"Restless Heart – The Ultimate Singles Collection 1952-1959" by LLOYD PRICE. A Review Of The 2011 Jasmine Label 2CD Compilation.

"…Mailman…Mailman…Tell Me What You Got For Me…"

Offering up a huge 57-tracks, this 2CD set covers almost all of the 45" single output for the American Rhythm'n'Blues singer Lloyd Price on the Specialty, KRC and ABC-Paramount labels in the USA between 1952 and 1960 (despite the title saying 1959).

Released in the UK/Europe in February 2011, here's a breakdown of Jasmine JASCD 552…

Disc 1 (72:43 minutes):
1 and 2 are Specialty 428 (May 1952) Number 1 USA R’n’B charts
3 and 4 are Specialty 440 (October 1952) Number 4 USA R’n’B charts
5 and 6 are Specialty 452 (February 1953) Number 8 USA R’n’B charts
7 and 8 are Specialty 457 (1953)
9 and 10 are Specialty 463 (1953)
11 and 12 are Specialty 471 (1953)
13 and 14 are Specialty 483 (1953)
15 and 16 are Specialty 494 (1953)
17 and 18 are Specialty 535 (1953)
19 and 20 are Specialty 540 (1954)
21 and 22 are Specialty 576 (1956)
23 and 24 are Specialty 578 (1956)
25 and 26 are Specialty 582 (1956)
27 and 28 are Specialty 602 (1956)
29 and 30 are KBC 587 and ABC-Paramount 9792 (1957) Number 3 USA R’n’B charts

Disc 2 (64:37 minutes):
1 and 2 are ABC-Paramount 9653 (1957)
[Stereo Re-Recordings of Tracks 3 and 2 on Disc 1]
3 and 4 are KRC 301 (1957)
5 and 6 are KRC 303 (1957)
7 and 8 are KRC 305 (1957)
9 and 10 are KRC 5000 (1957)
11 and 12 are KRC 5002 (1957)
13 and 14 are ABC-Paramount 9972 (December 1958) Number 1 USA R’n’B charts
15 and 16 are ABC-Paramount 9997 (March 1959) Number 4 USA R’n’B charts
17 and 18 are ABC-Paramount 10018 (May 1959) Number 1 USA R’n’B charts
19 and 20 are ABC-Paramount 10032 (October 1959) Number 15 USA R’n’B charts
21 and 22 are ABC-Paramount 10062 (November 1959) Number 2 USA R’n’B charts
23 and 24 are ABC-Paramount 10075 (February 1960) Number 3 USA R’n’B charts
25 and 26 are ABC-Paramount 10102 (April 1960) Number 16 USA R’n’B charts
27 is the A-side of ABC-Paramount 10123 (July 1960) Number 5 USA R’n’B charts
[All recordings are Mono - except 1 and 2 on Disc 2 - which are Stereo]

Like all of the other Jasmine 2CD sets in this on-going 'Singles' series, the compilation and annotation have been put together by BOB FISHER (small but very informative liner notes on a three-way fold-out inlay) with the CD Mastering done by TALL ORDER of the UK.

Hailing from Louisiana (born in 1933), as you can see from the chart details provided above, Price had an extraordinary Rhythm'n'Blues and Pop crossover career with many large-selling Number One singles. He even introduced the explosive Little Richard to Art Rupe’s Specialty Records (only to be outshone by him). He also had ties with soulster legends Howard Tate and Wilson Pickett and the early recordings of Reggae Giant Bob Marley. Price even became one of the first R’n’B artists to own his own label – KRC Records – he was an astute businessman.

I wish I could say that the sound quality on these recordings is worth writing home about – it isn’t – it’s good rather than being great – and tracks on Disc 2 in particular sound muddy and distant. To put this into a context - there’s a BEAR FAMILY 34-track CD called "Rocks" from 2008 with a superlative 52-page booklet (1st legimate CD on his material) - which has the track “Hello Little Girl” on it for instance... Bear’s version is from the real tapes and sounds fantastic – the version here is muffled and lifeless. The re-recording Stereo cut of “Mailman Blues” (lyrics above) fares better and is excellent, but the same muddiness afflicts Disc 1. Also the material dips in quality big time by the time you get to the early Sixties recordings which feature awful girly backing vocals drowning out any passion or rocking vibe…

So - lots of tracks for sure and its cheaper, but the audio and inlay are only OK at best. I’d say that even though it costs a couple of quid more - Bear Family’s “Rocks” is a far better buy - both presentation and soundwise.

PS: Jasmine have also done "The Five Keys", "The Flamingos" and "Roy Hamilton" in this 2CD series - see separate reviews

“Rocking & Crying – The Complete Singles 1951 – 1954 Plus” by THE FIVE KEYS. A Review Of The 2CD Jasmine Compilation (2010).

"…Got The Most Coast To Coast…She The Most…"

Offering up a huge 58-tracks - this 2CD set covers the 78" and 45" output for the American vocal group THE FIVE KEYS on the Aladdin, Groove and Capitol labels between 1951 and 1954 (not all of it as the title suggest, but close enough).

UK released May 2010 - "Rocking & Crying - The Complete Singles 1951-1954 Plus" by THE FIVE KEYS on Jasmine JASCD 555 (Barcode 604988055528) is a 2CD reissue that plays out as follows…

Disc: 1
1. With A Broken Heart
2. Too Late
3. Hucklebuck With Jimmy
4. Glory Of Love, The
5. It's Christmas Time
6. Do I Need You
7. Old Macdonald (Had A Farm)
8. Yes Sir That's My Baby
9. Goin' Downtown
10. Darlin'
11. Red Sails In The Sunset
12. Be Anything But Be Mine
13. How Long
14. Mistakes
15. Hold Me
16. I Hadn't Anyone 'Til You
17. I Cried For You
18. Serve Another Round
19. Can't Keep From Crying
20. Come Go My Bail Louise
21. There Ought To Be A Law
22. Mama (Your Daughter Told A Lie On Me)
23. I'll Always Be In Love With You
24. Rocking And Crying Blues
25. These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)
26. Lonesome Old Story
27. Teardrops In Your Eyes
28. I'm So High

Disc: 2
1. My Saddest Hour
2. Oh Babe
3. Someday Sweetheart
4. Love My Loving
5. Deep In My Heart
6. How Do You Expect Me To Get It
7. Why Oh Why
8. My Love
9. Story Of Love
10. When Will My Troubles End
11. I'll Follow You
12. Lawdy Miss Mary
13. Ling Ting Tong
14. Close Your Eyes
15. Verdict, The
16. I Wish I'd Never Learned To Read
17. She's The Most
18. I Dreamt I Dwelt In Harlem
19. My Pigeons Gone
20. Out Of Sight Out Of Mind
21. Wisdom Of A Fool
22. Let There Be You
23. It's A Cryin' Shame
24. Emily Please
25. Handy Andy
26. One Great Love
27. From The Bottom Of My Heart
28. Gypsy, The
29. Who Do You Know In Heaven (That Made You The Angel You Are)
30. To Each His Own

Disc 1 (78:33 minutes):
1 and 2 are Aladdin 3085 (April 1951)
3 and 4 are Aladdin 3099 (July 1951)
5 and 6 are Aladdin 3113 (December 1951)
7 and 8 are Aladdin 3118 (January 1952)
9 and 10 are Aladdin 3119 (Unissued)
11 and 12 are Aladdin 3127 (April 1952)
13 and 14 are Aladdin 3131 (May 1952)
15 and 16 are Aladdin 3136 (July 1952)
17 and 18 are Aladdin 3158 (October 1952)
19 and 20 are Aladdin 3167 (January 1953)
21 and 22 are Aladdin 3175 (March 1953)
23 and 24 are Aladdin 3182 (Unissued)
25 and 26 are Aladdin 3190 (May 1953)
27 and 28 are Aladdin 3204 (September 1953)

Disc 2 (77:33 minutes):
1 and 2 are Aladdin 3214 (December 1953)
3 and 4 are Aladdin 3228 (February 1954)
5 and 6 are Aladdin 3245 (May 1954)
7 and 8 are Aladdin 3263 (May 1955)
9 is the A-side of Aladdin 3312 (January 1956)
10 is an un-issued track on RCA/Groove Records recorded July 1954
11 and 12 are RCA/Groove 0031 (August 1954)
13 is Capitol 2945 [A] (October 1954)
14 is Capitol 3032 [A] (January 1955)
15 is Capitol 3127 [A] (May 1955)
16 is Capitol 3185 [A] (July 1955)
17 and 18 are Capitol 3392 (April 1956)
19 is Capitol 3455 [A] (June 1956)
20 is Capitol 3502 [A] (August 1956)
21 is Capitol 3597 [A] (November 1956)
22 is Capitol 3660 [A] (February 1957)
23 is Capitol 3830 [A] (November 1957)
24 and 25 are Capitol 4009 (July 1958)
26 is Capitol 4092 [A] (November 1958)
27 is Capitol 4828 [A] (August 1962) (see also below for 27)
27, 28, 29 and 30 are from the 1957 LP “The Five Keys On Stage” on Capitol T 828

The compilation and annotation have been put together by BOB FISHER (small liner notes in the fold-out inlay) with the CD Mastering done by TALL ORDER of the UK.

Hailing from Virginia, The Five Keys have long been considered by collectors as a class act and often compared to the big boys of Doo Wop and Rhythm ‘n’ Blues – The Flamingos, The Orioles and The Moonglows (with a little bit of the rocking Clovers thrown in for good measure). Their most famous lead vocalist was Rudy West and yet up until now, their material has only sporadically turned up on CD.

Given the vintage, the sound varies from good (the Aladdin Years) to superb (the later Capitol releases). Being a major label with decent equipment for the time, their Capitol sides were beautifully recorded - hence the excellent sound quality on Disc 2. Also, as you can see from the list above, the flip-sides to the Capitol releases are not here (despite the word “Complete” being in the title). However, if you want more of that period, some are on the excellent “Collector Series” CD put out by Capitol in 1989 – a disc I’ve treasured for two decades now.

The Aladdin material tended to be all pleading ballads, while the Capitol stuff rocked it up a bit (the years had moved on). Highlights for me include their fantastic Murray Berlin bopper “She’s The Most” (lyrics above) and the sheer smooth-as-silk class of “Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind” written by Ivory Joe Hunter and Clyde Otis (a beautiful vocal by Rudy West).

Lot of tracks, very good sound and it’s cheap too. Until Bear Family does a more comprehensive box set one day covering the later stuff and solo releases – this is a rather lovely release to be getting on with. Recommended.

PS: Jasmine have also done "The Flamingos" in a similar 2CD set (see separate review)