... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Wonderful work from Harry "Little" Caesar – a singer who made some great R&B singles for the west coast scene in the 50s, but hardly ever got his due on the other side of the US! Harry's got a nicely rough edge in his vocals – a style that reminds us a lot of the best male singers at King, like Roy Brown or Wynonie Harris – and although Caesar's perhaps not as raw and raunchy as the latter, he often covers similar down-to-earth topics in his tunes – material that makes these sides a real joy to rediscover! As the title implies, the work here was recorded for a handful of different labels – Modern, Dolphin, and Downey – and together, the tunes paint a vivid picture of this under-discovered talent from LA – a picture that's expanded on nicely by Billy Vera's notes as well. CD features 26 tracks in all – including "Cadillac Baby", "Don't Mention The Blues", "Lying Woman", "Atomic Love", "Going Down To The River", "Move Me", "Personal Question", "Tried To Reason With You Baby", and "What Are They Laughing About" – plus numbers sung with The Turbans, including "The Nest Is Warm", "No No Cherry", and "Tick Tock A Woo". CD

Rare Bacharach galore – an assortment of under-reissued tracks all penned by the mighty Burt – most of which are from the heyday of 60s uptown soul! Despite the 1952 in the date range on the title, almost all the tunes here are from the mid 60s – that time when Bacharach was writing new tunes like a demon, and getting most of them recorded by a range of great talents on the New York scene. Singers are a good mix of soul, pop, rock, and vocal artists – and although the material was done for a variety of different labels, there's a relatively unified feel – thanks to that snapping syncopation that Burt always brought to work like this. CD features 26 titles in all – including "How About" by Della Reese, "Third Window From The Right" by Dean Barlow, "I Wake Up Crying" by Del Shannon, "I Looked For You" by Charlie Gracie, "That's Not The Answer" by Vi Velasco, "More Time To Be With You" by Brook Benton, "Three Friends" by The Turbans, "Move It On The Backbeat" by Burt & The Backbeats, "You're Telling Our Secrets" by Dee Clark, "Thirty Miles Of Railroad Track" by The Hammond Brothers, "The Story Of My Life" by Big Al Downing, "Made In Paris" by Trini Lopez, "Rain From The Skies" by Adam Wade, and "True Love Never Runs Smooth" by Don & Juan. CD

Rerecorded hits from Bobby Vee, Jackie Wilson, the Earls, Dee Clark, the Charts, Dion, the Turbans, Hank Ballard, the Moonglows, Del Shannon, the Tymes, Ben E King, and more. CD

A great set of groovers from the Cameo/Parkway label – a company that gave the world the biggest twist record of the 60s, but which also was perfectly poised to deliver all sorts of other upbeat tracks as well! The label was in Philly – a huge dance town in the early days of soul and rock – and the set list here is filled with the kind of cuts that were Philadelphia's answer to the rising sound of Motown – the roots of the Northern Soul sound that would be followed by soul collectors for decades! These aren't novelty hits, but upbeat cuts that groove plenty – most by soul artists, a few by pop singers – but all given the kind of tight instrumentation and strong studio handling that made the Philly scene such a standout. 22 tracks in all – including "Shimmy Shimmy" and "The Wah Watusi" by The Orlons, "Bristol Stomp" and "You Can't Sit Down" by the Dovells, "Mashed Potato Time" and "Do The Bird" by Dee Dee Sharp, "The 81" by Candy & The Kisses, "The Mash" by Tony Young & The Hippies, "Mexican Hat Rock" by The Applejacks, "Baby Do The Frog" by The Dardenelles, "The Swim (part 1)" by The Marlins, "Slow Twistin" by Chubby Checker & Dee Dee Sharp, "The Third House" by Bobby Rydell, "When You Dance" by The Turbans, "Everybody South Street" by The Taffys, "The Popeye Waddle" by Don Covay, and yes, "The Twist" by Chubby Checker. LP, Vinyl record album