"Street Corner Symphonies Volume 2: 1950" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (2012 Bear Family CD – Marcus Heumann Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…If You See The Tears In My Eyes..."

Hot on the heels of their definitive "Blowing The Fuse" and "Sweet Soul Music" CD Series (15 volumes to each genre of R'n'B and Soul) comes Bear Family’s Vocal Group attack - 15 discs spanning 1939 to 1963. Volumes 1 to 10 hit the shops in May and October 2012 and the last five in the spring of 2013. And while critics will argue that Vocal Group music has already been done to death by Rhino (3 x 4CD Box Sets across the decades) and a mountain of other cheapo labels taking advantage of the 50-year copyright law - this is the first time someone reputable (other than Rhino) have had a go - and typically these German-issued Bear Family CDs are gorgeous in all the right places - presentation and audio. You get 30 tracks and a genre-expanding total playing time of 83:04 minutes. So let’s talk about a 'Cool Saturday Night' where you're so romantically enamoured with your gal that you'll practically beg the boss at the Fire Station to 'Chief, Turn The Hose On Me'...

Released May 2012 in Germany - "Street Corner Symphonies Volume 2: 1950" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Bear Family BCD 17280 AR (Barcode 4000127172808) breaks down as follows (I've provided American 78" catalogue numbers on all tracks – 83:04 minutes):

1. Count Every Star – THE RAVENS (National 9111, A)

2. Turkey Hop, Part 1 – THE JOHNNY OTIS ORCHESTRA – Vocal By: The Robins (Savoy 732, A)

3. I'd Rather Be Wrong Than Blue – THE BEAVERS (Coral 65026, A)

4. Do Something For Me – THE DOMINOES (Federal 12001, A)

5. When You Come Back To Me – THE CLOVERS (Rainbow 122, B-side to "Yes Sir, That’s My Baby")

6. Chief, Turn The Hose On Me – THE CAP-TANS (Dot 1018, A)

7. If You See The Tears In My Eyes – THE DELTA RHYTHM BOYS (Atlantic 900, A)

8. At Night – THE ORIOLES (Jubilee 5025, A)

9. Jumping Jack – THE THREE RIFFS (Apollo 1164, A)

10. I'll Never Love Anyone Else – STEVE GIBSON and The Red Caps (Mercury 5380, A)

11. I've Got No Time – THE WHISPERS (Apollo 1156, A)

12. I Will Wait – THE FOUR BUDDIES (Savoy 769, A)

13. Old Fashioned Love – THE FOUR TUNES (RCA Victor 22-0085, A)

14. Cool Saturday Night – THE STRIDERS (Apollo 1159, A)

15. Do You Love Me – THE CATS and THE FIDDLE (Gotham 239, A)

16. I Don't Mind Being All Alone – THE COLEMANS (Regal 3297, A)

17. Gone (My Baby’s Gone) – THE BLENDERS (Decca 48156, A)

18. I’ll Never, Never Let You Go – THE SHADOWS (Sittin' In With 583, A)

19. She's Gone – THE DOZIER BOYS (Aristocrat 409, A)

20. As Long As I Live – THE FOUR BLUES (Apollo 1160, A)

21. I Don't Have To Ride No More – THE RAVENS (National 9101, A)

22. Mr. Blues – THE MASTERKEYS (Abbey 3017, A)

23. Please Believe In Me – THE CAROLS (Columbia 30210, A)

24. Nevertheless – THE MILLS BROTHERS (Decca 27253, A)

25. My Heart Cries For You – THE 5 LARKS (Apollo 1177, A)

26. Young Girl – THE FLAMES (Selective 113, A)

27. Who Is There To Blame – THE FOUR ACES (4 Star 1408, A)

28. Love Come Back To Me – KING ODOM FOUR (Derby 736, A)

29. Rival Blues – THE RIVALS (Apollo 1166, A)

30. A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes – THE JUBALAIRES (Capitol 845, A)

The 82-page non-detachable booklet is a feast of indepth liner notes on each release by Grammy-winning writer and lifelong fan BILL DAHL. Let's put it this way - there's a 'Photo Captions' index on Page 78 that tells who's who in the black and white publicity shots that accompany most (not all) of the photos. It actually lists the singer's names  - who else but Bear would do this? The text is also peppered with pictures of those old American 78s like Savoy, Derby, Apollo, Abbey, National, Sittin’ In With, Rainbow and Dot and a solitary advert poster for The Cats And The Fiddle. The CD repros the rare "Turkey Hop, Part 1" by The Johnny Otis Orchestra on Savoy and the spine makes up a single photograph of the series name when you line up all 15 volumes alongside each other on a shelf. Long-standing and trusted names like Walter DeVenne, Nico Feuerbach, Victor Pearlin, Colin Escott and Billy Vera have been involved in the research - while Audio Engineer MARCUS HEUMANN did the superb mastering (some Disc/Metalpart transfers by Victor Pearlin and Lothar Blank). The sources (as you can imagine) differ wildly but to my ears the sound quality is improved on everything that I've heard before (including some of the Rhino box sets). The audio and presentation are top-class here (a norm for Bear Family)...

With a huge 30 tracks and a format-busting playing time of 83:04 minutes – you certainly can't accuse this CD of scrimping it. 1950 opens with the "...Da Da Dum..." of "Count Every Star" by The Ravens - the stunning vocals of Louis Heywood out front instead of Jimmy Ricks who provided the Bass lines (classy NYC vocal group sounding gorgeous too). We up a gear for "Turkey Hop" with its R&B shuffle – Bobby Nunn giving it some Bass while the band saxophone shimmies through the later half of this excellent shuffler. Clearly dubbed from a 78" – the audio on the lovely "I'd Rather Be Wrong Than Blue" is still amazing – featuring a beautiful central tenor vocal from Freddy Hamilton that gives us "...you make me tick...you make me tock...just like my grandfather's clock..." Clyde McPhatter sails out of your speakers for "Do Something For Me" while the rest of The Dominoes give it some classy "ooh" in the background. Uber rare flipside "When You Come Back To Me" by The Clovers is a million miles away from their usual rocking Atlantic Records fare – it features the high as a steeple vocals of Johnny 'Buddy' Bailey and came out on the tiny independent Rainbow Records – hardly surprising then that its ballad magic is booked at a cool $1,500. Lead Tenor Sherman Buckner of The Cap-Tan's wants an immediate watering down in "Chief, Turn The Hose On Me" because he’s developed a temperature of 1000 degrees since he kissed his baby (methinks she’s hot).

Old-fashioned harmonies dominate two lovelies in a row – "If You See The Tears In My Eyes" by The Delta Rhythm Boys and "At Night" by The Orioles – both emotionally hopeless pleaders. Time to bop when The Three Rifts want you to do the "Jumping Jack" – and irresistible saxophones and piano boogie will make sure you comply. Worse sounding track has to be "I'll Never Love Anyone Else" by Steve Gibson & The Red Caps clearly taken from a wrecked disc – but it's so rarely ever heard – inclusion is a clever choice. The audio immediately leaps into the startling with "I've Got No Time" by The Whispers where the unknown Lead Vocalist sounds like Brook Benton in full-on wooing mode (what a lovely tune). More audio excellence follows in the charming and innocent "I Will Wait" by The Four Buddies where Leon 'Larry' Harrison puts in a stunning vocal backed by the "oohs and aahs" of his singing pals and a simple guitar (a brilliant choice by the compilers).

Impossible romantic yet not cloying in any way – the gorgeous "Old Fashioned Love" by The Four Tunes is wonderful stuff up until they inexplicably punch up the pace to fast half way through it and ruin the loving vibe created in the first half. The chant of "Ping, ping, ping..." time opens "Cool Saturday Night" where the weather is not on the minds of The Striders - pining like muppets in a local park for their gals. Rough transfer for "I Don't Mind Being All Alone" by The Colemans (still a pretty song though) while romance dominates "I'll Never, Never Let You Go" by The Shadows and the swooning "As Long As I Live" by The Four Blues where the Lead Vocalist assures us that "...love sees with the heart and not the mind..." (so he ain't going nowhere). "...Daddy why should you roam...when everything you want is right here at home..." sings Jimmy Ricks in the saucy "I Don't Have To Ride No More" by The Ravens (I hope that boy’s listening). More bopping fun comes in the shape of "Mr. Blues" by The Masterkeys where the group want Mister Blues to come back and Hucklebuck some more (and shout too if he feels up to it).

Undiluted genius arrives with The Mills Brothers (a colour photo of them adorns Page 57) and a beautifully transferred "Nevertheless" where they croon those immortal opening lines "...Maybe I'm right and maybe I'm wrong and maybe I'm weak and maybe I'm strong...but nevertheless I'm in love with you..." The audio on this truly lovely song is reference – congrats to all involved. And on it goes with more crooners in "Young Girl" by The Flames, "Who Is There To Blame" by The Four Aces and "Lover Come Back To Me" by King Odom Four. It has to be said that the last few cuts mentioned and "Rival Blues" by The Rivals that follows them are all dubbed from badly worn discs – so don't expect miracles on the Audio front. It ends on a real high though - a wistful winner from The Jubalaires called "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" where the boys happily advise all to "...have faith in your dreams...and your rainbow will come smiling through..." - I say amen to that.

To sum up – 1950 seemed to be dominated by smoochers and pleaders telling us of their undying fidelity and commitment so this is probably the most out-and-out 'romantic' compilation in the series so far. By the time you get to 1951 and onwards - lewd naughtiness and rambunctious behaviour was creeping in and people were having more fun (thank Gawd). Having said that - the run is broken up nicely with just enough fun R&B dancers to make it enjoyable – even if some of those transfers are rough. Niggles - they're too expensive as singles discs and perhaps they should have been doubles because real collectors will have more than a few titles on offer here. But Bear Family will argue '...not in this sound quality or looking this good...' - and they'd have a point.

Presented to us with love and affection by an independent record company that cares about forgotten voices that shouldn’t be forgotten. What a sweetheart of a compilation and another gold standard from Bear...

"A Music Man Like Nobody Ever Saw" by ARTHUR 'BIG BOY' CRUDUP (2016 Bear Family 5CD Box Set Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...That's Alright Mama...Any Way You Do...That's Alright..."

First things first - a note about the content of this much anticipated Bear Family Box Set - more especially what's 'not' in it.

Born August 1905 in Forest Mississippi, Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup picked up the guitar at the late age of 30 and recorded prolifically until he passed in March 1974. However what the Box Set name "A Music Man Like Nobody Ever Saw" doesn't tell you is that despite there being 5CDs worth - Bear Family BCD 17352 is 'not' a full career retrospective but concentrates 'only' on 1946 to 1962 (it states this on the back of the box and not the front). Therefore albums like 1968's "Look On Yonder's Wall", 1969's "Crudup's Mood" (both on Delmark) or the last LP "Roebuck Man" released in the UK in 1970 with members of McGuinness Flint - are 'not' on the box set "A Music Man Like Nobody Ever Saw". Like their handling of Freddie King's catalogue - the later half of Crudup's career will undoubtedly follow in a forthcoming multiple disc set a couple of years from now...

So what do you get? Every Arthur Crudup recording from 1941 to 1962 on RCA Victor and its associated labels Bluebird and Groove, Trumpet, Checker, Ace and Fire - 124 tracks (12 previously unreleased) across 5 CDs housed in a 12" x 12" Box Set with an LP-Sized 68-Page Hardback Book with new liner notes and Discography by the award-winning R&B and Blues Historian BILL DAHL and Bear's own RICHARD WEIZE (with the vastly knowledgeable COLIN ESCOTT as a Consultant). Bear Family have used an Elvis Presley quote when he was being interviewed in that mercurial year of 1956 as their box's title - Presley happily acknowledging the influence and huge success he owed to a fellow Mississippi man - Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup.

For the time frame 1945 to 1962 - amazingly Crudup saw only saw two officially released LPs in the USA (other variants appeared in France) - the original 1962 Fire Records LP "Mean Ol' Frisco" and a retrospective put out in 1971 by RCA on their Vintage Blues Series of his 1941 to 1954 recordings called "The Father Of Rock 'n' Roll" (referencing and acknowledging his Elvis Presley tie-in with "That's Alright" - a song that changed musical history). Both LPs are here - as are all the 78s on Bluebird and the 45s on Groove, Trumpet, Fire and Ace Records etc. The Discography also notes LP and CD reissues and tracks that appeared in the 80ts, 90ts etc by Krazy Kat, Ace Records, Westside, Charly R&B, Relic, Document and Vivid Sound and P-Vine in Japan. Let's get to the nitty gritty...

UK and Europe released Friday 29 July 2016 (12 August 2016 in the USA) - "A Music Man Like Nobody Ever Saw" by ARTHUR 'BIG BOY' CRUDUP on Bear Family BCD 17352 (Barcode 5397102173523) is a 124-Track 5CD 12" x 12" Box Set (12 Previously Unreleased) with a 68-Page Hardback Book and breaks down as follows:

Disc 1, 1941 to 1948 recordings, 22 tracks, 67:50 minutes

Disc 2, 1947 to 1951 recordings, 26 tracks, 77:54 minutes

Disc 3, 1950 to 1953 recordings, 24 tracks, 70:53 minutes

Track 13 "Never No More (Take A)" and Track 14 "Why Did You Leave Me (Take A)" both PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Disc 4, 1952 to 1954 recordings, 28 tracks, 79:36 minutes

Track 16 "Help Me To Bear This Heavy Load", Track 17 "I Love You", Track 19 "She Ain't Nothin' But Trouble (Take B)"

Track 20 "Oo Wee Darling (Love Me With A Thrill) (Take A)", Track 22 "Nobody Wants Me (Take A)", Track 23 "Star Bootlegger (Take A)"

Track 25 "Goin' Back To Georgia (Take A), Track 26 "Mr. So And So (Take A)", Track 27 "Do It If You Want To (Take A)"

Track 28 "Nelvina (Take A)" are all PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Disc 5, 1955 to 1962 recordings, 24 tracks, 64:38 minutes

Each CD is a different picture disc and that picture is replicated on the inlay beneath the see-through CD tray. A team of four have carried out the transfers - CHRISTIAN ZWARG, VICTOR PEARLIN and MATT CAVALUZZA (Disc and Metalpart Transfers), BILL DAHL (Tape Comparisons) and final Mastering done by CHRISTIAN ZWARG.

BILL DAHL does his usual storming job of chronicling the ups and downs of Crudup's recording career (all those missing Royalties from the Presley years) and there are quotes peppering the text. There's a section called 'Impressions From The South In The 1940s' where we get Pages 12 to 17 filled with colour plates of images from that time - then another section called 'The South Side Of Chicago, Illinois In The 1940s' on Pages 30 to 35 with full plate black and white photos. But bluntly little of it has to do with Crudup himself and feels like filler. There are only five or six 'actual' images of Crudup for the whole 22-year period - most of which get duplicated in varying forms. The Discography pictures three tape reels - one a page - without anyone telling you in an aside what they are! You have to go deep within the Discography to find out that EDVB 3430 is "She Ain't Nothing But Trouble". The lone reference in the Discography to one of only two LPs issued during the period - and they get it wrong. "I'm Gonna Dig Myself A Hole" is on LPV-573 and not LPV-57 - and how does the untrained eye know what 'LPV-57' is anyway? I'm always amazing in these supposed scholarly Discographies that no one seems to name the actual Record Label or title of the LP they're referencing. It's actually a reason why I do a Discography myself.

Having said that - these are minor niggles compared to the images that crop up everywhere and delight every time to look at them. There are beautiful US 45 label repros of "Rock Me Mamma" on Groove, "Mean Ole Frisco" on Fire and those period evocative 78s of "My Mama Don't Allow Me" and "Dirt Road Blues. Key players like Ransom J. Knowling who played String Bass on the 1946 RCA session that produced the legendary "That's All Right" is pictured with other musicians on Page 10. There’s a rare black and white of Joe McCoy who was on Crudup’s very first session for "Black Pony Blues" in September 1941 as World War II raged in Europe (also pictured on Page 10). There's a handy 'Alphabetical' track listing on Pages 60 and 61 and the ‘man with a guitar standing by the train tracks’ variant of the "Mean Ol' Frisco" Fire Records LP is pictured on Page 42.

The Music - Disc 1 is mostly the old Bluebird 78s and the Audio is accordingly crackly but hugely atmospheric. In fact there are moments on the 'three gold teeth' of "Black Pony Blues" and the identikit-sounding 'die before my time' of "Death Valley Blues" where he sounds like Robert Johnson with that Hellhound coming from the rear. There's incredibly clean Audio on Crudup's own "My Mama Don't Allow Me" where mummy doesn't want Arthur to stay out all night long - prey for those catfish who like a playboy on their line. "Mean Ole Frisco" and that '...low down Santa Fe...' has been taken by so many Blues Pioneers that it's almost turned into a standard (Muddy Waters, Little Walter and Eric Clapton all made it famous in their own way). Other highlights amidst the bare bones 78s are the 'what are you trying to do' of "Ethel Mae" and it 'cost me my baby' of "Cool Disposition". His guitar work on the 'my baby loves me right' of "So Glad Your Mine" is more gutbucket than virtuoso but there's a sameness to the melody of "No More Lover" that makes it less memorable.

The Audio on Disc 2 takes a giant leap forward as we reach September 1946 - "You Got To Reap" and "Chicago Blues" cooking - his Trio filled out by Ransom J Knowling on Double Bass and Judge Lawrence on Drums (the cymbals and Double Bass of "I Want My Lovin'" are startling). But then we're hit with the big daddy - a record that literally changed the fabric of the known Universe. Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right" was of course Elvis Presley's first Sun 45 in June 1954 - when the mighty Pelvis Rockabilly-fied that sucker into something extraordinary under the watchful eye of Sam Phillips. Even now it’s a thrill to hear this amazing slice of history – and sounding sweet too. A touch of that 'yeah man' Rockabilly/Rock 'n' Roll sound also surfaces on "Hey Mama-Everything's All Right". Clapton has done "Roberta Blues" and Arthur’s cover of Elmore James' "Dust My Broom" couldn't be more different than the hundreds of slasher guitar copycats that followed.

A hugely enjoyable Disc 3 opens with an Engineer naming the Take number (many track are like this) on a fantastic "Mean Old Santa Fe" - a 1950 Blues bopper 78" that had the slower "Oo Wee Darling (Love Me With A Thrill)" on the flipside of RCA Victor 22-0092. "Never No More (Take A)" starts the Previously Unreleased tracks rolling - a great shuffling Blues recorded April 1951 at RCA Victor Studios with his trusty duo of Knowling and Riley on Double Bass and Drums. "Why Did You Leave Me (Take A)" provides the second of the unreleased tracks and is similar to its predecessor. Take B of "My Baby Left Me" is the master used for the 1951 RCA Victor 78" (22-0109) and rare 45 (50-0109) - a track Jon Fogerty's Creedence Clearwater Revival covered on their 1970 LP "Cosmo's Factory" (Dave Edmunds even had a go on his 1977 Swan Song Records LP "Get It" too). Other slightly Rockabilly cuts (akin to Elvis' "That's All Right") include "Where Did You Stay Last Night" and "Goin' Back To Georgia". Uncle Sam wants words with the Big Boy on "Mr. So And So" and poor Arthur has had the Blues all night long on the mournful “Late In The Evening” (4 o’clock in the morning and still out in the street).

Disc 4 offers up a tasty 10 new Previously Unreleased cuts - best of which is the ivory roller "Help Me To Bear This Heavy Load" with Thomas Patten on Piano while Robert Fulton uses both Harmonica and Guitar and the sparse but wickedly good "She Ain't Nothing But Trouble" recorded March 1950 with his duo of Knowling and Lawrence. Take 8 is the unreleased version of "Nelvina" recorded January 1952 with Jimmy Sheffield on String Bass and N. Butler on Drums. The 1962 rare and original "Mean Ol' Frisco" LP on Fire Records and its incredibly productive sessions dominate Disc 5 - where Arthur cut new versions of his old songs with great effect and a rearranging nod to what Presley did at Sun. I swear but the "Mean Ol' Frisco" album and its superior audio/renditions is a bit of an unsung masterpiece - and I can see why its rarity value is clocked at a cool $900.00 or more in Price Guides (if you can locate one). The rest of the tracks turned up on varying CD compilations across the years and are largely outtakes from those early 1962 sessions (it's easy to hear why they were so popular with reissue labels - they were so damn good and well-recorded into the bargain).

A mammoth project and clearly not for the faint-hearted - nonetheless "A Music Man Like Nobody Ever Saw" is the kind of Box Set that only cements Bear Family’s name as the Box Set label. A hero of musical history finally given the treatment and document he's always deserved. Roll on Box No. 2...

PS: The Two LPs covered by the Bear Family Box Set (1941 to 1962)

[5/2] = Track 5 on Disc 2

[4/5] = Track 4 on Disc 5 etc.

1. "Mean Ol' Frisco" - May 1962 USA Mono Original LP on Fire Records FLP 103 - Produced by BRUCE ROBINSON – the LP contains 1962 New York City re-recordings of older hits from the 1940s and 1950s.

Side 1:

1. Mean Ol' Frisco [4/5]

2. Look On Yonder Wall [8/5]

3. That's Alright [5/5]

4. Ethel Mae [9/5]

5. Too Much Competition [6/5]

6. Standing At My Window [10/5]

Side 2:

1. Rock Me Mama [3/5]

2. Greyhound Bus [11/5]

3. Coal Black Mare [7/5]

4. Katie Mae [1/5]

5. Dig Myself A Hole [2/5]

6. So Glad You're Mine [12/5]

2. "The Father Of Rock 'n' Roll"

November 1971 Mono Reissue LP on RCA Victor Vintage Series LPV-573 (USA) and RCA Victor RD 8224 (UK)

Original Recordings from 1941 to 1954

Side 1:

1. If I Ever Get Lucky [4/1]

2. Mean Old Frisco [9/1]

3. Rock Me Mamma [13/1]

4. Keep Your Arms [14/1]

5. Cool Disposition [11/1]

6. She's Gone [18/1]

7. So Glad You're Mine [20/1]

8. Ethel Mae [19/1]

Side 2:

1. That's All Right [5/2]

2. Lonesome World To Me [14/2]

3. Shout, Sister, Shout [22/2]

4. My Baby Left Me [6/3]

5. I'm Gonna Dig Myself A Hole [24/4]

6. Mr. So And So [18/3]

7. Keep On Drinkin' [20/3]

8. If You've Ever Been To Georgia [15/4]

"Groovin' The Blues" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (2016 Bear Family CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Got A Key To The Highway...Goin' Back Home..." 

On Page 34 of this very cool Fifties Rhythm 'n' Blues CD there's the eye-catching cover shot of Atlanta's Zilla May distracting comedian Al Jackson with her 'shapely charms' and 'torso tossing' at the Royal Peacock Club. Full of fun, hip-shaking naughtiness and good time music – it visually sums up this first of two barnstorming CD reissues from Bear Family for RCA's 'Groove' label - "Groovin' The Blues" and "Rockin' The Groove". And I'm lovin' both big time...

RCA Victor's major label response to the dominance of the R&B genre by driven-independents like Atlantic, Modern and King Records was the fondly remembered but unfairly forgotten 'Groove' label inaugurated in February 1954. As a major player in the field - RCA had had a long and prestigious history with their 'Bluebird' imprint - pumping out pre-War Blues 78’s since 1932 that featured huge and influential names like Memphis Minnie, Big Bill Broonzy, Lil Green and Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup (to name but a few) - Groove was their attempt to take a new share of the burgeoning 45 marketplace.

Now with access to their vaults via a deal with SONY – BF have formulated two jam-packed compilations to celebrate Groove Records - "Groovin' The Blues" on Bear Family BCD 17411 (Barcode 5397102174117) and "Rockin' The Groove" on Bear Family BCD 17412 (Barcode 5397102174124). Both are released February 2016 and come stuffed to the gunnels with tasty unreleased tracks, gorgeous 80-minute-plus Remasters from award-winning Audio Engineer MARCUS HEUMANN and 60-page booklets courtesy of one of the best genre chroniclers in the business - BILL DAHL. There's a heap of mess to get through...so...

UK and Europe released February 2016 - "Groovin' The Blues: When Groove Was More Than Just A Habit" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Bear Family BCD 17411 (Barcode 5397102174117) is a 33-track single CD compilation (13 of which are Previously Unreleased) with an attached 59-page booklet and plays out as follows (84:25 minutes, all tracks Mono):

1. SONNY TERRY - Lost Jawbone (1954 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0015, A - see 6 for B-side)

2. COUSIN LEROY (Leroy Rozier) - Goin' Back Home (1955 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0123, A - see 19 for B-side)

3. CHAMPION JACK DUPREE - The Ups (September 1956 RCA Victor recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

4. BUDDY LUCAS - No Dice (1954 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0030, A, Instrumental)

5. SUE ALLEN and OSCAR BLACK - Hold Me Baby (1954 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0012, B-side of "I'll Get By")

6. SONNY TERRY - Louise (1954 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0015, B - see 1 for A-side)

7. CLAYTON LOVE - Love Blues (May/June 1956 Recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

8. MAYMIE WATTS - There Goes That Train (1955 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0103, A)

9. BIG TINY KENNEDY - 'Taint Right (1955 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0133, A)

10. LITTLE TOMMY BROWN - Don't Leave Me (1955 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0132, A - see 26 for B-side)

11. COUSIN LEROY (Leroy Rozier) - 41 Highway (July 1955 RCA Victor recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

12. SONNY TERRY - Tell Me Baby (September 1955 RCA Victor instrumental recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

13. BUDDY LUCAS - I Got Drunk (1954 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0003, A)

14. ZILLA MAYS - Romance In The Dark (October 1955 recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

15. BIG TINY KENNEDY - I Need A Good Woman (1955 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0106, A)

16. OSCAR BLACK - What Makes Me Love You So (August 1956 RCA Victor recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

17. SONNY TERRY - Hootin' Blues No. 2 (1955 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0135, A)

18. THE DU-DROPPERS - You've Been Good To Everybody (March 1954 RCA Victor recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

19. COUSIN LEROY (Leroy Rozier) - Catfish (1955 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0123, B-side - see 2 for A)

20. BEATRICE READING - Beantown Boogie (May 1954 RCA Victor recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

21. COUSIN LEROY - Lonesome Bedroom (July 1955 RCA Victor recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

22. CHAMPION JACK DUPREE - Lonely Road Blues (1956 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0171, A)

23. SONNY TERRY - Throw This Old Dog A Bone (November 1955 RCA Victor recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

24. BUDDY LUCAS (Amelia Stewart Lead Vocal) - I Need Help (1954 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0006, A)

25. SONNY TERRY - I Took You In Baby (February 1954 RCA Victor recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

26. LITTLE TOMMY BROWN - Won't You Forgive Me (1955 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0132, B-side of "Please Don't Leave" - for A see 10)

27. CHAMPION JACK DUPREE - Story Of My Life (September 1956 RCA Victor recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

28. BEATRICE READING - I Wash My Hands (1954 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0022, B-side of "Little Things Mean A Lot")

29. OSCAR BLACK and SUE ALLEN - I'll Live My Life Alone (1955 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0115, A)

30. SONNY TERRY - Juice Head Woman (February 1954 RCA Victor recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

31. SONNY BROOKS - Sentimental Blues (1954 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0027, B-side of "Champ Ale")

32. OSCAR BLACK - Into Each Heart (Some Tears Must Fall) (1956 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0168, A)

33. BIG CONNIE - Wait Till Next Year, Baby (1956 USA 7" single on Groove 4G-0142, B-side of "Mumble Blues")

NOTES: Tracks 3, 7, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27 and 30 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Produced by DANNY KESSLER and BOB ROLONTZ - the card digipak for "Groovin' The Blues" has a beautiful 59-page booklet attached to the centre with Artist-By-Artist biographies in Alphabetical Order from renowned genre authority BILL DAHL. As well as a newly researched Discography (Pages 45 to 57) - in-between the wall-to-wall factoids are quality black and white publicity photos of each artist as well as repros of rare trade adverts. It's both visually gorgeous and a great read about lesser-heard names in R 'n' B. A trio of trusted names carried the great-sounding transfers - RON SANTOS and BILL DAHL (Tape Research and Comparison) with final Mastering done by MARCUS HEUMANN - a name I've raved about before. Despite the massive playing time (nearly eighty-five minutes) - it Rocks and Rolls and pleases in every way.

Last time I visited the 'Groove' label was on reissue vinyl - "Groove Jumping" on the UK's De-Tour Records DT 33003 in 1984 and the follow up compilation 'Still Groove Jumping" on De-Tour DT 33006 in 1987. I used to twirl them along with all those Edsel and Charly R&B reissues and theta sense of fun is back. It's hard to imagine why something as witty and catchy as "The Ups" by Champion Jack Dupree could remain unreleased - Champion talking out his daily 'ups and down' while Teddy 'The Bear' McRae answers his protestations about his baby's mean lowdown ways with a growling voice. It's a blast and is typical of this compilation. Instrumentals come at you in the shape of Sonny terry's Harmonica groover "Lost Jawbone" and the guitar driver "No Dice" from Buddy Lucas. Some of the tracks have a very homemade vibe like Sue Allen and Oscar Black's "Hold Me Baby" - a very rare and early 45 on the label - and Clayton Love - where the whole band sound like their literally going to drown in the sea of "Love Blues" they're singing about.

A genius discovery is the rasp and 'meow' of Maymie Watts giving it some seriously great Big Maybelle/Little Esther ache on "There Goes That Train" where some willowy strumpet has stolen her man and bunked on the 12:15. Big Tiny Kennedy sits down and drinks a cup of coffee to ease his aching head and warns that if his baby doesn't start 'treating him right' - this snake might have to bite back (oh dear). The mock weeping of Little Tommy Brown throughout the whole of "Please Don't Leave Me" will probably make you laugh out loud instead of empathise with this clearly deranged sucker (I can't imagine how many takes it took to get this down – it’s bloody funny anyway). Another witty winner is "I Got Drunk" where Buddy Lucas gets loaded and name checks more drink types than there are Juke Joints in Memphis. Sauciness is never far from the surface and the truly fabulous ZILLA MAYS (the gal gracing the cover) gives it some 'touch my lips' on the wonderful piano-stroller "Romance In The Dark" where she urges her man to explore more than rhythms as they dance. Zilla's previously unreleased cover version of Lil Green and Big Bill Broonzy's song was recorded October 1955 at RCA Victor's studios with both Mickey Baker on guitar and Sam 'The Man' Taylor on Saxophone and is one of many highlights on "Groovin' The Blues". The B-side "Right Now" of her officially released lone 45 on Groove (Groove 4G-0127) along with a Previously Unreleased track feature on the companion volume "Rockin' The Groove" (I wish they was more photos of Zilla May - she passed in 1995 after a lifetime in music).

Seriously great slide-guitar boogie comes in the shapely form of "I Need A Good Woman" from Big Tiny Kennedy - immeasurably improved by the fretwork of McHouston 'Mickey' Baker (pictured in colour in the Discography on Page 54). DJs will dig the brass bopper "What Makes Me Love You So" by Oscar Black where he asks what makes a man do the things he does for his 'little girl' (let me take a year to explain buddy). And they'll also be able to use "Beantown Boogie" by Beatrice Redding - a shuffler with a fun vocal. Rock History has always had a special place for "Catfish" - a version of Robert Petway's "Catfish Blues" done here by Cousin Leroy (Leroy Crozier) and naughtily listed as co-penned by Champion Jack Dupree's wife Lucille (check out the blistering Jimi Hendrix version on the CD compilation "Blues" or Rory Gallagher's Taste from "Live At The Isle Of Wight). Lucille also penned the unreleased "Lonesome Bedroom" for Cousin Leroy - a half-decent bopper with Larry Dale on Guitar and her hubby Champion Jack on Piano.

Sonny Terry begs his lady throughout a Harmonica shuffle to please "Throw This Old Dog A Bone" - but I think she's done cooking our hero breakfast even if he is on his knees howling like a hound towards the end. Almeta Stewart fronts a fabulous vocal for Saxophonist Buddy Lucas as she pleads "I Need Help" and should have received dual credit on the 45-label (she makes the song). Champion Jack Dupree gives us spoken advice on his 'lowdown and dirty' mistreatment by friends who used to turn up in Cadillacs - but now that his spondulicks have gone – so have his so-called friends. The big and sassy Beatrice Reading (great photo of her on Page 37) fairs no better on the B-side "I Wash My Hands" where she cries out convincingly that she's done with all things 'concerning love'. Sonny Brooks does his best Johnny Ray impression with the soppy "Sentimental Blues" - while the CD ends on a bopping winner from Big Connie who finds that the lady friend in his '56 Ford wants him to "Wait Till Next Year, Baby" and having spent all his dough and taken all that lip all night long – the Big C is none too pleased (boo hoo). What a great listen this whole CD is. 

It's a measure of "Groovin' The Blues" that I can't wait to rip open the shrink-wrap of "Rockin' The Groove" which arrived this morning too. 

Beautifully done, superbly presented and sounding as eager as Saturday Night at the Apollo - Bear Family have done it again. A shoe-in for Rhythm 'n' Blues 'Reissue Of The Year' 2016...

"Street Corner Symphonies Volume 11: 1959" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (2013 Bear Family CD – Marcus Heumann Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…My Love Must Be A Kind Of Blind Love..."

Hot on the heels of their definitive "Blowing The Fuse" and "Sweet Soul Music" CD Series (15 volumes to each genre of R'n'B and Soul) comes Bear Family’s Vocal Group attack - 15 discs spanning 1939 to 1963. Volumes 1 to 10 hit the shops in batches of 5 (May and October 2012) and the last five in May 2013. And while critics will argue that Vocal Group music has already been done to death by Rhino (3 x 4CD Box Sets across the decades) and a mountain of other cheapo labels taking advantage of the 50-year copyright law - this is the first time someone reputable (other than Rhino) have had a go - and typically these German-issued Bear Family CDs are gorgeous in all the right places - presentation and audio. You get 34 tracks and a format-incredible total playing time of 83:23 minutes. Time for 'A Teenager In Love' to 'Wiggle Wiggle' as 'The Angels Listened In'...

Released May 2013 in Germany - "Street Corner Symphonies Volume 11: 1959" on Bear Family BCD 17289 AR (Barcode 5397102172892) breaks down as follows (I've provided American 7” single catalogue numbers on all tracks – those with two or more catalogue numbers are reissues in the same year – 83:23 minutes):

1. I Only Have Eyes For You – THE FLAMINGOS (End 1946, A)
2. Love Potion No. 9 – THE CLOVERS (United Artists 180, A)
3. This I Swear – THE SKYLINERS (Calico 106, A)
4. The Angels Listened In – THE CRESTS (Coed 515, A)
5. Island Of Love – THE SHEPPARDS (Apex 7750, A)
6. You're So Fine – THE FALCONS (Flick 001/Unart 2013, A)
7. Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home) – THE IMPALAS (Cub 9022, A)
8. My Love Will Never Die – THE CHANNELS (Fury 1021, A)
9. Wiggle, Wiggle – THE ACCENTS (Brunswick 55100, A)
10. Dedicated To The One I Love – THE SHIRELLES (Arranged & Directed by Stan Green) (Scepter 1203, A)
11. Senorita I Love You – THE IMPRESSIONS (Abner 1025, A)
12. A Teenager In Love – DION & THE BELMONTS (Laurie 3027, A)
13. Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko Bop – LITTLE ANTHONY & THE IMPERIALS (End 1060, A)
14. Hushabye – THE MYSTICS (Laurie 3028, A)
15. Moonlight Serenade – THE RIVIERAS (Orchestra Conducted by Al Semola) (Coed 508, A)
16. Who’s That Knocking – THE GENIES (Shad 5002, A)
17. Just To Be With You – THE PASSIONS (Arranged And Conducted by Paul Swain) (Audicon 102, A)
18. Charlie Brown – THE COASTERS (Atco 6132, A)
19. Dearest Darling (You're The One) – HUEY SMITH (and The Clowns) (Ace 571, A)
20. Dry Your Eyes – THE DELLS (Vee-Jay 324, A)
21. (Baby) Hully Gully – THE OLYMPICS (Arvee 562, A)
22. Puppy Love – LITTLE JIMMY & THE TOPS (V-Tone 102/Len 1011, A)
23. Rockin' In The Jungle – THE ETERNALS (Hollywood 68, A)
24. You Were Mine – THE FIREFLIES (Ribbon 6901, A)
25. Good News – THE FIESTAS (Old Town 1074, A)
26. Mope-itty Mope – THE BOSS-TONES (Boss 501/V-Tone 208, A)
27. Sea Of Love – PHIL PHILLIPS with The Twilights (Khoury’s 711/Mercury 71465, A)
28. Let It Please Be You – THE DESIRES (Hull 730, A)
29. There Goes My Love – THE FANTASTICS (RCA Victor 47-7572, A)
30. My Beloved (Without Strings) – THE SATINTONES (Motown 1000, A)
31. Oh Rose Marie – THE FASCINATORS (Orchestra Under The Direction Of Jesse Stone) (Capitol 4247, A)
32. This Broken Heart – THE SONICS (Harvard 801/Checker 922, A)
33. There Goes My Baby – THE DRIFTERS (Atlantic 2025, A)
34. Shout (Parts 1 & 2) – THE ISLEY BROTHERS (RCA Victor 47-7588, A)

The 84-page non-detachable booklet is a feast of indepth liner notes on each release by Grammy-winning writer and lifelong fan BILL DAHL. Let's put it this way - there's a 'Photo Captions' index on Page 82 that tells who's who in the black and white publicity shots that accompany most (not all) of the photos. It actually lists the singer's names  - who else but Bear would do this? The text is peppered with pictures of those old American 45s on long-forgotten labels like Flick, Unart, Scepter, Boss, Ghoury’s, Harvard, Hull and Cub as well as bigger names like Atco, Mercury and even Motown. You get rare 7” picture sleeves for The Accents, The Crests and The Falcons. The CD repros the rare "I Only Have Eyes For You" by The Flamingos on End and the spine makes up a single photograph of the series name when you line up all 15 volumes alongside each other on a shelf. Long-standing and trusted names like Walter DeVenne, Nico Feuerbach, Victor Pearlin, Colin Escott and Billy Vera have been involved in the research - while Audio Engineer MARCUS HEUMANN did the superb mastering (Disc Transfers by Victor Pearlin and Lothar Blank). The sources (as you can imagine) differ wildly but to my ears the sound quality is improved on everything that I've heard before (including some of the Rhino box sets). The audio and presentation are top-class here (a norm for Bear Family)...

With a huge 34 tracks and a format-packed playing time of 83:23 minutes – you certainly can't accuse this CD of scrimping it. Sounding gorgeous and virtually defining Vocal Group bliss – 1959's Volume 11 opens with a genuine masterpiece that I would put close to the top of my Desert Island disc selection – the beautiful "I Only Have Eyes For You" by The Flamingos. What a song – never fails to send me. It may look like Turpentine and taste like India Ink - but "Love Portion No. 9" seems to be doing the babe-pulling business for The Clovers - that is until one of them kisses a cop at 34th and Vine. Strings arrive with "This I Swear" by the white-boys-n'-gal combo of The Skyliners where our hero promises to never make her cry (he even sounds sincere folks).

Things go Dion & The Belmonts pop with The Crests on "The Angels Listened In" where our hero is convinced of heavenly intervention every time he looks at his girl. "Island Of Love" is an excellent slow-dancer as is the decidedly low-fi but emotion-packed "You're So Fine". A great smoocher and a genuinely clever inclusion is "My Love Will Never Die" by The Channels with soaring vocals from Lead Tenor Earl Lewis – as lovely as The Flamingos opener. Coming on like a companion rhythm to "Itty Bitty Pretty One" things gets bop-a-long with the infectious "Wiggle, Wiggle" by The Accents where Lead Vocalist James Jackson advises his lady on what to do with her rather fine posterior (but in a nice way you understand). By the time we reach The Shirelles with "Dedicated To The One I Love" and "A Teenager In Love" by Dion & The Belmonts – you can already feel the racy free-love of the 60ts beckoning.

Although it was huge on the charts - the almost African rhythms of "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko Bop" by Little Anthony & The Imperials sits a little uncomfortably here. The squeaky clean "Hushabye" by The Mystics (written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman) sounds incredible audiowise. “Moonlight Serenade” feels a little too syrupy for its own good – better is the bopping “Who’s That Knocking” by The Genies which sounds a little like "Rama Lama Ding Dong". The pretty "Just To Be With You" by The Passions impresses but it's kicked into touch by the witty crowd-pleasing R&B of "Charlie Brown" by The Coasters (what a winner). Before they embarked on a staggering 40-year career in R&B and sophisticated 60ts Soul – The Dells gave us the lovely "Dry Your Eyes". Novelty time with "Hully Gully", the organ-driven seaside feel to "Puppy Love" and silly jungle noises for "Rockin' In The Jungle". Far better is the Otis Blackwell written "Good Times" by The Fiestas – a really great shuffling beat that's clearly going after the dancefloor crowd. "Sea Of Love" by Phil Phillips even had an Al Pacino/Ellen Barkin film named after it. "There Goes My Baby" indicates at the Soul to come. And on it goes to musical history with "My Beloved" by The Satintones – a long forgotten single but one that enjoyed the (now) astonishing catalogue number of Motown 1000 – the very first Vocal Group on the label...

To sum up – as 1959 plays you can feel the heyday of Vocal Groups as we've known and loved them already on the wane (and there's four more volumes to go No. 15) – but that doesn't mean that the song quality has gone out the window. I know many of these crossover R&B hits from other compilations – but their clarity here is stunning. You could argue the merits of having the manic Jackie Wilson crowd-pleasing vocal pyrotechnics of The Isley Brothers ending the compilation with both parts of the fabulous "Shout" – but I for one am glad it's here...

Niggles - they're too expensive as singles discs and perhaps they should have been doubles because real collectors will have more than a few titles on offer here. But Bear Family will argue '...not in this sound quality or looking this good...' - and they'd have a point.

Presented to us with love and affection by an independent record company that cares about forgotten voices that shouldn’t be forgotten. What a sweetheart of a compilation and another gold standard from Bear...