"Chartbusters USA Volume 1" by VARIOUS ARTISTS - Featuring Sir Douglas Quintet, Van Morrison, The Lovin' Spoonful, Tommy Tucker, Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs, The Bobby Fuller Four, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, Joe South, Brenton Wood, Tommy Tucker, The Ventures, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Seeds, The Hombres, Dobie Gray, The Left Banke, Count Five, The Seeds and many more (October 1999 UK Ace Records CD Compilation - Re-Released June 2009 with Upgraded Booklet and Jewel Case Design - Duncan Cowell Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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This Review and 364 More Like It

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CLASSIC 1960s ROCK ON CD 

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"...She's About A Mover..." 

 

I've been meaning to review this totally brill Ace Records CD Series begun in 1999 for yonks now - and in May 2022 - it's about bruddy time I made good on that sonically meritorious citation.

 

The reason for my hallowed and manically sought after patronage of 'Chartbusters USA' is the SUPERLATIVE AUDIO. In a sea of so many 60ts CD compilations, it's hard to know where to look or buy? But after purchasing Volume One and hearing these stunning Remasters of Mono 45-single mixes from the hip and happening 60ts - I promptly snapped up the other four in the Series - and stunning audio or no, the only one I regret buying is the seriously cheesy COUNTRY EDITION (see list below).

 

The remastered sound is just fantastic throughout and genre diversity abounds - Sixties Pop, Rock, Rhythm 'n' Blues, Soul, Girl Groups, Garage, Psych, TV and Soundtrack Themes, Novelty etc. Lots to shimmy to...here are the details...

 

UK released October 1999 - "Chartbusters USA Volume 1" by VARIOUS ARTISTS is the first of five CD compilations in Ace's 'Chartbusters USA' Series (see list below).

 

Ace CDCHD 722 (Barcode 029667172226) offers 30 American MONO 45-Single A-sides Remastered from best possible sources. This CD was UK-reissued June 2009 with the same catalogue number (and Barcode), but with an upgraded booklet and see-through CD tray/rear inlay artwork instead of the standard black tray of the 1999 original. Both issues use the 1999 masters and play out as follows (79:46 minutes):

 

All Tracks Are 45-Single A-side MONO Mixes (except Track 9, B-side)

1. She's About A Mover - SIR DOUGLAS QUINTET 

February 1965 US 45-single on Tribe 45-8308 - Peaked No. 13

April 1965 UK 45-single on London HLU 9964

 

2. Brown Eyed Girl - VAN MORRISON 

May 1967 US 45-single on Bang B-545 - Peaked at No. 10

July 1967 UK 45-single on London HLZ 10150 

 

3. Do You Believe In Magic? - THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL 

August 1965 US 45-single on Kama Sutra KA 201 - Peaked at No. 9

October 1965 UK 45-single on Pye International 7N 25327

 

4. Wooly Bully - SAM THE SHAM and THE PHARAOHS 

February 1965 US 45-single on MGM K 13322 - Peaked at No. 2

May 1965 UK 45-single on MGM Records MGM 1269 

 

5. I Fought The Law - THE BOBBY FULLER FOUR 

November 1965 US 45-single on Mustang 3014 - Peaked at No. 9

March 1966 UK 45-single on London HL 10030 

 

6.Jenny Take A Ride! - MITCH RYDER and THE DETROIT WHEELS 

November 1965 US 45-single on New Voice 806 - Peaked at No. 10

January 1966 UK 45-single on Stateside SS 481

7. Games People Play - JOE SOUTH 

August 1968 US 45-single on Capitol 2248 - Peaked at No. 12

January 1969 UK 45-single on Capitol CL 15579 

8. Gimme Little Sign - BRENTON WOOD

July 1967 US 45-single on Double Shot 116 - Peaked at No. 9

October 1967 UK 45-single on Liberty LBF 15021

9. Elusive Butterfly - BOB LIND

November 1965 US 45-single on World Pacific 77078 

B-side USA-only of "Cheryl's Goin' Home" - Peaked at No. 5

February 1966 UK 45-single on Fontana TF 670 

Sides reversed - "Elusive Butterfly" as the A, "Cheryl's Goin' Home" as the B

 

10. California Dreamin' - THE MAMA'S And THE PAPA'S 

November 1965 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4020 - Peaked at No. 4

February 1966 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 1503

11. Walk Away Renee - THE LEFT BANKE 

June 1966 US 45-single on Smash S-2041 - Peaked at No. 5

September 1966 US 45-single on Philips BF 1517 

12. G.T.O. - RONNY & THE DAYTONAS 

June 1964 US 45-single on Mala 481 - Peaked at No. 4

September 1964 UK 45-single on Stateside SS 333

 

13. Working In The Coalmine - LEE DORSEY 

June 1966 US 45-single on Amy 958 - Peaked at No. 8

July 1966 UK 45-single n Stateside SS 528 

 

14. I Can't Stand It - THE SOUL SISTERS 

January 1964 US 45-single on Sue 799 - Peaked at No. 46

No UK Issue

 

15. Hi Heel Sneakers - TOMMY TUCKER  

January 1964 US 45-single on Checker 1067 - Peaked at No. 11

February 1964 UK 45-single on Pye International 7N 25238 

Also Track 1, Side 1 UK "Hi Heel Sneakers" EP from 1964 on Pye Intl NEP 44027

16. Treat Her Right - ROY HEAD and THE TRAITS

April 1965 US 45-single on Back Beat 546 - Peaked at No. 2

October 1965 UK 45-single (as ROY HEAD) on Vocalion VP 9248

 

17. Eve Of Destruction - BARRY McGUIRE 

August 1965 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4009 - Peaked at No. 1

August 1965 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 1469 

 

18. Hawaii Five-O - THE VENTURES 

September 1968 US 45-single on Liberty 56068 - Peaked at No. 4

June 1969 UK 45-single on Liberty LBF 15221

 

19. Kicks - PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS

February 1966 US 45-single on Columbia 4-43556 - Peaked at No. 4

April 1966 UK 45-single on CBS 202205

 

20. Green Tambourine - THE LEMON PIPERS 

November 1967 US 45-single on Buddah BDA-23 - Peaked at No. 1

January 1968 UK 45-single on Pye International 7N 25444

 

21. On The Road Again - CANNED HEAT 

April 1968 US 45-single on Liberty 56038 - Peaked at No. 16

June 1968 UK 45-single on Liberty LBF 15090 

 

22. Psychotic Reaction - COUNT FIVE 

July 1966 US 45-single on Double Shot 104 - Peaked at No. 5

October 1966 UK 45-single on Pye International 7N 25393

23. Pushin' Too Hard - THE SEEDS featuring SKY SAXON

July 1966 US 45-single on GNP Crescendo GNP 372 - Peaked at No. 36

July 1966 UK 45-single on Vocalion VN 9277

 

24. Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) - THE HOMBRES 

July 1967 US 45-single on Verve Forecast KF 5058 - Peaked at No. 12

November 1967 UK 45-single on Verve Forecast VS 1510 

 

25. Soul Deep - THE BOX TOPS 

June 1969 US 45-single on Mala M-12,040 - Peaked at No. 18

July 1969 UK 45-single on Bell BLL 1068  

26. Remember (Walkin' In The Sand) - THE SHANGRI-LAS 

July 1964 US 45-single on Red Bird RB 10-008 - Peaked at No. 5

September 1964 UK 45-single on Red Bird RB 10 008 

27. The "In" Crowd - DOBIE GRAY 

November 1964 US 45-single on Charger CRG-105 - Peaked at No. 13

February 1965 UK 45-single on London HL 9953 

 

28. The Good, The Bad And The Ugly - HUGO MONTENEGRO & ORCHESTRA

January 1968 US 45-single on RCA Victor 47-9423 - Peaked at No. 2

August 1968 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 1727 

 

29. Expressway To Your Heart - THE SOUL SURVIVORS 

July 1967 US 45-single on Crimson CR-1010 - Peaked at No. 4 

October 1967 UK 45-single on Stateside SS 2057 

30. Dance To The Music - SLY & THE FAMILY STONE 

November 1967 US 45-single on Epic 5-10256 - Peaked at No. 8

March 1968 UK 45-single on Columbia DB 839 

Reissued June 1968 UK 45-single on Direction 58-3568

Note: Not so you'd notice so much unless you were looking deep - but when this CD compilation was first issued October 1999 by Ace in the UK, it had a black CD tray and therefore no rear inlay that could be seen as in most modern releases. There are also seemed to be some kind of possible dispute over the use of a Sly Stone image at the rear of the booklet. It was reissued therefore in June 2009 (same catalogue number and confusingly with the same Barcode) - but this time with the rear inlay displaying memorabilia through the clear see-through plastic CD tray and the booklet altered to remove the Sly Stone image. The original rear inlay has only 1999 copyright date - the reissue has 1999/2009. 

Whichever you buy, the 20-page booklet is the usual feast of images that reissue label Ace have been doing so well for the guts of 45 years. In-between typically in-depth liner notes from TONY ROUNCE (a name collectors trust and love) are both black and white and colour trade adverts for Roy Head, The Mama's And The Papa's, The Seeds, Dobie Gray, The Shangri-Las and other cool 60ts groovers. Ace picture the rare first British 7" single for Sly & The Family Stone's "Dance To The Music" on Columbia rather than the more commonly seen Direction Records 45 - a hip-pocket record for a microphone-enthralled Van Morrison - sheet music for the fantastic "Hi Heel Sneakers" from Tommy Tucker and even a suitably Egyptian themed advert for Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs where they might crying 'mummy' for other reasons than phoning a parent for the rent money. 

 

As you can imagine - it's 20-pages impress greatly - while the new 2009 rear inlay shows picture sleeves, demo labels, concert photos and trade adverts for names you don't see every day of the week in reissues - Bob Lind, The Lemon Pipers, The Hombres, The Seeds and Count V. Fantastic stuff. And the Remasters from long-standing Audio Engineer to Ace Records and Sony/Blue Horizon by DUNCAN COWELL equal the effort of the booklet. Clean, punchy, packed with oomph even in the frantic Mitch Ryder track - I've never heard these winners sound so good.  

Volume 1 opens on an absolute humdinger that you've most likely forgotten - the fantastic neck-jerking "She's About A Mover" by San Antonio's 'Sir Douglas Quintet' - the band fronted by a 24-year-old Doug Sahm. That's quickly followed by a gorgeous sounding "Brown Eyed Girl" - Van Morrison fresh out of Them and looking to make his first solo mark. Morrison's debut seven-inch single is overplayed by every hits station on the planet I know, but what an opening salvo winner it was and still is - nearly sixty bloody years after the event. 

 

Deep dive cuts for me include the fabulous "I Fought The Law" by The Bobby Fuller Four - a song I will always associate with The Clash who naturally adopted it as something of a theme song (Fuller was dead at 24 reputedly the victim of a mob hit) - while I can never get enough of the easy Soul Brenton Wood oozed with "Gimme Little Sign". Speaking of cool Rhythm 'n' Blues crossing over into 60ts Soul - Roy Head's "Treat Her Right", Tommy Tucker's "Hi Heel Sneakers" and even The Box Tops doing their "Soul Deep" are singles that must be in any self-respecting household. 

 

Genius inclusions go to the TV Series Theme "Hawaii Five-O" by The Ventures - spaghetti Western staple "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" by Hugo Montenegro followed by the magical Hombres track "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)" - a cool R&B pounder that John Cougar Mellancamp did as a hidden CD Bonus Track on his 1989 album "Big Daddy". But my innards go to real mush for that trio of Garage Classics - "Kicks" by Paul Revere & The Raiders, "Psychotic Reaction" by Count Five and "Pushin' Too Hard" by The Seeds. Soul is in here too - "The "In" Crowd" and "Dance To The Music" and how beautiful is Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee". 

Volume 2 continues the genius choices with Lalo Schifrin's "Mission Impossible", Mongo Santamaria's "Watermelon Man" and Classics IV giving it some "Spooky" while The Turtles piano-plink-and-big-chorus toward "Eleanor" - tunes liable to tempt any compiler of cool-60ts CDR's. 

Onward and upward - enjoy me hearties...

 

 CHARTBUSTERS USA CD Series from Ace Records of the UK

Five Compilations of 45-Single Mix Remasters

 

Chartbusters USA Volume 1 - October 1999 original release, reissued June 2009 with upgraded booklet and rear-inlay jewel case presentation. The 1999/2009 issues confusingly have the same Catalogue number and Barcodes. However, the original has only a 1999 copyright date - the reissue has 1999/2009.

Ace CDCHD 722 (Barcode 029667172226), 79:46 minutes (30 tracks)

 

Chartbusters USA Volume 2 - January 2002 original release date

Ace CDCHD 832 (Barcode 029667183222), 79:55 minutes (29 tracks)

 

Chartbusters USA Volume 3 – 31 March 2003 original release date

Ace CDCHD 890 (Barcode 029667189026), 78:34 minutes (29 tracks)

 

Chartbusters USA Special Edition – Sunshine Pop (29 June 2009)

Ace CDCHD 1228 (Barcode 029667037129) 72:51 minutes (26 tracks)

 

Chartbusters USA Special Country Edition – 25 November 2016

Ace CDCHD 1488 (Barcode 029667078023), 62:29 minutes (24 tracks)