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RHYTHM & BLUES, SOUL & DOO-WOP
Jackie & The Starlites -> The Jesters
| JACKIE
& THE STARLITES THE JACKS BULLMOOSE JACKSON CHUCK JACKSON DEON JACKSON JERRY JACKSON WALTER JACKSON |
THE JAGUARS ETTA JAMES THE JARMELS THE JELLY BEANS BILL JENNINGS THE JESTERS |
| JACKIE & THE STARLITES | Collectables 5079 | Meet The Bopchords | ● CD $11.98 |
| THE JACKS | Ace CDCHD 535 | Why Don't You Write Me | ● CD $18.98 |
| 25 tracks, 69 min., essential Available again at a lower
price. The companion disc to The Cadets Meet the Jacks is a winner from
start to finish. The Cadets/Jacks were one of the premier groups of the
50's. With a lineup that included Aaron Collins, chief songwriter and
brother to the Teen Queens (see below), future soul star Ted Taylor, and
bass singer extraordinaire Dub Jones, they certainly had more talent than
most of their competition. And the mostly ballad material here attests to
that. Highlights include the title cut, plus Away, So Wrong,
Let's Make Up, Why Did I Fall in Love, and This Empty
Heart. Not only do the two discs include all of their 45 rpm and lp
cuts recorded under either the Jacks' or the Cadets' name, this one also
includes both sides of the very rare MJC 45 on which Jacks lead Willie
Davis moonlighted My Reckless Heart and They Turned the Party
Out Down at Bessie's House. A great program put together with Ace's
usual good taste, featuring a particularly nice cover design, fine sound
quality, and informed liner notes by Jim Dawson. A must buy. (DH) |
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| BULLMOOSE JACKSON | Charly 274 | Badman Jackson, That's Me | ● CD $10.98 |
| 22 tracks, 61 min., essential. I know what you're thinking,
and yes, the naughty blues favorites Big Ten Inch Record/ I Want A
Bowlegged Woman/ Nosey Joe are here, along with a whole lotta rockin'
R&B from 1945-55. All tunes come from the King/ Queen labels, and
feature top-drawer talent like pianists Bill Doggett and Sonny Thompson,
and tenor sax luminaries Sam "The Man" Taylor, Red Prysock, Big
John Greer, and Jackson himself! Due to the inclusion of many hot
instrumentals, these jump bands get as much attention as Bullmoose's
vocals. As a singer he was no great shakes, aside from the risque subject
matter. Fare Thee Well, Deacon Jones/ Cherokee Boogie are fun
novelties, and Haul Off And Love Me/ All Night Long work just fine
as vocal features, providing breathing room between the dance fare. Sound
varies, but does improve greatly on the later cuts. A must for fans of
sax, sex, or both. (MB) |
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| CHUCK JACKSON | Collectables 5115 | Golden Classics | ● CD $11.98 |
| Jackson had a string of hits for Scepter's subsidiary label
Wand between 1961-67, and the 12 tracks here are from that period,
including his biggest hits Any Day Now/ I Don't Want To Cry. It's
unfortunate that Something You Got is missing though, especially
given the inclusion of non-hits like I'm Your Man/ I Keep Forgettin'.
Jackson's throaty baritone sounds best on uptempo numbers like The
Breaking Point, and it's too bad that Wand kept wrapping it up with
with strings. Still, songs like the unsympathetic Beg Me and the
horn-punched Any Other Way make everything better than all right.
Other songs include Since I Don't Have You/ Hand It Over/ I Wake Up
Crying/ Make The Night A Little Longer/ Tell Him I'm Not Home. (JC) |
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| CHUCK JACKSON | Kent CDKEND 107 | I Don't Want To Cry/ Any Day Now | ● CD $18.98 |
| 14 tracks, 64 min., recommended. Good idea. Chuck's first
two Wand LPs on one CD with the original liner notes and cover art
reproduced. Not as many hits as some might like, but a lot of these songs
are pretty good and don't get reissued very often. A cursory inspection of
song titles on I Don't Want To Cry reveals that all one dozen are about
tears. How clever. Many feature the ex-Del-Viking sounding more like Brook
Benton backed by a big band than the man who would one day shout his way
through Beg Me. Any Day Now is a more satisfying album if only
because the songs are better, and the arrangements, while still a bit
much, are more suited to Jackson's rough and ready baritone. Soulful pop
music. All in all, a bargain, but get the greatest hits first. (JC) |
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| CHUCK JACKSON | Kent CDKEND 110 | Encore/ Mr. Everything | ● CD $18.98 |
| Two Wand LPs on one CD. |
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| CHUCK JACKSON | Kent CDKEND 935 | Good Things | ● CD $18.98 |
| Fine set of 24 of his best recordings made for Wand between
1961 & '65. It includes his biggest hit Any Day Now plus other
hits like I Don't Want To Cry/ I Wake Up Crying/ Any Other Way/ Beg Me
and others including the original version of I Keep Forgetting
which was covered by David Bowie note for note. It also includes several
cuts that were not originally but surfaced on a Kent LP a few years ago
and a couple of never before issued titles - Where Do I Go From Here/
What's With This Loneliness. Excellent sound and nice 8 page booklet
with informative notes and good photos. |
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| CHUCK JACKSON | Varese Vintage VSD 5777 | The Very Best Of Chuck Jackson, 1961-1967 | ● CD $11.98 |
| 16 tracks - I Don't Want To Cry/ Any Day Now/ Getting
Ready For The Heratbreak/ Tears Of Joy/ Hand It Over/ Somebody New/ I Need
You/ Something You Got (with Maxine Brown)/Shame On Me, etc. |
|||
| DEON JACKSON | Collectables 5106 | Golden Classics | ● CD $11.98 |
| 12 Carla sides done in Detroit for famed producer Ollie
McLaughlin. Includes his huge hit Love Makes The World Go Round
along with Love Takes A Long Time Growing/ Ooh Baby/ S.O.S./ I Can't Go
On |
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| JERRY JACKSON | Bear Family BCD 15481 | Shrimp Boats A-Comin', There's Dancin' Tonight | ● CD $19.98 |
| It seems that we have finally outdone ourselves in the
tireless crusade to search out obscure reissues - no one here seems to
know anything about the black crooner who recorded for Kapp and Columbia
in the early 60's. Who is this mysterious character? Bear Family puts it
pretty bluntly in their liner notes - "Hardly a household name at any
time during his brief secular career, Jerry Jackson straddled an uneasy
line between black and then-current pop music." His version of It
Hurts Me inspired Elvis Presley's later version, and a few of these
cuts feature the Four Seasons as backup singers. The music is actually
pretty good, although each producer he had (and there were 6 different
ones in charge of the 24 tunes here) put him in a different
"bag" ranging from saccharine Drifters-type arrangements to
peppy Jackie Wilson settings, a little Brook Benton and even some James
Brown-styled grooves. (MB) |
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| WALTER JACKSON | Westside 617 | I Want To Come Back As A Song | ● CD $13.98 |
| Reissue of original Chi-Sound album from 1977 including a
soul version of Peter Frampton's Baby, I Love Your Way. |
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| THE JAGUARS | Collectables 6288 | The Way You Look Tonight - The Very Best Og The Jaguars | ● CD $13.98 |
| 17 tracks from this highly regarded central Los Angeles,
racially mixed quartet whose mid 50's Aardell singles fetch astronomical
prices. The tracks here are a mixture of memorable ballads and less
interesting jump novelties or avergae pop oriented compositions. However,
standouts like The Way You Look Tonight, Moonlight And You
and I Wanted You make this reissue a worthwhile proposition.
(OLN/FS) |
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| ETTA JAMES | Ace CDCH 210 | R&B Dynamite | ● CD $18.98 |
| ETTA JAMES | Ace CDCHM 680 | Hickory Dickory Dock | ● CD $12.98 |
| Previously listed by mistake as Ace 802. Budget price
reissue of 22 classic tracks recorded for Kent and Modern between 1955 and
'58. The most comprehensive collection of Etta's Kent/ Modern material.
Includes the originally unissued issued Be My Lovey Dovey from the
same '54 session that produced her biggest hit Roll With Me Henry (The
Wallflower). The earliest session has backing by The Johnny Otis Orch.,
and a 1957 date was recorded in New Orleans. The rest was done in L.A. wit
Maxwell Davis' band. Good Rockin' Daddy plus Tough Lover/
W-O-M-A-N/ Hey Henry , etc. (GM) ETTA JAMES: Baby, Baby, Every Night/ Be My Lovey Dovey/ Doin' Something Crazy/ Good Rockin' Daddy/ Hey Henry/ Hickory Dickory Dock/ How Big A Fool/ I Hope You're Satisfied/ I'm A Fool/ Market Place/ My One And Only/ Nobody Loves You (like Me)/ Strange Things Happening/ Sunshine Of Love/ Tears Of Joy/ That's All/ The Pick Up/ The Wallflower (dance With Me Henry)/ Tough Lover/ W-o-m-a-n/ We're In Love/ You Know What I Mean |
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| ETTA JAMES | Chess CHD 9184 | Rocks The House | ● CD $10.98 |
| Originally released as Argo LP 4032, Rocks The House
was recorded at The New Era Club in Nashville on September 27 & 28,
1963, directly following a period of chart success she has never equaled.
Although James is a great ballad singer, this show documents her ability
to tear the club up with one uptempo R&B tune after another. She wraps
her powerful vocal chords around Ray Charles' What'd I Say, Jessie
Hill's Ooh Poo Pah Doo, Jimmy Reed's Baby What You Want Me To Do
and 7 others. The last three songs - including the album's only ballad All
I Could Do Is Cry - are previously unreleased CD bonus tracks from the
same show. A welcome addition to the recent Etta James compilation albums.
(JC) |
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| ETTA JAMES | Chess CHD2 9341 | The Essential Etta James | ● CD $29.98 |
| 44 tracks, two hours, 14 minutes. Recommended. A compilation
from all the labels blues-R&B belter James has recorded for would be
an essential collector's item, because she has had many creative peaks
since Johnny Otis discovered the shy teenager when she auditioned in her
San Francisco bathroom and recorded Roll with Me Henry. If one
doesn't already have her Tell Mama album and a few others from the
Chess-Argo years (1960-1973), this two-CD set is definitely essential.
James' voice is so overpowering (the remastered sound is an improvement on
previously available reissues), it's easy to see how she influenced a
generation of soul belters and rockers, from Janis Joplin to Aretha
Franklin. Included here are some jazzy dates, some ballads, and some real
treasures, such as a duet with Harvey Fuqua on If I Can't Have You,
or her 1973 versions of some Randy Newman songs. In between are the
important cuts, I'd Rather Go Blind, Tell Mama, as well as a
couple of duets with Sugar Pie DeSanto. ( |
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| ETTA JAMES | Chess CHD 9363 | Come A Little Closer | ● CD $6.98 |
| 12 tracks, 43 min, recommended Reissue of Chess 60029 from
'73. When this was done, Chess had been bought out by GRT & Etta was
in a lock-down drug rehab. With producer Gabe Meckler Etta still came up
with something funky on this, her last Chess LP. Includes the R&B hit Out
On The Street Again, which is also heard here in its 45 edit. Also as
Meckler was producer of Steppenwolf, there's 2 songs here identified with
them - Power Play & Don Covay's Sookie Sookie. Plus as
her last hit had been with Randy Newman's You Can Keep Your Hat On,
on this set she does Randy's Let's Burn Down The Cornfield. There's
a CD bonus of the previously non-LP Lovin' Arms (GM) |
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| ETTA JAMES | Chess 12017 | At Last | ● CD $8.98 |
| 14 tracks, 41 mins, recommended Reissue of Argo 4003 from 1960 with 4 bonus cuts. After 5 hitless years, Etta signed to the Chess subsidiary and immediately scored 4 Smash R&B hits - All I Could Do Was Cry/ My Dearest Darling/ At Last/ Trust In Me, all included here along with such standards as A Sunday Kind Of Love & Stormy Weather. Backing is by The Riley Hampton Orch., which skirts the line between rocking R&B band with booting sax and white pop band with strings, flutes & vocal chorus but Etta's vocals are as soulful as can be. The bonus cuts feature all her four of her duets with Harvey Fuqua from the same sessions. (GM/FS) |
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| ETTA JAMES | Chess 12288 | The Chess Box | ● CD $46.98 |
| Three CD retrospective of Etta's Chess recordings originally
issued on Argo and Cadet between 1960 and '74. There are 72 tracks
including 10 previously unissued performances. Comes with a 40 page,
copiously illustrated and annotated booklet. |
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| ETTA JAMES | Chess 112 518 | Tell Mama | $11.98 |
| Reissue of Etta's classic 1968 Cadet album with 10 bonus
cuts (three previously unreleased) comprising the rest of her 1968
sessions in Muscle Shoals. |
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| ETTA JAMES | Elektra 61347 | The Right Time | ● CD $15.98 |
| The latest offering (copyright 1992) from the bountifully
talented Miss James is fine and dandy indeed. She carries her 54 years
with an authority that shows in every track she lays down. And having had
the services of the revered veteran Jerry Wexler as her producer clearly
did no harm either. From the sardonic put down of a sub-par lover in Wet
Match and the splendid meshing of talents in her duet with Stevie
Winwood on Give It Up to the potent affirmation of Love and
Happiness, Etta shows that Johnny Otis' teenaged discovery of the 50's
has arrived in the 90's with a vengeance. As she modestly puts it in the
liner notes: "I feel like I expressed myself." That she does -
in 11 well-chosen cuts, 45 minutes of crystal clear stereophonic blues.
Exuberant liner notes and four righteous photos. (DH) |
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| ETTA JAMES | Flair 86232 | R&B Dynamite | ● CD $11.98 |
| Domestic version of Ace 210, with same selection and
packaging. This set, with superior sound, adds 2 tunes not on the Ace LP -
Tears Of Joy written by Leiber & Stoller & The Pick Up
from the 1957 New Orleans session - along with 20 more. Loads of tough
R&B memorables here - W-O-M-A-N/ I'm A Fool/ Strange things Happen/
Good Rockin' Daddy/ That's All/ Tough Lover/ Roll With Me Henry/ Baby,
Baby Everynight. No dance party is complete without this set! |
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| ETTA JAMES | Island 842 655-2 | Seven Year Itch | ● CD $11.98 |
| ETTA JAMES | Island 842 926-2 | Stickin' to My Guns | ● CD $9.98 |
| Etta is still going strong, after 35 years in the music
business. Long ago she proved herself one of the finest singers of
whatever type of song she chooses to sing, be it rhythm & blues,
ballad, or rock. Rooted in gospel, her status at the top of the R&B
heap cannot be challenged. Stickin' to My Guns is just what she does
here, without concession to fashion (save for the
unnecessary but not
unsuccessful appearance by rapper Def Jef on one track, Get Funky.)
Etta is in top form; the backing band is first rate, including musicians
from the Muscle Shoal and Hi Records crew. The production has a modern
blues/ rock sheen, with drums a bit forward in the mix, but the band is
funky and totally sympathetic to Etta's cause. Few singers (if any) rock
this hard or sing with this much authority and conviction in the '90s.
Highlights include Beware and Love to Burn. |
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| ETTA JAMES | Private 82128 | Time After Time | ● CD $15.98 |
| ETTA JAMES | Private 82140 | Love's Been Rough On Me | ● CD $15.98 |
| ETTA JAMES & "CLEANHEAD" VINSON | Fantasy 9647 | Blues In The Night Vol. 1: The Early Show | ● CD $14.98 |
| Recorded live and digital in 1986 at Marla's Memory Lane
Supper Club in L.A. Backup by Red Holloway, Jack McDuff and Shuggie Otis
on Kidney Stew, Misty, Something's Got A Hold On Me and 6 more. |
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| ETTA JAMES & "CLEANHEAD" VINSON | Fantasy 9655 | The Late Show | ● CD $14.98 |
| CD-only companion volume to the previously available
"Early Show" release, recorded live with Etta, Cleanhead, Jack
McDuff, Shuggie Otis and others at Marla's Memory Lane Supper Club in L.A.
10 songs, including Cleanhead Blues, Cherry Red, Baby What You Want Me
To Do?, Sweet Little Angel, I'd Rather Go Blind. |
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| THE JARMELS | Collectables 5044 | 14 Golden Classics | ● CD $11.98 |
| In the early 60s, one of the most influential sounds was
that of The Drifters & their use of Brazillian baion rhythms. Many
groups scored big hits with the Drifters' sound, one of the biggest being
The Jarmels' A Little Bit Of Soap. This set has 14 great Laurie
recordings 1961-64, with lead vocals by Nathaniel Ruff. Includes their 1st
recording, Little Lonely One + Red Sails In The Sunset/ The Way You
Look Tonight |
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| THE JELLY BEANS | Collectables 5740 | And Friends | ● CD $11.98 |
| 18 tracks, 48 minutes, recommended A fine selection from
Leiber & Stoller's Red Bird label from approx 64-'65. The Jelly Beans
had some great tunes, mostly written by Barry & Greenwich, including I
Wanna Love Him So Bad/ The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget & Baby
Be Mine, but never had an LP. This set collects 10 classics along with
several hard to find singles from Red Bird & subsidiaries, several of
which are better known for their British Invasion covers, The Jelly Beans'
Doo Wah Diddy (Manfred Mann), Evie Sands, I Can't Let Go
(The Hollies), & Bessie Banks gorgeous Go Now (Moody Blues),
along with tracks by The Butterflies (actually Ellie Greenwich), the
Charmettes, & the Ad Lib's great Boy From new York City. Points
taken off for Collectibles' typically poor packaging, including no
writer's credits or discographical info. (GM) |
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| BILL JENNINGS | Collectables 5338 | Stompin' With Bill | ● CD $11.98 |
| THE JESTERS | Collectables 5036 | The Best Of The Jesters | ● CD $11.98 |
| 14 tracks including The Wind/ I'm Falling In Love/ Uncle
Henry's Basement/ Please Let Me Love You/ Love No One But You/ Now That
You're Gone/ I Laughed, etc. |
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