Their 1958 US Debut Album "Dedicated To You" on King Records in Mono
Best Audio Available In "Soul & Swagger: The Complete "5" Royales 1951-1967"
2014 US RockBeat Records 5CD Hardback Book Set of Remasters
"...All Righty..."
In the
not-so-album-orientated Fifties and dedicated almost exclusively to the Rhythm
and Blues 45-singles market, King Records USA nonetheless put out four
long-playing albums for The "5" Royales.
For the
purpose of this outing, we are going to deal with their fabulous and period
evocative debut LP - "Dedicated To You" (King 580) issued sometime in
the spring of 1958, probably March or April. Its 12-tracks consisted of 1955
and 1957-issued King singles and its title nodded towards the favourable press
traction the "Dedicated To The One I Love" 45 was getting by March 1958
(the more famous girl group cover version by The Shirelles wouldn’t enter
Billboard charts until July 1959 and only on second issue became a hit in
1961).
You can
get cheaper digital versions of King material by The "5" Royales - but
I would advise that your hard earned buck-pound-euro stops here. Sounding
leagues ahead of what's gone before (even from quality labels like Rhino and
Ace) - this gorgeously presented all-encompassing 5CD Set celebrating the R'n'B
and Soul sides of The "5" Royales has had Reissue Of The Year
2014 tagged onto it in many press quarters. And holding this Hardback Book Package
with its 141 tracks and 124-page memorabilia-festooned book in my grubby hands
- frankly I'm not in the least bit surprised.
RockBeat
Records of Sherman Oaks, California, USA is new to me as a reissue label, but
man have they done the business here and even (dare we say it) - raised the
reissue bar by a mile or two. The CD details are...
USA
released 1 April 2014 (June 2014 in the UK) - "Soul & Swagger: The
Complete "5" Royales 1951-1967" is a 5CD Hardback Book Set on
RockBeat Records ROC-CD-3101 (Barcode 089353310127). Disc 1, 29 Tracks, 76:09
minutes, Disc 2, 28 tracks, 75:24 minutes, Disc 3, 29 tracks, 73:16 minutes, Disc
4, 26 tracks, 72:19 minutes and Disc 5, 29 tracks, 75:00 minutes.
The
first thing that hits you about this set (apart from the exceptional sound) is
the glorious packaging. This really is a beautiful thing to behold. Similar to
Motown's "Singles" Book Sets in concept and shape - the thick
Hardback Book opens to Disc 1 imbedded in the front cover flap with a fantastic
array of Apollo, King, ABC-Paramount, Todd, Federal and other relevant labels
as a backdrop. There's a short 1-page Forward by STEVE CROPPER of Booker T
& The M.G.'s, an introduction by compilers JAMES AUSTIN and TOM McCULLOUGH
while BILL DAHL'S superlative essay on the group begins on Page 11 and finishes
with reference-sources on Page 65 (what a great writer he is). There then
follows colour pages of those rare EPs and LPs on King and Apollo. Inbetween
all that is a stunning parade of memorabilia photos, label repros, fan-club
memberships, concert posters and their name in lights at venues - and at the
end a mind-blowing page-after-page display of every 45 and rare 78".
But to
give you an indication of the real detail involved here the track-by-track
annotation begins on Page 68 and doesn't end until Page 107 with many of the
entries having the Billboard and Cashbox Reviews relevant to each song printed
beneath the entry! I can't imagine the hundreds of hours it must have taken to
do this - picking out each available reference - but it's exemplary stuff. Both
"Much In Need" and "Goof Ball" on the Home Of The Blues
label were also released on ABC-Paramount - so the page displays of 45s has
both. The only other label with this level of depth is of course Bear Family
(and those Universal/Hip-O Select Motown Book Sets that won awards).
JERRY
PETERSON at SOUND AVENGER did the Remastering and any fan that has owned
previous CDs will immediately notice the audio improvement. These tracks sound
boss - full of Fifties presence and life and allowed to breath - a top job
done. Completists will also notice from the lists provided above that there's
actually only one Previously Unreleased track (No 10 on Disc 5) - the others
have been on LPs and CD compilations from Gusto to Collectibles. But this is of
course the first time the lot has been bundled together in the same place - and
presented with such lavish style. Now to the debut album within this...
You can
sequence the 1958 Debut Album "Dedicated To You" from Discs 3 and 2 as
follows [3/3] and [17/2] = Track 3 on CD3, Track 17 on CD2 etc:
Side 1:
1. Think
[6/3]
2.
Someone Made You For Me [17/2]
3. Just
As I Am [1/3]
4. Don't
Be Ashamed [11/3]
5. Come
On And Save Me [23/2]
6. I'd
Better Make A Move [7/3]
Side 2:
1.
Dedicated To The One I Love [10/3]
2. Right
Around The Corner [19/2]
3. Say
It [9/3]
4. Messin'
Up [8/3]
5. Tears
Of Joy [4/3]
6.
Thirty-Second Lover [5/3]
A song
most associated with James Brown and The Famous Flames, "Think" opens
Side 1 with a Rhythm and Blues swaying bang. Issued May 1957 as a 45-single on
King 45-5053, after steady traction, it began a good chart climb in September
1957 and peaked at No. 9. So its hardly surprising that both it and the March
1957 single that preceded it "Tears Of Joy" (King 45-5032 was another
No. 9 Billboard R&B charting for The Royales in July 1957) is also here.
We get
all Flamingos on the wonderfully romantic "Tears Of Joy" (again
gorgeous audio). It's a Vocal Group mid-tempo with a superb backing vocals
arrangement as they "ooh, ooh, ooh..." their way through proceedings
(James Brown gal Vicki Anderson took a version of it into the charts in 1967). Another
classy slow song is "I'd Better Make A Move" - a wicked B-side Group
Collectors will need. The "Think" flipside "I'd Better Make A
Move" ends Side 1 - while the "Tears Of Joy" flipside "Thirty
Second Lover" ends Side 2.
"Someone
Made Me For You" was issued way back in October 1955 on King 45-4830 as
the A-side, while "Just As I Am" was pressed into service on King 454973
in September 1956 and again from that pivotal year, the come-back-girl pleader "Come
On And Save Me" was issued July 1956 as the A on King 45-4952.
The Five
Royales Side 2 opener "Dedicated To The One I Love" was first issued
December 1957 on King 45-5098 as the A-side original. After Billboard ads and
radio play, it was getting mentions and traction in March 1958 but it didn't
chart. The more famous cover version of it (and some would say more saccharine)
by The Shirelles girl group entered the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1959 and
peaked at No. 89, but their second issue of it in January 1961 on Scepter 1203
was huge – No. 3 R&B and No. 2 Pop. And in 1967, a truly gorgeous re-make
by The Mamas & The Papas would make No. 4 with Dunhill D-4077
The
bopping "Right Around The Corner" again went back two years, the
A-side of a January 1956 single on King 45-4869, while "Say It" and "Messin' Up"
were the B and A-side (in that order) of King 45-5082 in October 1957. And the LP ends on the R&B
hit "Tears Of Joy" and a well-praised flipside "Thirty-Second Lover".
For what
is admittedly an obscure compilation album from 1958 on King Records by some
Fifties Rock and Roll and Rhythm and Blues group you have probably never heard
of – spending fifty-plus quid on this beautiful 5CD RockBeat Book Set may seem
like something of a cream-filled cake-like extravagance. But this is fantastic
stuff, and like all greatness, it costs.
Fab,
brill and well done to all involved for getting "Dedicated To You" out
there and in such glorious style too...
