Not Surprised At The Disinterest In THIS Ace Product
09/16/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Quite frankly, and while I normally extol the compilations to come out of Ace of London, I found their two separate volumes on The Champs, with a total of 56 tracks, to be nothing more than a ploy to squeeze a little more out of those fans and collectors seeking their hits. All 8 of them. The lack of reviews for either volume to this point speaks volumes.
In this, The Early Singles release, you get their first five hits plus the B-sides, but if you want their last 3 hits and their flips you have to purchase the second release called The Later Singles. Everything else is so much fill, being failed singles, album cuts, or previously-unreleased material.
The L.A.-based group, named after Gene Autry's horse Champ, began as a collection of studio musicians - rhythm guitarist Dave Burgess, Cliff Hils on bass, drummer Gene Alden, lead guitarist Buddy Bruce, and saxophonist Danny Flores, who would later change his name to Chuck Rio. Their first hit, Tequila, was also their best, rising to # 1 on both the Billboard Pop Top 100 (where it stayed for 5 weeks) and # 1 R&B (4 weeks) in early 1958 b/w Train To Nowhere. In between that and their follow-up hit both Hils and Bruce were replaced by Joe Burnas and Dale Norris,
In early summer El Rancho Rock, based upon the 1934 tune Alla En El Rancho Grande, peaked at # 10 R&B/# 30 Top 100 b/w one of the best jive tunes of the era, Midnighter, which reached # 94. Following the same pattern us resurrecting old tunes, they next hit with Chariot Rock which, based on the spiritual Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, made it to # 59 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in late summer 1958 b/w Subway. Shortly after, following some friction, Flores and Alden were asked to leave the band, being replaced by saxophonist Jimmy Seals and drummer Dash Crofts.
But they wouldn't hit the charts again until early 1960 when Too Much Tequila topped out at # 30 Hit 100 in early spring b/w Twenty Thousand Leagues, followed by another two-year gaps before they charted again. It was in this period that Glen Campbell joined the band as a guitarist.
Of course, if you want their next three hits you have to purchase the other album. Or, seek out a compilation that contains all 8 on one issue. For the record, Limbo Rock and its flipside, Tequila Twist, both charted in early 1962 at # 40 and # 99 Hot 100 respectively, while Limbo Dance became their final charter in October when it stumbled to # 97 b/w Latin Limbo.
In the early 1970s Seals & Crofts would commence a string of 12 Hot 100 hits for the Warner label. These, and other details, are contained in the 5 pages of liner notes written by Dave Burke and Roy Simonds of the U.K. publication, Pipeline Magazine, mixed with some poster and chart insert reproductions. That is always a key feature of any Ace release. I just wish they had seen fit to limit their coverage of The Champs to one, good 30-track release and leave it at that."
