and "Room Full Of Tears". LP, Vinyl record album

16 classic tracks – mostly from the post-Clyde McPhatter years of The Drifters – with Ben E King on lead vocals on a number of cuts! CD

Collection of the Drifters' big hits for Altantic, pressed up on their lesser-known subsidiary, Clarion. The material's mostly from the late 50's period, and includes the cuts "Somebody New Dancing With You", "Lonely Winds", "Drip Drop", "Adorable", "There Goes My Baby", and "Some Kind Of Wonderful". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavenly sweet soulful stuff from the Ben E. King years, including "Hey Senorita", "Lonely Winds", "Oh My Love", "Sweets For My Sweet", "Room Full of Tears", and more – plus the unreleased cuts "Sometimes I Wonder" and "Night Shift". Same great package as the other volumes, with a reproduction of an original cover on the front, and great notes inside. CD

... CD

Includes the songs "I'll Take You Where The Music's Playing", "Nylon Stockins", "We Gotta Sing", "Up In The Streets Of Harlem", "Memories Are Made Of This", "You Can't Love Them All", "My Islands In The Sun", "Aretha", "Baby What I Mean", "Ain't That The Truth", "Up Jumped The Devil", "Still Burning In My Heart", "I Need You Now", "Country To The City", "Your Best Friend", "Steal Away", "Black Silk", "You Got To Pay Your Dues", "A Rose By Any Other Name", "Be My Lady", and "It Takes A Good Woman". CD

Way more than just another collection of work by The Drifters – as this 3CD set goes way past all the other greatest hits compilations on the market, and brings together all sorts of wonderful overlooked tracks from their later years on Atlantic Records! At this point, former singer Clyde McPhatter and Ben E King have left the flock – leaving most of the lead work to Johnny Moore, and a bit to Rudy Lewis – in a lineup that maybe has the group even more unified as a whole, with a tremendous sense of harmony vocals that just keeps getting better and better as the 60s move on – and as the group try out all sorts of new rhythms and songs in the process. We really love The Drifters, and can't get enough of their special sound – and this set features plenty of unusual cuts to really keep our interest – a set of 76 tracks that includes "Up In The Streets Of Harlem", "We Gotta Sing", "Aretha", "Baby What I Mean", "Up Jumped The Devil", "I Dig Your Act", "You & me Together Forever", "Black Silk", "Desafinado", "Follow Me", "Come On Over To My Place", "Answer The Phone", "I Remember Christmas", "Spanish Lace", "I Don't Want To Go On Without You", "He's Just A Playboy", "Saturday Night At The Movies", "Looking Through The Eyes Of Love", "The Outside World", "My Islands In The Sun", "You Can't Love Them All", "Country To The City", "Still Burning In My Heart", and lots more! CD

... CD

2nd great volume in Sequel's Drifters anthology, with hard rockin' tracks from the middle period like "Drip Drop", "Hypnotized", "Steamboat", "No Sweet Lovin", "Yodee Yakee", and lots more – plus two cuts by the related group The Flyers: "On Bended Knee" and "My Only Desire". 23 tracks in all, with lots of Drifters stuff that hasn't turned up on other comps – and a lot better packaging than we've seen with the other ones. CD

With 40 tracks on 2 CDs including "Baltimore", "Sometimes I Wonder", "Oh My Love", "This Magic Moment", "Some Kind Of Wonderful", "Up On The Roof", "Stranger On The Shore", "On Broadway", "Under The Boardwalk", and more – 40 tracks total. CD

... CD

The golden hits of The Drifters, but a set that mostly features on the group's great second chapter at Atlantic Records – a time when original singer Clyde McPhatter had left the group, and Ben E King and Rudy Lewis came in with a very different style in the lead! Lieber & Stoller were strongly behind the group at this point, really making magic with the rhythms of the tunes too – those unusual rhythms that really set the early 60s Drifters apart from the pack – as you'll hear on cuts that include "There Goes My Baby", "(If You Cry) True Love, True Love", "Dance With Me", "This Magic Moment", "Save The Last Dance For Me", "I Count The Tears", "Some Kind Of Wonderful", "Up On The Roof", "On Broadway","Under The Boardwalk", "I've Got Sand In My Shoes", and "Saturday Night At The Movies". CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Great work from The Drifters – and a set that features material both from the group's years with Clyde McPhatter in the lead, and from the later versions of the group in the early 60s! Both sides of The Drifters are totally great – as you'll hear in this stunning set of cuts recorded for Atlantic Records – massive material that starts with a hard-edged vocal group 50s style, then moves into some even more complicated 60s soul modes, particularly during the group's time working with Lieber & Stoller. 30 tracks in all – with titles that include "Please Stay", "Some Kind Of Wonderful", "This Magic Moment", "Money Honey", "Such A Night", "What'cha Gonna Do", "Adorable", "Ruby Baby", "Fools Fall In Love", "Bip Bamp", "Honey Love", "At The Club", "I've Got Sand In My Shoes", and "Saturday Night At The Movies". CD

The Drifters' last full album for Atlantic Records – and a rock-solid set that may well be one of their best for the label in the 60s! The album's heavy on those lightly loping tunes that the group virtually invented a few years before – that slightly-sweetened approach to soul that became known as the uptown sound and which still had The Drifters as one of its key proponents at the time of this set. Production is by the great Bert Berns, who really knows how to balance all elements perfectly – and many of the lead vocals are by Johnny Moore, whose crackling vocals bring in a nice sense of feeling, even when the tunes are pretty darn catchy. But possibly the best thing about the record is the songs – as they're mostly pretty fresh tracks that move past some of the overplayed Drifters hits – but which still resonate with similar themes about live and life in the big city. Titles include "I'll Take You Where The Music's Playing", "I've Got Sand In My Shoes", "At The Club", "He's Just A Playboy", "Follow Me", "Far From The Maddening Crowd", and "Come On Over To My Place". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A long-overdue look at one of the greatest vocal groups of the 50s – an quartet with a sound to rival that of The Drifters or The Dominoes at their best! That comparison is no accident, as The Checkers featured members from both groups – although the overall strength of the vocal work on this set is more in line with the hard-wailing Clyde McPhatter Drifters years on Atlantic than it is some of the better-known Dominoes work for King. There's a vocal range and confidence here that's really amazing – a dipping, turning, soaring quality that shows up on nearly all the tunes – and which makes us wonder why the group wasn't at the top of the charts during the years. All tunes are very nicely presented here – with great mastering and full notes on all the Checkers' years at King – and the CD features a total of 26 tracks that includes "You Never Had It So Good", "Don't Stop Dan", "Night's Curtains", "I Wanna Know", "Let Me Come Back", "I Wasn't Thinking I Was Drinking", "Friend In Need", "Mama's Daughter", "I Promise You", and "Love Wasn't There". CD

Great lost work from one of the best-ever voices in R&B! After his work in the Drifters, Clyde moved onto a checkered solo career that had him moving from sweet R&B ballads to soulful uptown numbers to some occasional rawer stuff. There's plenty of great moments in Clyde's recordings for labels like Atlantic and Mercury, but these sides from the mid 60s are some of his best and hardest to find sides from those solo years. The tracks have a bit of a southern touch to them, which is no surprise since some were produced by Rick Hall at the Fame Studios, and since most of the work coming out on the Amy label had some sort of a rootsy groove to it. As you can guess, this approach works great for Clyde's voice, which is still in great shape here, and the CD collects together a number of great tracks that have only ever been available as singles. Titles include "I Dreamt I Died", "Lonely People Can't Afford To Cry", "Everybody Loves A Good Time", "Shot Of Rhythm & Blues", "Sweet & Innocent", and "I'm Not Going To Work Today". CD

Killer soul from the 60s – a wonderfully rich array of hard soul grooves – all with a superb pedigree! The "At" here is short for "Atlantic" – as in Atlantic Records, the source of all the very groovy cuts on this set – as well as some from the early years of Stax Records too! But if you're thinking the collection's just another batch of overplayed Atlantic soul hits from the 60s, then think again – because the track selection is wonderful, and the compilation goes out of its way to pick lesser-known gems and rare singles – including some by artists we didn't even realize recorded for Atlantic! There's definitely a few familiar cuts on here, but there's lots more that were only briefly issued as 45s – as you'll hear on titles that include "Holding On With Both Hands" by Eddie Floyd, "Able Mable" by Mable John, "Walking Up A One Way Street" by Willie Tee, "At The Club" by The Drifters, "It Ain't What You Got" by Jimmy Hughes, "Help Me Get The Feeling" by Ray Sharpe, "Some Other Guy" by Richie Barrett, "I'm Gonna Run Away From You" by Tami Lynn, "Que Sera Sera" by The High Keys, "Keep Lookin" by Solomon Burke, and the amazing "Some Kind Of Wonderful" by Soul Brothers Six, a monster track that is worth the price of the CD alone! CD

Here it is, the mother of them all! The set's got 8CDs worth of killer soul, funk, and Rhythm & Blues – all culled from the rich history of the Atlantic records label, and lovingly put together with great notes and everything! Although this sort of set usually tends to be a bit simplistic, this box actually features a beautiful mix of tracks, lots of which are hard to get in any format. It's a lot to go through, but it's worth the trip! We can't even begin to list the tracks here, there's 203(!) of them in all, but some of the artists include the Bar Kays, the Beginning of the End, Archie Bell & The Drells, Ruth Brown, Solomon Burke, the Capitols, Clarence Carter, the Chords, the Cookies, Don Covay, King Curtis, Tyrone Davis, the Drifters, Roberta Flack, King Floyd, Aretha Franklin, Major Harris, Donny Hathaway, the Ikettes, Willis Jackson, Nat Kendricks & The Swans, Barabra Lewis,the Mar-keys, Les McCann & Eddie Harris, Stick McGhee, Otis & Carla, the Persuaders, Percy Sledge, The Spinners, Willie Tee, Joe Tex, Chuck Willis, Betty Wright and loads more! CD

Culled from the rich history of the Atlantic records label, and lovingly put together with great notes and everything! 28 tracks in all, including "Ruby Baby" and "Fools Fall In Love" by the Drifters,"In paradise" by the Cookies, "The Chicken & The Hawk" by Joe Turner, "Devil Or Angel" by the Clovers, "Drown In My Own Tears" and "Lonely Avenue" by Ray Charles, "Jim Dandy" by LaVern Baker, 'Down In Mexico", "Searchin'" and "Yakety Yak" by the Coasters, "Treasure Of Love" by Clyde McPhatter, "Since I Met You Baby" by Ivory Joe Hunter, "Lucky Lips" by Ruth Brown, "Midnight Special Train" by Joe Turner, "Cc Rider" and "Hang Up My Rock & Roll Shoes" by Chuck Willis and "Mr Lee" by the Bobbettes. LP, Vinyl record album

Culled from the rich history of the Atlantic records label, and lovingly put together with great notes and everything! 28 tracks in all, including "I Cried A Tear" by LaVern Baker, "What'd I Say (parts 1 & 2)", 'Let The Good Times Roll" and "Just For A Thrill" by Ray Charles, "There Goes My Baby" and "This Magic Moment" by the Drifters, "Charlie Brown" and "Poison Ivy" by the Coasters, "Spanish Harlem", "Stand By Me" and "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" by Ben E King, "Gee Whiz" by Carla Thomas, "Just Out Of Reach" by Solomon Burke, "Last Night" by the Mar-Keys, "I'm Blue (The Gong Gong Song)" by the Ikettes, "You Don't miss Your Water" by William Bell, "I Found A Love" by the Falcons, and "Green Onions" by Booker T & The MG's. LP, Vinyl record album

Culled from the rich history of the Atlantic records label, and lovingly put together with great notes and everything! Tracks include"Up On The Roof", "On Broadway", "Under The Boardwalk" by The Drifters; "If You Need Me" by Solomon Burke; "These Arms Of Mine", "Mr Pitiful", "I've Been Loving You Too Long", and "Respect" by Otis Redding; "Hello Stranger", "Baby I'm Yours" by Barbara Lewis; "Just One Look" by Doris Troy; "Mercy Mercy" and "See-Saw" by Don Covay; "Hold On To What You Got" by Joe Tex, and plenty more. LP, Vinyl record album

Music from The Drifters, The Platters, Johnny Maestro, Danny & The Juniors, The Coasters, The Clovers, Johnny Otis, and The Diamonds. CD

Music from Gene Chandler, the Marcels, the Drifters, Don & Juan, the Duprees, the Cleftones, the Dovells, the Cascades, the Tams, and the Tymes. CD

10 songs from Freddie Scott, Solomon Burke, Hoagy Lands, Garnet Mimms, The Drifters, Erma Franklin, and The Isley Brothers. CD

28 songs from The Coasters, Little Eva Ernie K-Doe, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Crickets, Roy Orbison, Del Shannon, Carol Connors, The Drifters, Booker T & The MG's, and more. CD

Not just soul, but lots of R&B too – work by Betty Wright, Joe Turner, Joe Tex, Sam & Dave, Stick McGhee, Ray Charles, The Drifters, Aretha Franklin, Ruth Brown, The Chords, Solomon Burke, and lots of others! LP, Vinyl record album

Music from The James Quintet, Eddie Gorman & Group, The Bachelors, Madeline Green & The Magichords, The Drifters, The Beavers, Maggie Hathaway And Her Bluesmen, The James Quintet, The Colemans, The Cats And The Fiddle, Bill Johnson & His Musical Notes, The Five Breezes, The Norfolk Jazz Quartet, and more. CD

Music from Big Joe Turner, Ray Charles, Fabian, the Mystics, the Drifters, Jimmy Clanton, the Drifters, Gary US Bonds, Andy Williams, Elvis Presley, the Hollies, and more. CD

Doo wop recordings played a huge role in the early days of rock and roll – and this wonderful set offers up a huge amount of gems you might have otherwise missed! Like the "normal" volumes of the Golden Age Of Rock & Roll series from Ace Records, the approach here is wonderful – a really full array of sounds from the time that goes way past the hits – in a mode that mixes familiar numbers with lesser-remembered tracks that were definitely important at the time, but might have been lost in the shifting sands of time. The folks at Ace pull together doo wop work from a huge variety of labels – in styles that are both rock and soul, and illustrate the color-blind approach that most group fans had at the time – a love of listening that didn't care where the groups were from, as long as they could make magic with their voices! The notes are great – deeply detailed, on each track within – and titles include "If" by The Paragons, "Runaround" by The Regents, "Don't Take The Stars" by The Mystics, "Little Darlin" by The Diamonds, "What Will I Tell My Heart" by The Harptones, "Once In Awhile" by The Chimes, "Peanuts" by Rick & The Keens, "Wizard Of Love" by The Lydells, "Till Then" by The Classics, "Try The Impossible" by Lee Andrews & The Hearts, "Fools Fall In Love" by The Drifters, "It's Unbelievable" by The Larks, and "The Reason" by The 5 Chanels. CD

Features music from Dion, Bibby Pedrick Jr, Bobby Lewis, Conway Twitty, the Drifters, Nervous Norvus, Sammy Turner, Ronnie Love, Carl Mann, the Quarter Notes and more. CD

A great look at one of our favorite sub-genres of 60s soul – tunes that deal with the ins and outs of big city life, most of which were recorded as uptown soul tunes with really great production! It's hard to describe the charm of this work accurately, but the tunes are almost mini-movies, or sound snapshots of urban life at the time – often penned by Brill Building songwriters with a slight fantasy of life in the farther-flung boroughs of the city. Some of the tunes here are well-known, but lots more are obscure – really compelling tracks by singers who bring great life to the songs, and manage to make these little musical moments live on wonderfully over the years! Titles include "Nights In New York City" by Jan Bradley, "Street Talk" by The Tymes, "No Butterflies" by Walter Jackson, "I Love New York" by Marva Josie, "In My Apartment" by Dee Clark, "Big New York" by Chuck Jackson, "On Broadway" by The Cookies, "Concrete Jungle" by Arthur Alexander, "I Don't Want To Hear It Any More" by Jerry Butler, "Second Window Second Floor" by Clyde McPhater, "I Found A Daisy In The City" by Barry Darvell, "Song Of The Street" by Donald Height, "Strange Neighborhood" by The Imaginations, "Up In The Streets Of Harlem" by The Drifters, "City Of Fools" by Colette Kelly, and "That Old Neighborhood" by Eric Williams. CD

Perhaps the greatest years of genius for the team of Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller – all summed up perfectly in a package that spans their work for many labels in many styles! Included here are some of the pair's best R&B work from the late 50s – hard groovers, catchy pop numbers, and a few mini-symphonies that really pushed the vocal talents of some key groups! Also included are some great early soul numbers, a few surprising crossover tracks, and a few titles that we'd heard before, but never realized were handled by Leiber & Stoller! Package features 24 tracks in all – with really wonderful notes that tie together all these bits, and further illuminate the material. Titles include "Here Comes Henry" by Young Jessie, "One Kiss Led To Another" by The Coasters, "There Goes My Baby" by The Drifters, "Yes" by Jay & The Americans, "Stand By Me" by Cassius Clay, "Bossa Nova Baby" by Tippie & The Clovers, "Searchin" by Alvin Robinson, "Lips" by Roy Hamilton, "Smokey Joe's Cafe" by Buddy Holly, "Alligator Wine" by Screamin Jay Hawkins, "Old Fashioned" by Varetta Dillard & The Cookies, "Lucky Lips" by Ruth Brown, "Keep Tellin Yourself" by Marv Johnson, "Some Other Guy" by Richie Barrett, "An Open Fire" by Johnny Mathis, and "I'm A Woman" by Christine Kittrell. CD

A huge discovery in vocal group material from the 50s – served up in this excellent series of tracks from the vaults of LA's Modern Records label! Most folks associate the early vocal group sounds with the east coast or Chicago scenes of the postwar years – but there was also plenty of harmonizing and doo wop on the west coast, too – although sometimes not as well-exposed as the bigger hits back east! This series really corrects that mistake – and serves up a stunning wealth of work from the early Cali scene – tracks recorded by the Modern Records label, a company with a rich legacy in jump blues, R&B, and other hip postwar styles – all of which they brought to play on their recordings in a vocal group mode. The Modern approach often has some wonderful arrangements that further empower the vocals – a harder swing that gives the singers the same push as some of the label's solo acts – and as usual for Ace Records, this collection moves way past the hits, to include some unreleased tracks, and rare singles from the Modern, RPM, Crown, and Flair labels. Volume 1 features 24 tracks in all – with titles that include "Native Girl" by The Native Boys, "Love Only You" by The Meadowlarks, "Sacroilliac Swing" by The Drifters, "I Wanna Love" by Arthur Lee Maye & The Crowns, "You Better Stop" by The Original Jubalaires, "Be Cool My Heart" by Oscar McLollie & His Honey Jumpers, "Let Me Be Your Man" by The Five Hearts, "Forever" by Marvin Phillips & The Barons, and "Tell Me You Love Me" by The Flairs. CD

Nothing but great songs from the team of Gerry Goffin & Carole King – the third volume of greatness from the pivotal 60s songwriters to be put together by our friends at Ace UK – with several of the bigger hits for good measure, but strongly focused on lesser-remembered jewels that are just as deserving! Goffin & King's stratospheric success is a testament to both their immeasurable craft and the adaptability. The latter is key, as a wildly diverse roster either hit big of should have done so with these absolutely great songs – The Drifters, Chiffons, Freddie Scott, The Byrds, The Monkees, Rick Nelson, Tony Orlando, Lesley Gore, The Tokens, Dee Dee Sharpe. Soul, rock, pop or a combination thereof – Goffin & King's reach is amazing! 26 tracks: "One Fine Day" by The Chiffons, "Hey Girl" by Freddie Scott, "Sweet Young Thing" by The Monkees, "Soul Waltzin'" by Big Dee Irwin, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" by Bunny Sigler, "Chains" by The Everly Brothers, "Can't Stop Talking About You" by Tobin Matthews, "Take Good Care Of My Baby" by Dion, "Goin' Back" by The Byrds, "Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby)" by The Cookies and more. CD