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Where The Girls Are, Volume 4
Various Artists
Where The Girls Are, Volume 4
Genres: Pop, R&B, Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (26) - Disc #1

It was ba few years back when Ace announced the launch of their Where It's At series with the release of Ray Topping's stompin' Let The Boogie Woogie Rock 'n' Roll compilation of black rockers from the vaults of Atlantic R...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Various Artists
Title: Where The Girls Are, Volume 4
Members Wishing: 5
Total Copies: 0
Label: Ace Records UK
Release Date: 4/27/2001
Album Type: Import
Genres: Pop, R&B, Rock
Styles: Oldies, Vocal Pop, Soul, Oldies & Retro
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 029667180221, 766486953628

Synopsis

Product Description
It was ba few years back when Ace announced the launch of their Where It's At series with the release of Ray Topping's stompin' Let The Boogie Woogie Rock 'n' Roll compilation of black rockers from the vaults of Atlantic Records. Twenty-odd CD issues of Atlantic material have come and gone since then. Time for consumers of the girl -group sound to embark on another Ace adventure methinks. Or, to put it in the words of our friend Dave Godin, time for my co-compiler Malcolm Baumgart and I to give our penchants, obsessions and hang-ups their annual airing!Each of this series has been linked to its predecessor via one artist or group and it is future disco diva Tamiko (Jones) from Detroit who continues that tradition and returns from Volume 3 to open the new Where The Girls Are with a shower of castanets, courtesy of Motown's short-lived New York office. Atlantic bought in masters from far and wide and devotees of the Motor City sound should also get a kick from the Dorelles, a trio from Washington, DC clearly in thrall of Martha and her Vandellas.The very roots of the girl-group sound are explored via early tracks by the Bobbettes from Harlem and legendary trio the Cookies, so adorable that Ray Charles poached them and redubbed them the Raeletts. Skip forward a decade for Brill Building songwriting goddess Ellie Greenwich in disguise as the Meantime and all-girl band (as opposed to group) Goldie & the Gingerbreads. The Donna Loren-like track by Carol Shaw was cut before she strapped on her guitar and joined the Gingerbreads. That group's good pal Doris Troy gets two bites, one cut in the Big Apple and the other in the great lady's adopted home London. Doris lived in England for some years and trained an army of local session-singers how to get the gospel sound. God love her.Whether or not the Bert Berns-produced Heartbreakers feature a moonlighting Ronnie Bennett of the Ronettes on lead vocals is a rumour left unconfirmed in the accompanying booklet. But, hey, now you can listen to the tracks and decide for yourself and save a hundred bucks in the process! Berns is also represented via a brace of lush offerings from Philadelphia's finest, Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles, and a rarity by Tami Lynn from the Crescent City, whose selection was until now available only on a hideously rare French EP. Elitist? Nous?Talking of genius producers, golden boy Bob Crewe gets a look-in with three wonderful Darlene Love-type tracks he cut with the Canadian singer Shirley Matthews, and Hollywood session-player Nino Tempo mans the controls for two solos by his glamorous sister April Stevens, one of them featuring that vital element of girl-group onomatopoeia, a car crash. Elsewhere, the Dyno Dynamic production team brings you Barbara Mason's backup gals the Tiffanys, Kenny Young handles the knobs for the Goodnight Kisses' is-it-Memorex-or-is-it-Spector? two sider and Wardell Quezergue auteurs for the enigmatic New Orleans singer Lydia Marcelle.Completing the package are delicious girl group-style tracks by the Philly girl Carole Forrest, West Coast-based Darlene Paul, who comes across like a female Dion, and Reparata-clone Angela Martin. Could that really be the Delrons on backups?Mick Patrick, from the Ace Records website

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CD Reviews

More girl-group sound rarities
Zub | Forks Twp., PA | 04/06/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)

"This fourth volume in Ace Records' series of girl-group sound rarity compilations mines the vaults of Atlantic Records. These are not hit records. Only one of the 26 tracks included (Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles' "All Or Nothing") managed to break into the top-100 and many are very obscure. Some of these artists had success at different times on different labels - the aforementioned Patti LaBelle along with April Stevens and Doris Troy to name a few. Ellie Greenwich of the Barry and Greenwich Brill Building song-writing team is also found here performing under the moniker of Meantime. A few of these artists did have some chart recognition regionally such as Shirley Matthews whose "Big Town Boy" did well in Canada and in the New York region and may be a find for local fans who remember. But this is certainly not a hits compilation and is aimed at the collector of truly rare and obscure recordings of the genre. Production-wise, Ace has done a respectable job here with decent sound quality overall though all tracks appear in mono. The ten-page liner notes booklet does shed some interesting light on many of these rare recordings. Though not geared for the casual fan of girl-group-style music of the era, this is a quality piece and may be of interest to the more intense collector."
Another ace from Ace
Phil S. | USA | 11/16/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"As New York Yankees' broadcaster Michael Kay might say, the ballgame was "manageable" under 3 hours; he might also say, after listening to this album, that all the tracks were manageable, as they were under 3 minutes! (A literal stretch but I'm working out my NYY post-season trauma...). Under 3 minutes is terrific for pop-soul sounds of the '60s, songs for sitting out in the backyard and daydreaming, tunes to accompany you on that first walk together with that special someone you daydreamed about *in* that lawnchair, tunes to make you wanna dance with that person later on that night in the go-go downtown.

Here we have 26 tracks from Atlantic records, mostly pre-Motown /raw Soul era numbers by solo and group women, who could sing out, sing soft, phrase exquisitely...write the song!

And to those artists: Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles with a pre-Mindbenders' Groovy Kind of Love, better than the version by the drummer from Genesis and more danceable than the "hit" version; we have avery early Cookies' number, "In Paradise" from late 1955!, with a sound I thought at first was possibly 1965!! A closer listen and I changed it in my head to 1962, then 1960. Point is, a progressive "doo-wop", if you will, in mid-tempo.

Probably the rarest number is by Tami Lynn, "At The Party", off a French Extended Play. It's boo-ga-loo time, underlined by a exceptional, expressive voice. (A presumptive reference disc for the writers of Little Richard's "Scuba Party" from a 1967 film).

How about another presumptive Penniman reference disc with Doris Troy's "You'd Better Stop", with some of the feel of Richard's great, unreleased for 9 years, rockin' go-go number by the same title. (aka by LR as "You Better Stop"). Troy was especially outstanding during those years, writing, singing, performing. And don't gimme no "one-hit wonder" jazz...her big hit is a stone Classic. (And it's under 3 minutes!).

Goldie & the Gingerbreads offer "Walking In Different Circles", an interesting melody and beat. (Presumptive refrence disc for English and Weiss: Ludwig Von Beethoven. Miquel Rios' "Song Of Joy" happened about two years alter. Guess *his* reference disc was Goldie.....).

The Meantime (aka Ellie Greenwich) has track 24, "Friday Kind Of Monday", a poignant reflection, not destined to affect the Earth's gravity, but like Tami Lynn's entry, a true collector's item.

The CD closes with two by April Stevens, whose sensuality sends the listener on "Lovin' Valentine" and "Teach Me Tiger '65". The last title I'd take even if it was *4* minutes!

"