Great concept - execution not so
Zub | Forks Twp., PA | 11/16/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This two-disc compilation from Westside Records in the U.K. brings together songs written primarily by the three husband-and-wife songwriting teams of the Brill Building-era. These three pairs of writers - Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil - accounted for a good portion of the music being played on the am radio in the 60s. Some of these writers' tunes are early rock/pop classics - "Soul and Inspiration", " Will You Love Me Tomorrow", "Chapel of Love" - to name just a few. While there are lots of familiar titles here, many are versions by artists other than those who had the hit versions. You do find some original artist versions such as the Raindrops' "The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget", Freddie Scott's "Hey, Girl", Little Eva's "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" but these are few and far between. There are some titles that were hits in their own right but not the major hit version such as Earl-Jean's pre-Hermans Hermits "I'm Into Something Good". Of interest are a few versions of songs that could have made it but were trumped by another group such as the Raindrops' "Do Wah Diddy", pulled when Manfred Mann's version ran up the charts. Most of the titles however are either filler covers of the hit versions or, while sometimes interesting in their own right, songs by the original artists that never made a commercial impact. Cross-licensing is the difficulty here but other compilations have brought together a much more diverse collection of hit tunes so this is somewhat of a disappointment. Sound quality is reasonably good overall with a few tracks acknowledged as having been taken from vinyl. Most are in mono with 2,4,6,7,14,16,19,20 on disc 1 and 2,9,10,20,25 on disc 2 in stereo. The liner notes are substantial - a 20-page booklet with lots of interesting backround on the tracks included and the writing teams themselves. Good start but could have been much better with a more balanced selection of songs from these phenomenal hitwriters from the golden age of rock and roll."
A Great Introduction to the Magic of the Brill Building
M. Hummel | College Park, MD USA | 09/14/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Initially disappointed that this collection leaves out such classics as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," "We've Got to Get Out of This Place," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin," and the Ronettes' version of "Be My Baby," etc., I'm satisfied this collection gives a great sampling of the range of songs and talents involved in that era--with 50 tracks on two discs, there are plenty of nuggets. It's an excellent introduction to The Raindrops (Jeff Barry and Elaine Greenwich)--who have an almost garage band/protopunk energy. Given the lack of choices, it's an excellent start on the Brill artists, although it may move you to try to collect other songs and artists from those years. Again, it's oddly selective (no Lieber-Stoller material), but still strong. If you saw A&E's "Biography" on the Brill writers and get these two discs, you'll have a good sense of an amazing time in pop music."
Track Listings (25) - Disc #1