"Hot Rods & Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Music and Car/Drag-Racing Sound Effects Spanning 1946 to 1998 - Including The Duals, Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps, Chuck Berry, Jan & Dean, Robert Mitchum, Dinah Shore, The Rip-Chords, The Beach Boys, Dick Dale, Sonny Boy Williamson, Bo Diddley, Howlin Wolf, Albert King, Nervous Norvus, Canned Heat, The Doobie Brothers, Golden Earring, Dave Edmunds, War, The Ramones, The B-52s, George Thorogood, John Hiatt, The Green Hornets and many more (March 1999 US Rhino 87-Track 4CD Brick-Shaped Lift-Top Box Set with Booklet, Mooneyes Themed Car Catalogue, Key Chain, A Sheet of Window Clinging Decals and a Pair of Hanging Rearview-Mirror Furry Dice – Bob Fisher Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hot-Rods-Custom-Classics-Various/dp/B00000I5M0?crid=PXVP7S2HOC98&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-tuc_L4uzuXbw9pvCrIYmg.nvE64ydUcKI0j81r4e2bCs_yb31lODocJ7ZPrs3OetE&dib_tag=se&keywords=081227568825&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1729724888&sprefix=081227568825%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=662c7ffbd47ad7a36d5014a47061ef23&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATINGS:

Overall ****

Audio **** to *****

Presentation *****

"…Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits…"

I have loved and frankly adored at the altar of Rhino Box Sets, and back in the Nineties day when they were big-time active, they regularly came out with groundbreaking fun compilations like this forgotten car-themed gem. I still rate their zany and thorough efforts as the best fun-and-audio discovery tomes ever issued across a swathe of genre splurges.

"Hot Rods & Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits" digs the automobile in music - here we get muscle cars and dragsters and Cadillacs and Lincoln Continentals and Pontiacs and frankly anything to do with pistons, fuel-injected carburettors and Polly the Molly sat in an opentop back seat with a cold beer bottle in hand and her tomboy hair in the wind. As you can imagine, there will be skidding and revving of a frankly lascivious hairy-chested-nature and undeniable references to shifting sticks that may or may not have to do with urgent speedometers and liquid transmissions (if you dig my brake fluid).

This hunk of 4CD burning love was first issued Stateside in March 1999 and its packaging alone – a cause for celebration. It has music and sound effects spanning 1946 to 1998 (87 Tracks, most are Music), a 66-Page Booklet crammed with genre themes and essays and Mooneyes-Themed Surf and Drag Car Racing Memorabilia – a Mooneyes Catalogue, Key Chain, A Sheet of Window Clinging Decals and a Pair of Hanging Rearview-Mirror Furry Dice. Yes – you read right – a pair of actual furry dice inset into the inner box! Even the sides of the boxes have reproduced fantastically evocative newspaper and magazine adverts from the Fifties and Sixties selling Conversion Kits, Magnesium Engine Adapters, White Wall Tyres and Torque Wrenches. Time to ride baby – details Daddy-O!

US released 16 March 1999 - "Hot Rods & Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Rhino R2 75688 (Barcode 081227568825) is a 4CD 87-Track Brick-Shaped Lift-Top Box Set. It has music and sound effects spanning 1946 to 1998, a 66-Page Booklet and Mooneyes-Themed Surf and Drag Car Racing Memorabilia (Mooneyes Catalogue, Key Chain, A Sheet of Window Clinging Decals and a Pair of Hanging Rearview-Mirror Furry Dice). It plays outs as follows:

CD1 (56:04 minutes):
1. New Car Attitude
2. Action Packed – RONNIE DEE (November 1958 US 45-single on Back Beat 522, A-side)
3. Stick Shift – THE DUALS (June 1961 US 45-single on Sue 745, A-side)
4. Hot Rod Man – TEX RUBINOWITZ (February 1980 US 45-single on Ripsaw 214, A-side)
5. Hot Rod Gang – STRAY CATS (from the August 1983 US LP "Rant N' Rave With The Stray Cats" on EMI America SO-17012)
6. Cruisin' – GENE VINCENT And HIS BLUE CAPS (from the March 1957 US LP "Gene Vincent And His Blue Caps" on Capitol T-811 in Mono)
7. Radar Love – GOLDEN EARRING (April 1974 US 45-single on MCA Records MCA-40202, A-side, 5:01 minute version. Note: the UK 45-single was issued November 1973 on Track 2094 116 and has a shorter version; the LP cut on the 1973 "Moon Tan" UK album is also longer than both the US and UK singles)
8. Mercury Blues – DAVID LINDLEY (from the 1981 US LP "E Rayo-X" on Elektra Records 5E-524)
9. Maybelline – CHUCK BERRY & His Combo (July 1955 US Debut 45-single on Chess 1604, A-side)
10. The Ballad Of Thunder Road – ROBERT MITCHUM (May 1958 US 45-single on Capitol F3986, A-side)
11. Forty Miles Of Bad Road – DUANE EDDY And THE REBELS (May 1959 US 45-single on Jamie 1126, A-side)
12. SS 396 – PAUL REVERE And THE RAIDERS (January 1967 US Split 45-single on Columbia Special Products CSM 466. Was the B-side to The Cyrkle doing "Camaro" on the A-side. The single was specially commissioned by Chevrolet and given to dealers)
13. See The U.S.A. In Your Chevrolet – DINAH SHORE (Advertising song for the 1956 US TV Series Chevrolet Hour)
14. Little Deuce Coup – THE BEACH BOYS (July 1963 US 45-single on Capitol 5002, B-side of "Surfer Girl")
15. Hot Rod – THE COLLINS KIDS (Unissued 1957 recording first released 1982 on the US 2LP compilation "Rockabilly Stars, Volume 3" on Epic Records EG 37984)
16. Mr. Highway Man (Cadillac Daddy) – HOWLIN' WOLF (April 1952 US 78 on Chess 1510, B-side of "Gettin' Old And Grey")
17. Lost Highway – HANK WILLIAMS With His Drifting Cowboys (September 1949 US 78 on MGM 10506, B-side of "You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)")
18. Highway Patrol – JUNIOR BROWN (August 1995 US 45-single on MCG/Curb Records D7-76953, A-side)
19. Heavy Traffic Ahead – BILL MONROE And His BLUE GRASS BOYS (July 1949 US 78 on Mercury 20595, A-side)
20. Radar – MR. BEAR & HIS BEARCATS (1955 US 45-single on Groove 0150, A-side)
21. Motor Head Baby – JOHNNY "Guitar" WATSON credited at YOUNG JOHN WATSON (June 1953 US 78 on Federal 12131, A-side)
22. Led Sled – DENNY FREEMAN (from the 1986 US LP "Blues Cruise" on Amazing Records AM 1009)
23. Rev Off – Steve Wertheimer's 1951 Mercury Custom & Mike Young's 1960 Chevrolet "Exotica" Impala - Recorded at Dave's Precision Automotive, Austin, Texas on 23 October 1998 – Plus a Radio Advert for a 60ts Green Valley Raceway meet on a Wednesday night (between Dallas and Fort Worth) – unannounced and attached at the end of Track 23

CD2 (69:21 minutes):
1. Rocking Down The Highway – THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (November 1972 US 45-single on Warner Brothers WB 7661, B-side of "Jesus Is Just Alright")
2. Hey Little Cobra – THE RIP CHORDS (November 1963 US 45-single on Columbia 4-42921, A-side)
3. Hot Rod Queen – DEKE DICKERSON & THE ECCO-FONICS (from the 1998 CD Album "Number One Hit Record!" on HMG 3005))
4. Hot Rod Lincoln – JOHNNY BOND (June 1960 US 45-single on Republic 2005, A-side)
5. Hot Rod Race - RAMBLIN' JIMMIE DOLAN (June 1951 US 45-single on Capitol 1322, A-side)
6. Drag Race (excerpt from the 1960 Motion Picture "High School Caesar")
7. Draggin' – CURTIS GORDON (April 1956 US 45-single on Mercury 70861 X 45, A-side) 
8. Dragster – JOHNNY FORTUNE (November 1963 US 45-single on Park Avenue PA-130, B-side of "Siboney")
9. Race With The Devil – GENE VINCENT & HIS BLUE CAPS (August 1956 US 45-single on Capitol F3530, A-side)
10. Devil In My Car – THE B-52's (from the August 1980 US Album "Wild Planet" on Warner Brothers BSK 3471)
11. Ride On Josephine – GEORGE THOROGOOD & THE DESTROYERS (from the September 1977 US Debut Album "George Thorogood & The Destroyers" on Rounder 3013)
12. Rocket "88" – JACKIE BRENSTON & HIS DELTA CATS (1956 US 45-single on Chess 1458, A-side)
13. Key To The Highway – LITTLE WALTER & HIS JUKES (September 1958 US 45-single on Checker 904, A-side)
14. Low Rider – WAR (August 1975 US 45-single on United Artists UA-XW706-Y, A-side)
15. Whitter Blvd. – THEE MIDNITERS (June 1965 US 45-single on Chattahoochie CH-684, A-side)
16. Every Woman I Know – BILLY "The Kid" EMERSON (January 1957 US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 219, B-side of "Tomorrow Never Comes")
17. One Piece At A Time JOHNNY CASH & THE TENNESSEE THREE (March 1976 US 45-single on Columbia 3-10321, A-side)
18. Cadillac Assembly Line (January 1976 US 45-single on Utopia UB-10544, A-side)
19. I Want A Lavender Cadillac - MAURICE KING & HIS WOLVERINES (June 1951 US 45-single on 4-6800, A-side)
20. Bring My Cadillac Back – BAKER KNIGHT And THE KNIGHTMARES (November 1956 US 45-single on Decca 9-30135, A-side)
21. Pink Cadillac – SAMMY MASTERS & HIS ROCKING RHYTHM (April 1956 US 45-single on 4-Star 1695-45, A-side)
22. Transfusion – NERVOUS NORVUS (May 1956 US 45-single on Dot 45-14570, A-side)
23. Crawling From The Wreckage – DAVE EDMUNDS (from the July 1979 US album "Repeat When Necessary" on Swan Song SS 8507)
24. Dead Man's Curve – JAN & DEAN (February 1964 US 45 on Liberty 55672, A-side)
25. James Dean 1955 Interview (from the 1993 video to "Rebel Without A Cause") – unannounced and uncredited "Signal Mid Ethyl Gas" advert from the 60ts is attached at the end of Track 25

CD3 (51:55 minutes):
1. Let's Go For A Ride – THE COLLEGIANS (1957 US 45-single on X-Tra 108, A-side)
2. On The Road Again – CANNED HEAT (April 1968 US 45-single on Liberty 56038, A-side)
3. Drive South – JOHN HIATT (from the 1988 US album "Slow Turning" on A&M Records SP 5026)
4. I Gotta A New Car – BIG BOY GRAVES and Band (May 1955 US 45-single on Spark 114, A-side)
5. No Money Down – CHUCK BERRY & His Combo (January 1956 US 45-single on Chess 1615, A-side)
6. Dear Dad – DAVE EDMUNDS (from the April 1982 US album "D.E. 7th" on Columbia PC 37930)
7. Little Forty Four – LEON SMITH With The Ponsonby Sisters (July 1959 US 45-single on Epic 5-9326)
8. '41 Ford – THE GRAND PRIX (October 1963 US 45-single on Vault V-906, B-side of "Candy Apple Buggy")
9. '64 Ford – PHRANC (from the 1991 US album "Positively Phranc" on Island 848282)
10. Stolen Car – THE GREEN HORNETS (from the 1996 album "The Buzz" on Alopecia! 008)
11. 60 Lil' Camaro Go – RAMONES (from the 1987 US album "Halfway To Sanity" on Sire 25641)
12. Road Runner – BO DIDDLEY (January 1960 US 45-single on Checker 942, A-side)
13. Beep Beep – THE PLAYMATES (October 1958 US 45-single on Roulette R-4115, A-side)
14. Black & White Thunderbird – THE DELICATES (June 1959 US 45-single on Unart UR 2017, B-side of "Ronnie Is My Lover")
15. Pink Thunderbird – GENE VINCENT & HIS BLUE CAPS (from the March 1957 US LP "Gene Vincent And His Blue Caps" on Capitol T-811 in Mono)
16. '54 Corvette – THE CUSTOMS featuring Gary Usher (from the 1963 US LP "Hot Rod City" on Vault 104)
17. Sting Ray – THE ROUTERS (March 1963 US 45-single on Warner Brothers 5349, A-side)
18. Route 66 Theme – NELSON RIDDLE (April 1962 US 45-single on Capitol 4741, A-side)
19. Gas Money – JAN & ARNIE with Adam Ross (July 1958 US 45-single on Arwin MM-111-45, A-side)
20. Gasoline Alley – ROD STEWART (from the June 1970 US album "Gasoline Alley" on Mercury SR-61264) – includes added on Unannounced 60ts Advert for "Speedway Gas" attached to the end of the song

CD4 (50:06 minutes):

1. Mustang Sally - WILSON PICKETT (November 1966 US 45-single on Atlantic 45-2365, A-side)

2. Hopped-Up Mustang - ARLEN SANDERS And The Pacifics (June 1964 US 45-single on Faro 616, B-side of "A Letter To Paul")

3. Wild, Wild Mustang - DICK DALE (& HIS DEL-TONES) (May 1964 US 45-single on Capitol 5187, A-side)

4. 409 - THE QUADS (from the 1963 US LP "Hot Rod City" on Vault 104)

5. Automobiles - THE SPANIELS (Unreleased 1959 recording first issued on the 1993 US CD-compilation "Heart & Soul Volume 2" on Vee-Jay NVD2714)

6. V-8 Ford Blues - MOSE ALLISON (from the 1962 US LP "Takes To The Hills" on Epic BA 17031 in Stereo)

7. Pontiac Blues - SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON (November 1951 US 78 on Trumpet No. 145, B-side of "Sonny Boy's Christmas Blues")

8. G.T.O - RONNY & THE DAYTONA'S (June 1964 US 45-single on Mala 481, A-side)

9. Go Go G.T.O - CAROL And CHERYL (February 1965 US 45-single on Colpix CP-767, A-side)

10. Bite Bite Barracuda - BUDDY RANDELL & THE KNICKERBOCKERS (November 1964 US 45-single on Challenge 59268, B-side of "All I Need Is You")

11. Ford V-8 - HONEY BOY ALLEN (Unreleased 1958 Excello Recording first issued on the 1985 UK LP compilation "Rock Me All Night Long: Unissued 1950s R&B from Louisiana – The Legendary Jay Miller Sessions Volume 41" on Flyright Records FLY 606)

12. No Particular Place To Go - CHUCK BERRY (May 1964 US 45-single on Chess 1898, A-side)

13. Four In The Floor - THE SHUT DOWNS (August 1963 US 45-single on Dimensions D 1016, A-side)

14. Big Green Car – BILLY CARROLL (1958 US 45-single on Fascination 2000, A-side)

15. Spark Plug - FOUR TEENS (August 1958 US 45-single on Challenge 59021, B-side of "Go Little Cat Go"

16. Buick 59 - THE MEDALLIONS (August 1954 US 45-single on DooTone 347, A-side) 

17. Freeway - THE FUGITIVES (October 1960 US 45-single on Arvee A 5014, A-side)

18. Two Lane Highway - PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE (June 1975 US 45-single on RCA Victor PB-10302, A-side)

19. Six Days On The Road - DAVE DUDLEY (April 1963 US 45-single on Golden Wing GW3020, A-side)

20. Wheels - THE FLYING BURRITO BROS. (from the February 1969 US Debut LP "The Gilded Palace Of Sin" on A&M Records SP-4175) - Plus an attached and uncredited spoken Sharp 1956 Automobile Advert about a Hot Rod having its wheels serviced

The 66-page booklet is a major departure for Rhino in some ways in that it doesn't show a single 45-repro label nor LP nor musical act nor sheet music nor trade advert anywhere in its 66-pages – it is all vintage cars and dragsters. Not even the four Digipaks containing the CDs (front or rear) pay a nod towards the music contained within – again all of them with paintings or pictures of famous chrome-infested machines (beneath each of the four see-through trays is a picture of a internal engine casing with juice-guzzling adaptations to their groaning manifolds).

While I appreciate going all out with the theme and the reproduction of famous articles on the subject matter - you can't help thinking that (music wise) say the picture sleeve for The Cyrkle/Paul Revere split 45 especially commissioned in 1967 by Chevrolet for car dealers might have been an obvious inclusion – the rare smiling-face picture sleeve for Chuck Berry's fabulous "No Particular Place to Go" (surely one of the great 'your car vs. frustrated love' songs ever). Or how about The Beach Boys or Jan and Dean atop Dune Buggies or in a Little Deuce Coup – Bobby Blue Bland standing proudly by his Driving Wheel - Batman in his phantasmagorical Bat Mobile etc - you could go on. Rhino also mistakenly credit Billy Carroll as Jimmy Carroll on the rare 1958 Rockabilly blast over on CD4 and get the Flying Burrito Bros LP catalogue number wrong on the last track of the set - but other than those puny errors...it's a gas gas gas…

Speaking of - I can't stress enough that this is a blast - a dip-and-dive box. "Hot Rods & Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits" is great fun - reeking of compilers who enjoyed their job and went that country mile for your delectation - the Sheet of Decal Stickers - The Key Chain with Moon Eyes and of course - the Furry Dice you would hang from your Cools-Mobile. Speaking of Moon Eyes - Dean Moon built his Moon Equipment Company in the USA provided equipment parts and everything else for cars. The 'Mooneyes Surf & Drag' Catalogue therefore has adverts for tee-shirts with 50ts and 60ts period designs - Bonneville Sports - Engine Parts - Custom Accessories like tail-lights - skulls for gear sticks - speed equipment - grill and chrome emblems and so on. And then there are all the period adverts repro'd on the side of the brick block box when you lift off the lid (see second set of photos above) - you could be hours with a magnifying glass just trying to get through them - a bygone age. It's enough to blind you to the excellent BOB FISHER Remasters that stretch decades of car-mentions - uniformly good audio from 78s to 45s to LPs to CDs. 

CD1 opens with 21-seconds of advert dialogue "You finally get your own car, the chances are your parents still don’t understand why you needed it, but the freedom – you treat it good – real good!" That is followed by the wild 1958 teenage Rock and Roll on the uber-rare "Action Packed" by Ronnie Dee – you can hear his youth and excitement. And then we get a truly great tune – arguably the first genuinely cool instrumental prior to "Green Onions" in July 1962 - "Stick Shift" by The Duals. This Rockabilly Beat nugget had arrived a full year earlier in June 1961 complete with engine roar start and cop-car siren ending – a classy inclusion. It's at this point (same on all 4 CDs) that the time frames start to jump forward and back again – but it works. Next up is a fantastic slice of Rockabilly brilliance in the 1980-recorded "Hot Rod Man" by the wonderfully named Tex Rubinowitz – itself not surprisingly followed by The Stray Cats also doing that untamed beast in 1983. We’re back to Gene Vincent and then rather oddly on to 1973/1974 and Golden Earring giving it friend-e-lee and coming on strong with their fabulous "Radar Love" (it is the 5:02 minute cut out of the USA). 

But then again, the compilation whomps you with a gem you have completely forgotten – David Lindley getting all slide-guitar mayhem with his "Mercury Blues". What a nugget and clever inclusion. Natural to see Chuck Berry and his influence start on CD1 (his tunes crop up on the other discs too) – his lyrically savvy tunes full of liberating automobiles and teenage knowing. From the start of summer 1955 on Chess Records, "Maybelline" and all that followed started a revolution in the States and its influence reached over to Blighty for a whole generation of English kids not least of all were The Beatles and Stones. Bit of film melodrama and fun with Robert Mitchum sing-talking his way through a song about bootleggers in joe-jammers - "The Ballad of Thunder Road" full of hard-boiled characters old Hate-and-Love hands Mitchum no doubt relished playing. America is the greatest land of all, Dinah Shore sings jauntily like Doris Day on uppers in the Chevie advert while The Beach Boys and a surprisingly cool Collins Kids get cute with the ladies – soon as they get a Hot Rod. Heavy Blues comes at you in full-on recorded-in-a-bucket mode when Howlin Wolf comes a roaring into your speakers perfectly countered by Hank country-fiddle singing about paying the cost for a life of sin on the Lost Highway (we know how you feel Mr. Williams – all too bitterly). And on it goes to Sheriffs with itchy fingers in their cherry-tops – Bill Monroe caught in heavy traffic with his banjo – Mr. Bear caught doing 105 MPH by that new-fangled Radar – and Denny Freeman getting all B.B. King geetar on his SRV-sounding Led Sled.

Hot Dog Lincolns and Souped-Up Fords shift and shuffle and race with devils both inside and outside come CD2 – streets forty-foot wide – Mercury speeding but taken by a hopped-up Model A. Echo-laden Rockabilly comes hammering out of your speakers as Curtis Gordon drags Main St. all night long. Cool Agent/Spy type vibes on the screaming tyres and guitar-picking instrumental "Dragster" – kids living dangerously while Johnny Fortune twangs his geetar. Manic vocals of The B-52s followed by the Slide Guitar Boogie of George Thorogood makes for a good pairing – and what can you say about the utter brilliance of "Low Rider" by War – like "Radar Love" on CD1, it will be a track you reach for again and again no matter how many movies have used both to death. Your lady can play with your keys and shift your gears according to Billy "The Kid" Emerson (rubber heels are a no-no). Genius lyrics come at you aplenty with the forgotten Man In Black hit "One Piece At A Time". Funny and savvy as always – Johnny Cash slays it as he describes assembling a GM Cadillac by sneaking out parts across two decades only to find that upgrades over the years have done for the usability of his unique $100,000 car.

Speaking of period wit – two decades back we get slip the blood to me bud Nervous Norvus – talking through witty lyrics amidst car-crash sounds. No picture sleeve unfortunately repro'd for the Jan & Dean Liberty 45 from February 1964 – "Dead Man's Curve" – and I cannot get enough of Dave Edmunds who gets the first of two appearances on this Box Set with his fab "Crawling From The Wreckage" (driving like a nut in the rain – taking out his revenge on the revolution counter). The final track is a 2-minute interview with James Dean about cars and car-racing – his supposedly sincere comments about safety are so damn ominous with what happened to him. But stick around also for an unannounced "Signal Gas" advert attached afterwards (Track 25) where nice chaps tell you that you no longer have to just use Regular or Premium Gas, because now at a third pump you can get Mid Ethyl Gasoline and go farther!

CD3 opens with an uber-rare 1958 R&B Vocal Group 45 by The Collegians asking all suckers to "Let's Go For A Ride". That is followed by the familiar whining vocals of Bob Hite in his Canned Heat doing the ever-popular "On The Road Again" – a huge hit for the Blues Rockers in 1968. Stunning inclusions ahoy with a clever switch up to John Hiatt asking his baby to "Drive South" (on his 1988 "Slow Turning" album) – telling her that will not need too many clothes because it gets hot where they’re going. A slew of clever lyrics follow starting with R&B man Big Boy Groves bemoaning his wallet because "I Gotta A New Car" (Soup and Tooth Picks not a good meal), while Chuck Berry lists his requirements in fabulous period detail for his new car with "No Money Down". But best of all is another gotta-get-rid-of the crappy old Ford song by Chuck Berry but this time done by Dave Edmunds – his fantastic bopping "Dear Dad" done in 1982 – a son writing to Pops to plead his motor needs. 

Another obscure flipside comes in the shape of Leon Smith with The Ponsonby Sisters – his 1959 Epic 45 informing the populace on his "Little Forty Ford". Gotta love the girly longing in "64 Ford" – Phranc with that early crush glint in her eye. Punky garage comes in the shape of Taratino-cool Green Hornets getting organ-and-sax grungy as they channel their inner X-Ray Specs on their "Stolen Car". The Ramones and their Soul Brother Bo Diddley give us a Camaro 60 followed with a Road Runner. Lyrically similar, a little Nash Rambler determined to scorn a Cadillac in The Playmates witty "Beep Beep" turns out to be a Mojo in bother rather than competition. Cool instrumentals return with two in a row – The Routers giving us "Sting Ray" while Nelson Riddle decides to go all Secret Agent Lounge Lizard with his stringed-up piano-plinking finger-clicker "Route 66 Theme". 

Jan & Arnie may argue in the bedroom, but itchy Jan knows what he needs - "Gas Money" – come up with the dough baby. And CD3 ends with a nugget – and even if it feels stylistically slightly out of place – there is no denying the slide-guitar Ron Wood and Rod Stewart melody in the fab and still-touching "Gasoline Alley". Stay tuned to Track 20 as it plays for Rhino has sneaked in a hidden unannounced "Speedway Gas" sung commercial attached to the tail-light of the Rod Stewart song – an advert sung by good old boys about ethanol propylene or some such 60ts gizmo.

CD4 features a very 1963/1964 vibe cosied up to by boppin Fifties R&B and Vocal Groups – all Mustang Sallys and Souped-Up Fords and mouthy Pontiacs never mind your slippery G.T.Os and muscle-clad Ford V-8s. The mighty Wilson Pickett opens his ride-around account with the superb "Mustang Sally" while Arlen Sanders talks us through the performance of his clear-to-the-floor six-cylinder Mustang duetting with a Cadillac (music by The Pacifics) against a backdrop of engine bursts. Genius inclusion comes in the shape of the very Chuck Berry-sounding "Wild, Wild Mustang" – Dick Dale accompanying his Del-Tones in a tale of his King of the Road wheels. The Quads catch the surfing Beach Boys groove with their "409" – giddy-up ooh-ooh. Clever down shift to 50ts R&B Vocal Group sound – The Spaniels giving us the skinny on the kind of cars their girls like (all of them). 1962 LP Coolsville comes a finger-clicking in as Mose Allison goes all Georgie Fame Yeh Yeh (or is it the other way around) with his beautiful sounding "V-8 Ford". 

Way back to a 1951 ten-inch 78 sounding remarkably fresh as Sonny Boy Williamson gives it some of his trademark Harmonica (loving his Pontiac). Audio-leap as Ronny & The Daytona's sing the wah-wah praises of their little "G.T.O." which corners like a forward-leaning skier hugging that Olympic slope. Girly duo Carol and Cheryl combine their ah-schucks vocals for the 1:35 minute from 1965. Weedy boy vocals follow with "Bite Bite Barracuda" – serious channel separation on this bizarre track. Thankfully we're rescued by Honey Boy Allen giving it R&B guitar and harmonica on his crude but cooly rocking "Ford V-8" where he wants to show his baby the power steering (now now Mister Allen). But all of this is whomped goodo by Chuck Berry who comes charging (in glorious Stereo) into your mancave with the brill "No Particular Place To Go" (the safety belt wouldn't budge people). Stunning  audio on the kick-ass instrumental "Four To The Floor" by The Shut Downs – a rip-roaring guitar beat set against a backdrop of screaming engines – feels like The Shadows found the dark side of The Force and let it rip. 

"…Hey Man! Did you see that doll in the big green car!" announces Bobby Carroll on his tremendous Rockabilly romp "Big Green Car". The same geetar menace permeates every sinew of "Spark Plug" by Four Teens – our lead singer just looking for some love – hot seat preferred (another smart inclusion). Fats Domino-style piano-rolling makes a very welcome appearance with The Medallions as they sing the virtues of their Vocal group lady-wagon - "Buick 59" – the lead-singer eventually going all Screaming Jaw Hawkins lecherous as he makes sound effects that mimic car shenanigans. I have never heard The Fugitives and their "Freeway" but it's very cool – a Saxophone and Piano instrumental bopper that gets louder as it progresses – expect it in a TV episode some time soon. 

A strange and slightly jarring leap to the audio perfection of 1975 and the Pure Prairie League giving it some Outlaws vs. The Doobie Brothers Country Rock with their "Two Lane Highway" – good tune though. Rolling down the Eastern seaboard with Dave Dudley getting all 10-gears and little white pills keeping his eyelids open - "Six Days On The Road" dodging all the State scales on this great Rockabilly bopper. It comes sauntering home with The Flying Burrito Bros. and their "Wheels" with lyrics about cars taking them home – or away – or to freedom. Frankly CD4 could have done with more and a better ending. But dig that uncredited spoken Sharp 1956 Automobile Advert about a Hot Rod having its wheels serviced complete with dialogue to appeal to Teens!

So, there you have it – chammy in your back pocket and oil on your white teen-shirt like all good James Dean posers should. Feelin' the need for speed - the only way is the Freeway - want your Spark Plugs ignited - your fuel-head Buick bounced - your Rubber Rims burnt - or your Chevie chassis discombobulated (oh dear, sounds painful) - then look no further my grease monkeys of yesteryear and bikers of oblivion - because Rhino's 1999 Box Set "Hot Rods & Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits" is the old-school gearbox you need...

I know 1999's "Hot Rods & Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits" is not all genius – but I love it – and cherish owning such a Rhino Box Set - Go Daddy Go!

"Spooky/Mamas And Papas-Soul Train/Traces/Song" by CLASSICS IV – March 1968 US Debut Album, December 1968 US Second Album, April 1969 US Third Album and August 1970 US Fourth Album – All On Imperial Records And In Stereo – Featuring Dennis Yost, James R. Cobb, Buddy Buie, Emory Gordy, Lari Goss, Don Tweedy and more (November 2018 UK Beat Goes On (BGO) Compilation – 4LPs onto 2CDs – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spooky-Mamas-Papas-Train-Traces/dp/B07HGR7GY5?crid=AZF44948KDFA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.WK-YPyrTjFi7mu9i6h5Y5Q.gEZ1sUyq4ez-YO__jflzs4CZWdG_WoXutIXiQ34PdX8&dib_tag=se&keywords=5017261213679&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1729521397&sprefix=5017261213679%2Caps%2C87&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=f7fe014bd8a684b4abaa991446a8ff45&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATINGS:

Material ***

Presentation and Audio **** to *****

"…Love Is Kinda Crazy…"

Formed as far back as 1965 and hailing out of Jacksonville, Florida – the all-American Pop & Beat Band CLASSICS IV hit career pay-dirt with their re-arrangement of a 1966 song called "Spooky" and its release on 45 in late September 1967. Imperial 66259 caught the sensual cool of the Summer of Love perfectly and would soon race up to No.3 on the US Billboard charts in early 1968. It even made inroads in good old Blighty who liked it - but were less excited – so "Spooky" made a reasonable but slightly underwhelming No.46 there when released February 1968 on Liberty Records LBF 15051 (none of their four LP platters got an album release in the UK).

The US Imperial Records album of the same name inevitably followed in March 1968 - as did a slew of hipster cover versions stretching forward at least two years – not least of all by our own chanteuse of the airwaves Dusty Springfield. Her September 1970 45-Single on Philips 6006 045 (although relegated to a B-side of "How Can I Be Sure") almost matched the shimmering silk vibe of the original. A double-whammy combo of sides if there was one. 

And that is where our intrepid but spooked reissue heroes over at Beat Goes On Records in Ing-ger-land come a shimmying in. Here are the kinda crazy details…

UK released Friday, 9 November 2018 (December 2018 in the USA) - "Spooky/Mamas And Papas-Soul Train/Traces/Song" by CLASSICS IV on Beat Goes On BGOCD1367 (Barcode 5017261213679) is a Compilation that offers Four Albums Remastered onto 2CDs and plays out as follows:

CD1 (52:49 minutes):
1. Daydream Believer [Side 1]
2. You Are My Sunshine
3. The Letter
4. By The Time I Get To Phoenix
5. Goin' Out Of My Mind
6. Mary, Mary Row Your Boat [side 2]
7. Bus Stop
8. Just Between You And Me
9. Poor People
10. Book A Trip 
11. Spooky
Tracks 1 to 11 are their debut album "Spooky" – released March 1968 in the USA on Imperial LP-12371 (Stereo) – no UK release

12. Soul Train [Side 1]
13. Bed Of Roses
14. Strange Changes
15. Ladies Man
16. Waves
17. Stormy [Side 2]
18. Mama's And Papa's
19. Pity The Fool
20. It Ain't Necessarily So
21. 24 Hours Of Loneliness
22. The Girl From Ipanema (Garota De Ipanema)
Tracks 12 to 22 are their second studio album "Mamas And Papas/Soul Train" – released December 1968 in the USA on Imperial LP-12407 (Stereo) – no UK release

CD2 (61:36 minutes):
1. Everyday With You Girl [Side 1]
2. Mr. Blue
3. Sunny
4. Free
5. Traces
6. Something I'll Remember
7. Our Day Will Come [Side 2]
8. Rainy Day
9. Traffic Jam
10. Sentimental Lady
11. Nobody Loves You But Me
Tracks 1 to 11 are their third studio album "Song" – released April 1969 in the USA on Imperial LP-12429 (Stereo) – no UK release

12. Where Did All The Good Times Go [Side 1]
13. The Comic
14. Cherryhill Park
15. Pick Up The Pieces
16. We Miss You
17. God Knows I Loved Her
18. Midnight [Side 2]
19. Most Of All
20. Ain't It The Truth
21. The Funniest Thing
22. Nobody Loves You But Me
Tracks 12 to 22 are their fourth studio album "Song" (credited to Dennis Yost & The Classics IV) – released August 1970 in the USA on Imperial LST-11033 (Stereo) – no UK release

The 22-page booklet within the outer card slipcase offers all front and rear artwork repro'd across the first eleven pages – that memory-fest followed by in-depth CHARLES WARING liner notes (contributor for Mojo) where he valiantly tries to get us to believe that their music was good – most if it was not. But it also involves interviews – internet references – and great ANDREW THOMPSON Remasters that really make these well-produced albums shine. To the tunes…

Their "Spooky" debut album opens on a weedy moment - a cover of the popular Monkees hit "Daydream Believer" but is soon redeemed by a Funky Groove meets Garage Swagger & Lip remodel of an old 1930s standard "You Are My Sunshine" - Dennis Yost channelling his inner James Brown in stage-exiting pain (yow!). Next up is another well produced cover - "The Letter" by The Box Tops. And for sure by now, you have noticed that there are too many covers and therein lies the danger. This is compounded by an awful deep-voiced stab at the Jimmy Webb classic made famous by Glen Campbell "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" - but they slightly redeem themselves with a Frankie Valli type vocal on the Little Anthony & The Imperials soft-Soul gem "Goin' Out Of My Head". At last we get an original song - "Mary, Mary Row Your Boat" closing out Side 1. Written by J.R. Cobb it sounds similar to the "Spooky" groove but with a more upbeat feel. 

Side 2 opens with a stab at The Hollies' 1966 pop hit "Bus Stop" - Classics IV going all Jam 'Start' with their jerky-rhythm interpretation. More originals with "Just Between You And me" and "Poor People" but they are both average - the first plodding - the second la-la-la dippy silly. Love with a pill is their destination in "Book A Trip" - a good tune - and of course the album finishes with the spectacular "Spooky" - here in glorious Stereo and shimmering in all the right kinda-groovy places (let's go to a movie with a spooky little girl like you). 

The second album from 1968 goes a little more Rhythm 'n' Blues - the boys trying to ride that Train to Groovesville. Both "Bed Of Roses" and the opener "Soul Train" try hard to make their brass and strings-charts mark but the Dwayne Eddy guitar twang of "Strange Changes" is better. "Ladies Man" goes on about cheaters and again the Buie/Cobb written "Waves" sounds too much like poor-man's 5th Dimension. The ever-so-slightly-soundalike "Stormy" to "Spooky" was a successful 'you are the sunshine baby' 45. Imperial 63328 paired it with "24 Hours Of Loneliness"  from Side 2 of the album. But the rest of the LP - beautifully produced or no - feels like Lounge Music - and not in a good way. 

Come 1969 and album number three "Traces" the love-you-more-and-more-and-more saccharine is poured on with regrettable tunes like "Everyday With You Girl" and "Mr. Blue" and an elevator-ready "Our Day Will Come". They go back to that-winning 'Spooky' feel by going at "Sunny" - that saxophone solo giving it some serious muscle. Two of the third's albums better tracks follow - the out-of-jail "Free" (chains and sorrow, a thing of the past) and the acoustic-driven title track "Traces" - a soft-soap faded-photographs ballad - the sort of ribbons-from-her-hair gloop that might have ended the credits of a movie that's trying to hard to be sincere. And on it goes - a weedy and avoidable LP. 

By the time we get to album number four - they are now credited as Dennis Yost & The Classic IV and the Production values are full-on professional. Guitarist James R. Cobb and Producer/Arranger Buddy Buie penned most of the "Song" LP - but again it's too many overcooked Donny Osmond 'Puppy Love' type tunes with syrupy lyrics and walls of violins. By the time you get to "God Knows I Loved Her" - you've had enough of the second-rate Frankie Valli soundalikes. 

They of the one-word hit-song wonders ("Spooky", "Stormy" and "Traces") were an American chart phenomenon and yet these albums are available for under a pound on well-known auction sites. Unfortunately when you have to wade through them - you can so understand why. Dennis Host would go on to form and nail more Radio-Friendly success with Atlanta Rhythm Section (no less than seven BGO releases of their catalogue are featured on the rear inlay advert insert - see photos). 

"Spooky/Mamas And Papas-Soul Train/Traces/Song" by CLASSICS IV isn't genius for damn sure - and for my palette - too much of this admittedly beautifully recorded stuff is ordinary and dismissible (very three-star stuff). But fans will need to own it and you must give the nod to BGO who have once again fed our Transatlantic fixation with another quality presentation. Just go easy on that 'they'll all be like the cool and sassy Spooky' thought process...

"Leaving It All Behind/Move Along/Alotta' Mileage Plus Bonus Tracks" by THE GRASS ROOTS – Featuring Their Fifth, Sixth and Seventh US LPs from 1969 (1970 UK), 1972 and 1973 on ABC Dunhill Records in the USA and Stateside and Probe Records in the UK - Plus Bonus Tracks – Fifteen Non-LP 45-Single Sides from 1966 to 1973 (November 2023 UK Beat Goes on (BGO) Compilation – 3LPs Plus Fourteen 45-Single-Sides onto 2CDs – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Leaving-Behind-Along-Alotta-Mileage/dp/B0CHPQP724?crid=1SAXOA9Z1L925&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.uI245PCKZt1ibNdQaKZ2gw.VjMMtkBeTD0r3Zu1ZpdedzTpb9ptKt9cA9UoWR3HBAw&dib_tag=se&keywords=5017261215109&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1729363091&sprefix=5017261215109%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=0088a60a3941e2554326d9342ba3409a&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATINGS:

Material *** to ****

Audio **** to *****

Presentation: *****

"…Leaving It All Behind…"

Back in April 2022, reissue specialists Beat Goes On Records (BGO) of the UK put out the first four American albums by popular Billboard chart-act The Grass Roots. The 1966 debut was "Where Were You When I Needed You" followed by "Let's Live For Today" in 1967 - "Feelings" came in 1968 and "Lovin' Things" in early 1969. With 4 whole LPs Remastered onto 2CDs – BGOCD1478 (Barcode 5017261214782) representing serious value for money (and still does – see separate review).

Well, here in November 2023, BGO continues that exploration with another foursome compilation onto two discs – their fifth, sixth and seventh studio platters plus a whopping Fourteen 45-single sides (Non-LP A & B-sides) as Bonuses - all but making up a fourth album. Leaving it all behind indeed.

As with so much of their material, there are reasons why their vinyl does not go for money some 50-plus-years after the events. It is not all genus for damn sure, not by a long shot to my ears, but genre fans will love it and period curious hunters of Pop, Garage and Rock nuggets have much to rediscover. And those rare single-sides are a brilliant move by BGO. Lot to get through, so onwards to the moving along…

UK released 3 November 2023 - "Leaving It All Behind/Move Along/Alotta' Mileage Plus Bonus Tracks" by THE GRASS ROOTS on Beat Goes on BGOCD1510 (Barcode 5017261215109) is a Compilation of 3LPs Remastered onto 2CDs Plus 15 Bonus 45-Single A&B Sides (on CD2) that plays out as follows: 

CD1 (68:12 minutes):
1. I'm Livin' For You Girl [Side 1]
2. Back To Dreamin' Again
3. Out Of This World
4. Melinda Love
5. Don’t Remind Me
6. Take Him While You Can
7. Heaven Knows [Side 2]
8. Walking Through The Country
9. Something's Comin' Over Me
10. Truck Drivin' Man
11. Wait A Million Years
Tracks 1 to 11 are their fifth album "Leaving It All Behind" – released December 1969 in the USA on ABC/Dunhill DS 50067 and March 1970 in the UK on Stateside SSL 5012 in Stereo. Produced by STEVE BARRI (Engineered by Roger Nichols, Strings by Jimmie Haskell) – the band featured Warren Entner on Vocals and Guitar, Rob Grill on Bass and Vocals with Guitarist Terry Furlong, Keyboardist Dennis Provisor and Drummer Rick Coonce.

12. The Runway [Side 1]
13. Monday Love
14. Anyway The Wind Blows
15. Runnin' Just To Get Her Home Again
16. Two Divided By Love
17. Someone To Love
18. Face The Music [Side 2]
19. Move Along
20. One Word 
21. Only One
22. Glory Bound
Tracks 12 to 22 are their sixth album "Move Along" – released June 1972 in the USA on Dunhill/ABC Records DSX-50112 – ABC SW-94786 and August 1972 in the UK on Probe SPB 1058. Produced by STEVE BARRI (Engineers Roger Nichols and Phil Kaye, String Arrangements Jimmie Haskell) - the band featured Warren Entner on Vocals and Guitar, "Uncle" Virgil Webber on Keyboards, Reed Kailing on Guitar, Rob Grill on Bass and Vocals with Joel Larson on Drums. 

CD2 (75:59 minutes):
1. Where There's Smoke There's Fire [Side 1]
2. Pick Up Your Feet
3. You've Got To Bend With The Breeze
4. Just A Little Tear
5. Ain't No Way To Go Home
6. Claudia
7. Love Is What You Make It [Side 2]
8. Look But Don't Touch
9. Ballad Of Billy Joe
10. We Almost Made It Together
11. Little Bit Of Love
Tracks 1 to 11 are their seventh album "Alotta' Mileage" – released May 1973 in the USA on Dunhill DSX-50137 (no UK issue). Produced by STEVE BARRI - the band featured Warren Entner on Vocals and Guitar, "Uncle" Virgil Webber on Keyboards, Reed Kailing on Guitar, Rob Grill on Bass and Vocals with Joel Larson on Drums. 

BONUS TRACKS (Exclusive 45-Single Sides): 
12. You're A Lonely Girl – September 1965 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4013, Non-LP B-side to "Mr. Jones (Ballad Of A Thin Man)"

13. (These Are) Bad Times – April 1966 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4029, Non-LP B-side to "Where Were You When I Needed You"

14. Depressed Feeling – April 1967 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4048, Non-LP B-side of "Let's Live For Today"

15. Midnight Confessions – June 1968 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4144, A-side

16. Bella Linda – November 1968 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4162, A-side

17. I'd Wait A Million Years – June 1969 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4198, A

18. Baby Hold On
19. Get It Together – Tracks 18 and 19 are the A&B-sides of an April 1970 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4237

20. Come On And Say It – September 1970 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4249, A-side ("Something's Comin' Over Me" from the "Leaving It All Behind" album is the B-side)

21. Temptation Eyes
22. Keepin' Me Down – Tracks 21 and 22 are the A&B-sides of a December 1970 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4263

23. Sooner Or Later
24. I Can Turn Off The Rain – Tracks 23 and 24 are the A&B-sides of a May 1971 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4279

25. We Can't Dance To Your Music – September 1973 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4371, A-side ("Look But Don't Touch" from the "Alotta' Mileage" album is the B-side)

As with all these Beat Goes On 2CD compilations – the outer card slipcase looks classy while the 20-page booklet is a properly chunky affair – repro artwork at the start – all those rare US and Euro picture sleeves forming a montage on the back page – and all of it centred by liner notes from Mojo contributor CHARLES WARING that goes deep into the history. UK fans will probably look at these album covers and squint because The Grass Roots were never anything in Blighty – but they charted in the USA. Waring documents 45-by-45, chart positions, the albums, the band personnel that stuck together album-after-album.

Our compilation opens with their second album in a busy 1969 - "Leaving It All Behind". Many months prior, Dunhill took a shorter cut of the LP track "Wait A Million Years" (called "I'd Wait A Million Years" on the initial 45) and coupled it with a song that finished Side 2 of the previous album "Lovin' Things" (March 1969) called "Fly Me To Havana". It did well, rising to No.15 on the Billboard charts. A couple of months before the album hit the shops in December – Dunhill tested the US market again but this time with two from the new LP - "Heaven Knows" b/w "Don't Remind Me". It made No.24. 

You could call these Rob Grill-voiced stabs at Motownesque dancefloor sensibility almost White Boys Soul. To that end, Dunhill staff-writer Kenny Nolan (soon to have a career of his own) composed "Back To Dreamin' Again" for The Grass Roots – but his real ear for Soulfulness would show as co-author of two mid-Seventies classics - "Lady Marmalade" by Labelle and "My Eyes Adored You" for Frankie Valli. Another tasty period morsel on the "Leaving It All Behind" album is the Beatle-ish harmonies of "Melinda Love" – a co-write between singer Entner and Producer Barri. Overall - I would call "Leaving..." a 3-star album (Steely Dan nerds might want to note the Roger Nichols credit as Engineer - whilst Arrangement hounds will immediately know the name Jimmie Haskell).

Album number six "Move Along" from June 1972 (number two in the collection) saw the line-up drop Guitarist Terry Furlong, Keyboardist Dennis Provisor and Drummer Rick Coonce - replaced with Reed Kailing (Guitars), 'Uncle' Virgil Webber (Keyboards) with new Drummer Joel Larson (an early member of the band back in 1965-1966). "Move Along" opens with the big and brassy Soul-Rock stomp that is "The Runway" - an airport runway being the only way to get back to his baby. Both Entner and Grill sharing lead vocals. The well-produced Soulified-feel continues with the I'm-in-love "Monday Love" - the whole thing sounding like an updated Sixties vibe with the other foot in the early 70ts. As far back as October 1971, Dunhill paired the Motownesque "Two Divided By Love" with "Let It Go" on Dunhill D-4289 and that managed a respectable No. 15 on the Billboard Pop charts. 

Before the "Move Along" LP appeared in shops in June 1972, two from it were paired - the piano-pounding dancer "Glory Bound" b/w the syrupy ballad "Only One" in January 1972 - but that 45 didn't do as well as its predecessor as it stalled at No.34. As if to hammer home the album as an event - Dunhill took stab number three linking the catchy opener "The Runway" with the LP's title track "Move Along" in June 1972 (Dunhill D-4316) but despite 'Runway' having excellent grooves and radio-friendly vibes - it too failed to meet expectations by falling at No.39. Tracks like "One Word" too are very obvious hit-searchers - the whole shebang ending on the upbeat five-o'clock in the morning but its a sunny day bop of "Glory Bound".

"Alotta' Mileage" used the same line-up as "Move Along" but replaced Veteran Arranger Jimmie Haskell with wunder-kid Michael Omartian - a name many liner-note hounds will know turned up on serious albums in the mid-to-late Seventies - stuff like Billy Joel's "Piano Man", Christopher Cross's debut "Christopher Cross" and mighty-of-mighties - Steely Dan's "Pretzel Logic and "Aja". In fact his class act chops have amassed a staggering 2000-plus credits to date. But as a band that previously shifted product, their number seemed up. "Alotta' Mileage" was just another album in 1973 and didn't break Billboard's top 200. Which is a shame - you can immediately hear the Production and Arrangement values have increased - the jaunty "Where's There's Smoke There's Fire" being a perfectly danceable 45 for '73.

But the supposed vocal sincerity and positivity-lyrics in "Pick Up Your Feet" feel forced and reaching despite the riffing and laidback harmonies. Before the album hit the shops, Dunhill paired "Love Is What You Make It" with "Someone To Love" from the previous LP "Move Along" but again the single failed to break. The album is also notable for some clever cover version choices - the Mann/Weil penned "Just A Little Tear" turned into Pop and Charlie Rich's "Ballad Of Billy Joe" given a very Eagles strummed Acoustic Guitars take. But best of all is the only moment The Grass Roots seem to rock out - their cover of Free's "Little Bit of Love" ending a patch album on a very definite high point. It isn't Free for damn sure (no band gets close to them really) - but it's a great stab at a great song that maintains the riffage and upbeat vibe in Paul Rodgers' lyrics (I do believe Rodger). Crank its fantastic production values and enthusiastic axe chiming and you might just be there (surely a contender for a movie insertion any day now). 

The fourteen single-sides are a ragbag good-and-bad bunch ranging (release date wise) from 1966 to 1973 - a huge number on Non-LP sides. Garage fans will love the fuzzed up broken-heart frenzy of "You're A Lonely Girl" - clear and punching guitar. Cool and Bluesy 60ts comes chopping in with the fab quarrel song "(These Are) Bad Times" - again another film inclusion beckons methinks. The Grass Roots sound starts to emerge with "Depressed Feelings" - another state-of-confusion Garage bopper that hurries along at a frantic pace will distorted guitars express the angst (at ease boys). Production values leap upwards with "Midnight Confessions" - an excellent Pop tune that could easily have been an A. Of the remainder I like the Guitar chugging Funk and Punk of "Get It Together" - everybody in the land reaching out to their fellow man - happy and alive - oh yeah baby. And on it goes...

Grass Roots albums are not what you would call collectable – often available for a pound or less on auction sites – if you can sell them at all. As I recall when I worked at Reckless in Islington and Soho – they were a no-no in terms of sales. 

And yet, there was reasons why they consistently charted in their native America. And a huge slab of them are on offer here. 

"Leaving It All Behind/Move Along/Alotta' Mileage Plus Bonus Tracks" by The Grass Roots is another stellar compilation in all areas from Beat Goes On…

"One In A Row: The Willie Nelson Songbook" by VARIOUS ARTISTS [Doing Willie Nelson Cover Versions] – Twenty-Four Single and Album Tracks from 1960 to 2021 by Little Esther, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Doug Sahm, Dionne Warwick, Emmylou Harris, Vikki Carr, Tom Jones, Patsy Cline, George Jones, Spinners, Everly Brothers, The Beautiful South, Trisha Yearwood, Johnny Tillotson, Waylon Jennings, k.d. lang and The Reclines, The Flatliners, Timi Yuro, Bettye LaVette, Tanya Tucker and more (October 2024 UK Ace Records CD Compilation of Duncan Cowell Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Row-Willie-Nelson-Songbook/dp/B0DGQL45MH?crid=1CARPOAPT4HLY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TkWqU1q2xombHRCcBobp5A.Teg-W31zfudAX-GEq2-VfjrO0ceBLbxAr1zce1H1XAc&dib_tag=se&keywords=029667111720&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1729260945&sprefix=029667111720%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=89cebaea8742f876ad66e6417e5a5f37&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

"…Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground…"

I've had a hard time with some CD entries in the Ace Records Singer-Songwriter Series of cover version compilations – the Paul Williams one of July 2024 for instance had a Kermit The Frog track on it amidst a whole dollop of other Biff Rose, Petula Clark and Seals & Croft schmaltz that does this great reissue label no credit at all (only the opening song "Someday Man" by The Monkees saved that release from the trash can). But I had high hopes for this Willie Nelson set because melody-wise and lyrically – the grizzled old Country Rock buzzard that is WN happens to be (IRS repayment issues aside) one of the great unsung heroes of American songwriting. And I was right. 

Not perfect by any means, but when you peruse the 24-cuts offered on "One In A Row: The Willie Nelson Songbook" which range from a 1960 45-single by R&B firehouse Little Esther to Tom Jones going Production-naked in his 2015 stark stab, right through Bob Dylan doing a 1983 recording eventually issued in 2021 on one of those 5CD Bootleg Volumes - and all points in-between those hugely disparate dates – you can kind of work out that artists looking for good tunes reach for this songsmith more often than other more lauded luminaries. Honest tunes about real life and its kick-you-in-the-nuts ways. 

There is much to wail and weep over - cheatin' lyin' good-for-nuthin' dirty dogs – male and female – with a smell of cheap whiskey on their breaths and one beady eye on the highway by the barroom door. To the details…

UK released Friday, 25 October 2024 - "One In A Row: The Willie Nelson Songbook" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (doing Willie Nelson cover versions) on Ace Records CDTOP 1645 (Barcode 029667111720) is a 24-Track Remastered CD Compilation that plays out as follows (75:58 minutes):

1. Hello Walls – LITTLE ESTHER (March 1964 US 45-single on Atlantic 45-2223, B-side of "Double Crossing Blues")

2. Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground – BOB DYLAN (1983 recording done during the "Infidel" album sessions - first UK issued September 2021 on the 5CD Variant of "Springtime In New York: The Bootleg Series Volume 16: 1980-1985" on Columbia/Legacy 19439865802. The Dylan version of this song issued October 1983 as a Non-LP B-side to "Union Sundown" on UK and European 45s is different. Willie Nelson's own original appeared in the movie "Honeysuckle Road" in August 1980)

3. Night Life – B.B. KING (December 1966 US 45-single on ABC Records 45-10889, A-side)

4. Me And Paul – DOUG SAHM And BAND (January 1973 US LP "Doug Sahm And Band" on Atlantic SD 7254 – features Bob Dylan on Blues Harp and Augie Meyer on Piano)

5. He's Not For You – DIONNE WARWICK (October 1976 US 45-single on Warner Brothers WBS 8280, B-side to "I Didn't Mean To Love You")

6. Sister's Coming Home – EMMYLOU HARRIS (from the "Blue Kentucky Girl" album issued April 1979 in the USA on Warner Brothers BSK 3318 – features Tanya Tucker on Backing Vocals)

7. Healing Hands Of Time – VIKKI CARR (from the "The Ways To Love A Man" album issued 1971 in the USA on United Artists UAS 6813)

8. Opportunity To Cry – TOM JONES (from the "Long Lost Suitcase" album issued 2015 in the UK on Virgin V 3141)

9. Family Bible – GEORGE JONES (December 1960 US 45-single on Mercury 71721, A-side)

10. Crazy – PATSY CLINE (October 1961 US 45-single on Decca 31317, A-side)

11. Man With The Blues – DEL McCOURY (from the "A Deeper Shade Of Blue" US CD album issued 1993 on Rounder 0303)

12. Funny How Time Slips Away – SPINNERS (November 1982 US 45-single on Atlantic 7-89922, A-side – Known as The Detroit Spinners in the UK, but the single was not issued there)

13. Good Hearted Woman – THE EVERLY BROTHERS (from the "Pass The Chicken And Listen" album issued 1972 in the USA on RCA Victor LSP-4781)

14. Valentine – THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH (from the "Golddiggars, Headnodders &  Pholk Songs" CD album issued October 2004 in the UK on Sony Music UK 518632)

15. One In A Row – TRISH YEARWOOD (from "The Song Remembers When" CD album issued 1993 in the USA on MCA Records MCAD-10911)

16. Pretty Paper – JOHNNY TILLOTSON (Unreleased 1966 recording first issued 1995 on the US CD Compilation "The Christmas Touch" on Varese Sarabande VSD-5550)

17. Three Days – k.d. lang & The Reclines (from the "Absolute Torch And Twang" album of 1989, also issued as a US 45-single October 1989 on Sire 7-22734, A-side)

18. I Let My Mind Wander – RAY PRICE (February 1967 US 45-single on Columbia 4-44042, B-side of "Danny Boy")

19. Pretend I Never Happened – WAYLON JENNINGS (September 1972 US 45-single on RCA Victor 74-0808, A-side)

20. You Took My Happy Away – TIMI YURO (July 1966 US 45-single on Mercury 72601, B-side of "Don't Keep Me Lonely Too Long")

21. Are You Sure – KACEY MUSGRAVES and WILLIE NELSON (from the Kacey Musgraves CD album "Pageant Material" US issued June 2015 on Mercury Nashville B0022816-02)

22. Somebody Pick Up My Pieces – BETTYE LaVETTE (from the CD album "The Scene Of The Crime" US issued 2007 on Anti Records 6873-2)

23. One Day At A Time – THE FLATLINERS (1972 recording first issued 1980 in the UK on the LP "One More Road" on Charly CR 30189)

24. My Own Peculiar Way – PERRY COMO (March 1965 US 45-single on RCA Victor 47-8533, B-side of "Dream On Little Dreamer")

The 24-page book does the absolute business by Nelson's legacy – typically indepth and inciteful TONY ROUNCE liner notes – observations on melody and chart history that are coming from a Soul Man who admires and rightly lauds singer-songwriter chops. Every song is poured over, naming the myriad cover versions and artists who probably could not be included on this set due to licensing reasons. There is usually the original US 45-single label, or LP/CD cover art, sheet music, industry adverts (like the promo photo by Polydor for Dylan's "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground" as used in the "Honeysuckle Road" movie), tour posters and every song gets thorough research. DUNCAN COWELL – Ace's resident Audio Engineer (he did almost all the praised Blue Horizon CD reissues too) does the mastering honours – and quality assaults the senses at every angle. To the cover versions…

The compilation opens with a Bert Barns-produced debut 45-single by 50s R&B firebrand Little Esther for her restart stint with Atlantic Records in 1964 – it was tucked away on the B-side and has a dig-the-city groove. Far, far better however is Bob Dylan with an "Infidels" outtake called "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground" that made it on the B-side of some 1983 singles (UK and Europe) in a different form than the one that is used here. A moving ballad/love-song with a typically brilliant lean in the lyric, it is a small wonder that it was not used on the principal album. Whatever way you look at it - "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground" is a huge plus and one of many surprises this understated CD offers.

Along with "Crazy" and "Funny How Time Slips By", Nelson's 1959 composition "Night Life" is probably his most famous song creation – over 100 cover versions and counting (it is almost a Jazz Standard in 2024). Here we get 60ts B.B. King with His Orchestra giving it some angst-shouting Blues while a Saxophone punctuates the right speaker like a hustler in a doorway (great audio as Blues Boy does a short guitar solo). The sound modernises and fills out with the shuffling Country Rock of Doug Sahm – his 1972 take on "Me And Paul" where Harmonica is supplied by none other than Bob Dylan is a shuffle you have heard in every retro band). Time for some soft Soul from Dionne Warwick and with it searching for the truth about a cheating man foolish women return to too often (hers is not a rebuke but a warning). More duped gals need to sleep all day long in "Sister's Coming Home" – Emmylou Harris and her flying band giving it pure Country with Pedal Steel and Fiddle – the fast pace hiding the heartache in this horribly honest Willie Nelson observation. But even the mighty Emmylou is given a fantastic run for her I-will-get-over-you broken-heart money by a shockingly lovely Vikki Carr cover of "Healing Hands Of Time" on a long-forgotten 1972 US album on United Artists.

Rounce is right about the shockingly sparse gravel-voiced Tom Jones stripping back the bleak "Opportunity To Cry" – TJ using only an acoustic guitar and lonesome organ note and his cracking voice in 2015 – it adds a genuinely unexpected poignancy to the track list. We get the wholesome "Family Bible" from Country Giant and uber-Christian George Jones – a tune I admit and despise as cack at one and the same time. But all that is hammered into a defensive corner cringing for dear life by the stunning Patsy Cline classic "Crazy". Rounce announces that there are said to be over 400 versions of this early Nelson penned-winner but truly only Patsy killed it good and proper. Bluegrass warbler Del McCoury gets all Coen Brothers on "Man With The Blues" sounding not unlike an eager-to-earn hustler with a Banjo and a Yodel-voice at a racecourse working punters like closing time is near.

Clever choice is the Brass and Strings Spinners slink of "Funny How Time Slips Away" – a very smooth slice of Soft Soul from 1982 on Atlantic Records. A co-write with Waylon Jennings, Nelson's "Good Hearted Woman" is given a Flying Burrito Bros treatment by The Everly Brothers – another tale of tears and laughter – staying the distance despite promises that will never be kept. But again – another stunner – Paul Heaton and The Beautiful South slaying the gorgeous "Valentine" – such a pretty and moving rendition. While Canadian icon k.d. lang (with her Reclines) paints her fabulous vocal honey all over a bopping "Three Days" – a yesterday, today and tomorrow misery gem from the "Absolute Torch And Twang" album of 1989. Trisha Yearwood too – a beautiful Judds-like delivery on the title track "One In A Row". And on it goes – more discoveries – more surprises…

I would admit that I don't need nor love Johnny Tillotson giving it oohs-and-aahs on the yucky Festive "Pretty Paper" – but the hits far outweigh the misses. "One In A Row: The Willie Nelson Songbook" by VARIOUS ARTIST is a winner. Investigate and once again, congrats to the nerds over at Ace Records…