"The Eddie Cochran Memorial Album" by EDDIE COCHRAN (Inside The 2009 Bear Family 'Somethin' Else: Ultimate Collection' Box Set Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...You're Sure Fine Lookin'..." 

It's astonishing to think that when Ray Edward Cochran was taken from us in a freak car accident while on tour in England in April 1960 (Sunday the 17th on his way to London’s Heathrow) - he was only 6 months into his 21st year and had already clocked up over 200 recordings. Yet when it comes to CD – the fabulous Cochran is usually represented by a single disc ‘Best Of’ – few thinking to track down his LP legacy.

Well I’d argue that its time to go back to basics and hear his 2nd platter (posthumously) called "The Eddie Cochran Memorial Album" as a stand-alone. Despite its morbid title and artwork that wasn’t nearly as pretty as his July 1958 debut LP "Singin' To My Baby" - I'd argue it's a truly fantastic Rock 'n' Roll album that contains huge hits like "C'mon Everybody", "Three Steps To Heaven", "Summertime Blues" and "Somethin' Else" as well as other lesser-heard goodies like the rockin' "Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie".

You can get the album on this cheap-as-chips Hallmark CD - or do what I did - fork out big time. I found the tracks inside "Somethin' Else: The Ultimate Collection" by EDDIE COCHRAN – a mammoth Box Set typical of my favourite German reissue company’s legendary excellence. Released February 2009 on Bear Family BCD 15989 HK (Barcode 4000127159892) – “Somethin’ Else” gives punters best-audio 8CDs housed in label-themed 2-disc jewel cases inside a 12” x 12" Box Set offering up a huge 262 tracks. There's a beautifully illustrated album-sized 194-Page Hardback Book that is a truly a thing of beauty (yes ‘hardback’!). The set was compiled and prepared across several years by noted experts ANTOON VAN OLDEREN and Bear Family label boss RICHARD WEIZE. But this kind of quality and high-art finish doesn't come cheap - there's little change out of one hundred & fifty pounds - even online. A team consisting of 'BOPPIN' BOB JONES, JAY RANELUCCI, SAM SZCZEPANSKI (for Ivywood Productions) and PETER J. REYNOLDS handled the transfers and remasters. And being Bear Family - the sound quality is gorgeous - first generation tapes used - meticulous transfers - a superb job done. Here’s how to locate the album within the Box Set (3/6 = Disc 3, Track 6 and so on):

Side 1:

1. C'mon Everybody [3/6]

2. Three Steps To Heaven (Version 2) [3/32]

3. Cut Across Shorty (Speeded Up Version) [3/33]

4. Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie [2/26]

5. Pocketful Of Hearts [2/24]

6. Hallelujah, I Love Her So [3/26]

7. Don't Ever Let Me Go [3/5]

Side 2:

1. Summertime Blues [4/1]

2. Teresa [2/28]

3. Somethin' Else [3/17]

4. Pretty Girl [2/25]

5. Teenage Heaven [3/8]

6. Boll Weevil Song [3/18]

7. I Remember [3/9]

His 14-Track 2nd UK LP "The Eddie Cochran Memorial Album" was released in MONO on London HA-G 2267 in September 1960.

It was to be called "12 Of His Greatest Hits" and released just before the accident - but fate stepped in. Withdrawn and given the new moniker - Cochran's official 2nd LP opens on a stunner – "C'mon Everybody". Even now it gives me a thrill when he sings "...when you hear the music you just can't sit still...if you're brother won't rock...then your sister will..." This was young music and kids new that handsome Eddie was their kind of guy. Every bar band has cut their teeth on "Three Steps To Heaven" (not sure if they found the girl they love in Step 1 though). Marijohn Wilkin and Wayne Walker penned the witty rabbit and hare song "Cut Across Shorty" which Rod Stewart covered on his 2nd album "Gasoline Alley" in 1970. Next up is my fave-rave "Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie" - a fabulous Rock 'n' Roll rave up. There's a superb Rockstar Records reissue LP from may 1985 called "Portrait Of A Legend" that featured 10 STEREO tracks for the first time - one of which is a STEREO 'overdub with guitar' take of this stunning rocker - it turns up as Track 7 on Disc 5. Fred Dexter's "Pocketful Of Hearts" is a tad sappy but his cover of Ray Charles' "Hallelujah I Love Her So" lifts proceedings considerably. Dale Fitzsimmons provided "Don't Ever Let Me Go" - a very Buddy Holly influenced shuffling ballad.

Side 2 opens on another winner and teenage rebellion anthem – the 'too young to vote' song "Summertime Blues". It sounds great here - big acoustic guitar and those hand claps. Things get decidedly schlocky with "Teresa" - a 'cuter than a rosebud' crooner tune complete with awful girly vocals (best avoided). It's annihilated by the real deal - the 'sure fine looking' rumble of "Somethin' Else". What a tune and given full reign with the big remaster (a co-write with Sharon Sheeley). Cochran and songwriter Jerry Capehart pumped out the next three rockers - "Teenage Heaven" (featuring in the movie "Go, Johnny, Go!" in 1959 and was a hit single for Eddie on Liberty F-55177), "Boll Weevil Song" and the final ballad - the lovely and criminally forgotten "I Remember". It leaves you feeling that the whole album is one of the greats - albeit an overlooked one.

Issue No. 17,522 of The Daily Mail (Monday, 18 April 1960) headlined that 'Rock Star Dies In Crash' - picturing a smiling Cochran and the mangled British Taxi that took his life and injured Gene Vincent and Eddie's girl and songwriter Sharon Sheeley. Sad, sad, sad - better to remember him with this superb Rock 'n' Roll album...

"Something Old, Something New" by THE OLYMPICS (2006 Ace/Kent 'Hip Pocket' 5" Card CD Repro and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Earth Breaking...Back Shaking...Do The Philly Dog..."

The fifth album by Californian Vocal Group THE OLYMPICS on Mirwood Records went largely unnoticed in the winter of 1966 despite being a killer mixture of Soul Dancers and Motownesque interpretations of their own Vocal Group/R&B Oldies. Their debut 45 "Western Movies" in August 1958 on Demon 1508 (a No. 8 Pop smash) and the June 1963 minor charting of "The Bounce" at No. 40 (Tri Disc 106) along with four whole albums (three on Arvee Records and one on Tri Disc Records) was long since past. But perhaps that 'Vocal Group' tag simply wouldn't shake off and explains why such a good Soul album saw so little chart action despite Mirwood releasing six singles across 1966 and 1967 to support the LP.

It has of course garnished the interest of collectors subsequently when they hear its superb string of club killers. The fabulous dancer "Baby, Do The Philly Dog" released October 1966 on Mirwood 5523 has subsequently become something of a Northern Soul monster - and Jon Savage included "Secret Agents" from the album on his October 2015 double-CD thesis "1966: The Year The Decade Exploded" – another cool talcum powder shaker. The three guys on the cover are WALTER WARD, EDDIE LEWIS and MACK STARR. Original band member Charles Fizer had been killed during a race riot in August 1965 aged only 25. "Something Old, Something New" does what it says on the tin – it’s a mixture of old hits like "Hully Gully" and "The Bounce" re-recorded for the 1966 marketplace. The whole damn thing is good too - and I'm not the only one to think so (apart from Ace). KGFJ Radio Disc Jockey JIM RANDOLPH wants the 'happening listener' to 'groove on' in his excitable liner notes on the rear cover – and frankly who are we to go dim on Jim. Here are the Western Movies baby...

UK and Europe released December 2006 - "Something Old, Something New" by THE OLYMPICS on Ace/Kent CDHP 018 (Barcode 029667025126) is a straightforward reissue of their 1966 LP onto CD. This Remaster is part of Ace Records 'Hip Pocket Series' of CD Reissues (see list below) and plays outs as follows (28:13 minutes)

1. Western Movies

2. Hully Gully

3. Big Boy Pete

4. Shimmy Like Kate

5. Dance By The Light Of The Moon

6. The Bounce

7. Mine Exclusively [Side 2]

8. Baby, Do The Philly Dog

9. The Duck

10. Secret Agents

11. We Go Together, Pretty Baby

12. I'll Do A Little Bit More

Tracks 1 to 12 are their fifth album "Something Old, Something New" - released December 1966 in the USA on Mirwood MW 7003 (Mono) and Mirwood MWS-7003 (Stereo) – the STEREO mix is used for the CD.

The 5" card sleeve repros the original and rare American Mirwood Records LP with some basic (boxed) reissue notes on the rear sleeve. There's also an inner sleeve (unusual for these 'Hip Pocket' reissues which shows the Stereo Label of Mirwood MWS 7003). It looks and feels nice. NICK ROBBINS – a long time Audio Engineer associated with Ace, Edsel and Esoteric - did the remastering. Ace always use the real tapes and the Audio here is fabulous – full of that Sixties atmosphere – the instruments and production kept so sweet. The CD label lists tracks and writer credits and it's mid-price - so available for less than six quid in most places.

The whole 'Hip Pocket' series is designed to ape those 4" multi-track mini records (played at 33 1/3) put out in the USA between 1967 and 1969 as a way for fans to get the music in a 'handy and portable' way (they issued about 60 titles). As you can see from the list below – most of these albums are either obscurities - or overlooked classics Ace feel you should pay attention to. Genres stretch from 50ts Jazz (Chuck Higgins) to Blues Piano and Vocals (Roosevelt Sykes and Hadda Brooks) to 70ts Metal (Motorhead) to Punk (Radio Stars) and 60ts Garage & Psych (Sonics and Zombies) and beyond...

They give it the gunshot beginning too on the remake of 1958's "Western Movies" - a cool mid-tempo beginning (not quite as good as the original some might say but close). We get almost New Orleans R&B with "(Baby Hully Gully)" - another well-recorded driving remake that feels very 'now'. Someone sings a deep 'yeah' throughout the catchy "Big Boy Pete" while "Shimmy Like Kate" feels like 'Voo it, Voo it' R&B shimmy-shaker. The upbeat and be-stringed "Dance By The Light Of The Moon" is a first slip-up - a cheesy version with a vocal you can barely make out. Better is the Ray Charles pumping piano of "The Bounce" - a great dancer that Mirwood put out as an A-side (Mirwood 5525) with "The Duck" on the flip-side. Amazing it didn't chart.

If you jump immediately to Side 2 and play "Mine Exclusively", "Baby, Do The Philly Dog" and "The Duck" in a row - you'd think you'd stumbled on a great Soulful Motown album - handclaps - driving drums - girly backing vocals complimenting that guttural lead vocal. "Secret Agents" name-checks some of the day's obsessions - spies, agents, the FBI and Walter Cronkite - and is another Motownesque driver (it was the B-side to "Mine Exclusively" on Mirwood 5513). You'd swear H-D-H was conducting Marvin Gaye for "Baby Don't You Do It" as you listen to the relentless dance groove of the fab "We Go Together (Pretty Baby)". Mirwood thought it such a winner that they used it for the first 45 from the LP (Mirwood 5504) with the superb "Secret Agents" on the flip - what a winner - but again no chart action. It ends on another dancefloor pacer - "I'll Do A Little Bit More" - a tune where the singer worries about a 'muscle bound man holding your hand in the back seat of a car' so he's going to have to up his game and do a little bit more...

A fabulous little Soul/Dancer album then and a very cool CD reissue.

"...Gotta have it! Got to have your love!" - The Olympics declare on "I'll Do A Little Bit More". Got to have it - I agree...

Titles in Ace Records Mid-Price 'Hip Pocket' CD Series are:

1. DONALD AUSTIN – Crazy Legs (Ace/Westbound CDHP 016, Dec 2006)

2. THE BISHOPS – Cross Cuts (Ace/Chiswick CDWIKM 256, June 2005)

3. HADDA BROOKS – Femme Fatale (Ace CDCHM 1129, Nov 2006)

4. THE CHAMPS – Go, Champs, Go! (Ace CDCHM 1126, Sep 2006)

5. THE DAMNED – Machine Gun Etiquette (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 027, July 2007)

6. THE ESCALATORS [ex Meteors] – Moving Staircases (Ace CDHP 017, Dec 2006)

7. THE EVERLY BROTHERS – The Everly Brothers (Ace CDCHM 1127, Sep 2006)

8. FUNKADELIC – Maggot Brain (Ace/Westbound CDHP 030, Aug 2007)

9. CHUCK HIGGINS – Pachucko Hop (Ace CDHP 024, April 2007)

10. B. B. KING – The Jungle (Ace/Kent CDHP 031, Nov 2007)

11. JOHNNY MOPED – Cycledelic (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 029, Oct 2007)

12. JACKIE LEE – The Duck (Ace/Kent CDHP 032, Dec 2010)

13. LONNIE MACK – The Wham Of That Memphis Man! (Ace CDCHM 1134, Nov 2006)

14. MOTORHEAD – Motorhead [1977 Debut LP] (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 021, Oct 2007)

15. THE OLYMPICS – Something Old, Something New (Ace/Kent CDHP 018, Dec 2006)

16. THE RADIO STARS – Songs For Swinging Lovers (Ace/Chiswick CDWIKM 5, June 2006)

17. THE SONICS – Here Are The Sonics! (Ace/Big Beat CDHP 022, Feb 2007)

18. THE SONICS – The Sonics Boom (Ace/Big Beat CDHP 023, April 2007)

19. ROOSEVELT SYKES [aka 'The Honeydripper'] – Sings The Blues (Ace CDCHM 1132, Nov 2006)

20. VARIOUS – For Dancers Only [Kent's 1st Reissue LP compilation] (Ace/Kent CDHP 019, Feb 2007)

21. VARIOUS – For Dancers Also [Kent's 2nd Reissue LP compilation] (Ace/Kent CDHP 020, April 2007)

22. VARIOUS – Hollywood Rock 'n' Roll [80ts Rockabilly compilation] (Ace CDHP 026, July 2007)

23. VARIOUS – Fool's Gold [70ts Punk compilation] (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 028, August 2007)

24. LINK WRAY – Early Recordings (Ace/Chiswick CDCHM 6, June 2006

25. THE ZOMBIES – Odyssey And Oracle (Ace/Big Beat CDHP 025, June 2007)

"Go, Champs, Go!" By THE CHAMPS (2006 Ace 'Hip Pocket' 5" Card CD Repro & Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...New Sounds In Music Have No Limit!" 

Forever labelled as a 'one hit wonder' – Los Angeles Tex Mex instrumental group The Champs scored huge with the utterly infectious "Tequila" – a monster No. 1 hit on both the Pop and R&B charts in March 1958 (Challenge Records 1016). Their follow up was an unlikely cover of a 1939 Bing Crosby hit called "El Roncho Rock" (Track 2 on Side 1) - but it stalled at No. 30 in June 1958. And apart from a few other minor chart-flourishes ("Too Much Tequila" in February 1960 and "Limbo Rock" in July 1962 which made 30 and 40 respectively) – they faded into musical history.

And that's where this wickedly good repro reissue steps in – those hip chaps over at Ace Records of the UK clearly feeling that The Champs' debut album from June 1958 warrants your attention again. And I'd agree - because almost 60 years after the event – it's still bops like a goodun and feels amazingly fresh. Here are the motorvatin' details...

UK and Europe released September 2006 - "Go, Champs, Go!" by THE CHAMPS on Ace Records CDCHM 1126 (Barcode 029667021722) is a straightforward reissue of their 1958 debut LP onto CD. This Remaster is part of Ace's 'Hip Pocket Series' of CD Reissues (see list below) and plays outs as follows (27:23 minutes)

1. Go Champ Go

2. El Rancho Rock

3. I’ll Be There

4. Sky High

5. What's Up, Buttercup?

6. Lollipop

7. Tequila [Side 2]

8. Train To Nowhere

9. Midnighter

10. Robot Walk

11. Just Walking In The Rain

12. Night Beat

Tracks 1 to 12 are their debut album "Go, Champs, Go!" - released June 1958 in the USA on Challenge CHL 601 and March 1959 in the UK on London HA-H 2152 (Mono only). It didn't chart in either country.

The 5" card sleeve repros the original and rare American Challenge Records LP with some basic (boxed) reissue notes on the rear sleeve (the album is a listed rarity at $250.00 – with the famous 'Blue' vinyl variant clocking in a whopping $2,500). And dig that artwork – what a joy – I want one of those red velvet suits. Although it doesn’t say who did the mastering (probably Nick Robbins or Duncan Cowell) – Ace always use real tapes and the Audio here is fabulous – full of that Fifties atmosphere – the instruments and production kept so sweet. The CD label lists tracks and writer credits - the rear sleeve has the original Irwin Zucker liner notes (which typical of the time tell you nothing about the music or the group members) but there is no inner-sleeve or any assessment of the album (which is a shame). It's mid-price too - so available for less than six quid in most places.

The whole 'Hip Pocket' series is designed to ape those 4" multi-track mini records (played at 33 1/3) put out in the USA between 1967 and 1969 as a way for fans to get the music in a 'handy and portable' way (they issued about 60 titles). As you can see from the list below – most of these albums are either obscurities - or overlooked classics Ace feel you should pay attention to. Genres stretch from 50ts Jazz (Chuck Higgins) to Blues Piano and Vocals (Roosevelt Sykes and Hadda Brooks) to 70ts Metal (Motorhead) to Punk (Radio Stars) and 60ts Garage & Psych (Sonics and Zombies) and beyond...

The band was CHUCK RIO on Saxophone, BUDDY BRUCE and DAVE BURGESS on Lead and Rhythm Guitar, CLIFF HILL on Bass and GENE ALDEN on Drums. It's pretty obvious to me that the fantastic bopper "Go Champ Go" should have been 45 number two because it's just a brill piece of dancing Rock 'n' Roll - all Saxophone fills, piano rolls and the boys occasionally chanting "Go, Champ, Go!" with a sense of teenage excitement. It's easy to hear why the rather tame "El Rancho Rock" didn't have the same impact as its predecessor "Tequila" - it's really good but not 'huge' like the cha-cha drinks song was (Rio's saxophone is so clear). We get a ballad next from the pen of Rhythm Guitar player Dave Burgess - the almost easy listening "I'll Be There" - but far better is the chipper Mexican-rhythms of "Sky High" where the boys even try to sound like Mariachis as they chant the chorus "...aye...aye...sky high!" Dave Burgess penned the cool "What's Up, Buttercup" - a kind of Coasters shuffle where the rhythm stops while someone gives it his best girly voice as he shouts "What's Up! Buttercup!" Side 1 ends on a fairly faithful Saxophone cover of The Chordettes hit "Lollipop" - a No. 2 hit in March 1958 - tearing up the US Pop charts as they were recording it.

Side 2 opens with the album's defining moment - the fabulous "Tequila" written by Saxophone maestro Chuck Rio. What a winner and guaranteed floor filler - the whole band sounding so tight and hip with the Latin beat. Duane Eddy and Link Wray devotees will go straight for the cool guitar-lead Rock 'n' Roll of "Train To Nowhere" - a Dave Burgess creation that threatens to start a fight at any moment or at least razor the local cinema seats (fab stuff and worth the price of admission alone). Continuing on that bopper tip - Burgess stumps up two LP faves - a fantastic instrumental rocker called "Midnighter" that is all churning guitars, driving rhythms on piano and drums and that ever-present funky Sax as well the jerky "Robot Walk". Unfortunately their too faithful cover of Johnnie Ray's 1956 weepy ballad "Just Walking In The Rain" is hardly the stuff of instrumental Rockabilly bliss - but it ends well on "Night Beat" - another cool composition from Kay Thompson who provided the wonderful "Go Champ Go" that opened proceedings.

A fabulous little album then and a very cool CD reissue (the only one to my knowledge). Don your shades, hop on your motorcycle and ride baby ride...

Titles in Ace Records Mid-Price 'Hip Pocket' CD Series are:

1. DONALD AUSTIN – Crazy Legs (Ace/Westbound CDHP 016, Dec 2006)

2. THE BISHOPS – Cross Cuts (Ace/Chiswick CDWIKM 256, June 2005)

3. HADDA BROOKS – Femme Fatale (Ace CDCHM 1129, Nov 2006)

4. THE CHAMPS – Go, Champs, Go! (Ace CDCHM 1126, Sep 2006)

5. THE DAMNED – Machine Gun Etiquette (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 027, July 2007)

6. THE ESCALATORS [ex Meteors] – Moving Staircases (Ace CDHP 017, Dec 2006)

7. THE EVERLY BROTHERS – The Everly Brothers (Ace CDCHM 1127, Sep 2006)

8. FUNKADELIC – Maggot Brain (Ace/Westbound CDHP 030, Aug 2007)

9. CHUCK HIGGINS – Pachucko Hop (Ace CDHP 024, April 2007)

10. B. B. KING – The Jungle (Ace/Kent CDHP 031, Nov 2007)

11. JOHNNY MOPED – Cycledelic (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 029, Oct 2007)

12. JACKIE LEE – The Duck (Ace/Kent CDHP 032, Dec 2010)

13. LONNIE MACK – The Wham Of That Memphis Man! (Ace CDCHM 1134, Nov 2006)

14. MOTORHEAD – Motorhead [1977 Debut LP] (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 021, Oct 2007)

15. THE OLYMPICS – Something Old, Something New (Ace/Kent CDHP 018, Dec 2006)

16. THE RADIO STARS – Songs For Swinging Lovers (Ace/Chiswick CDWIKM 5, June 2006)

17. THE SONICS – Here Are The Sonics! (Ace/Big Beat CDHP 022, Feb 2007)

18. THE SONICS – The Sonics Boom (Ace/Big Beat CDHP 023, April 2007)

19. ROOSEVELT SYKES [aka 'The Honeydripper'] – Sings The Blues (Ace CDCHM 1132, Nov 2006)

20. VARIOUS – For Dancers Only [Kent's 1st Reissue LP compilation] (Ace/Kent CDHP 019, Feb 2007)

21. VARIOUS – For Dancers Also [Kent's 2nd Reissue LP compilation] (Ace/Kent CDHP 020, April 2007)

22. VARIOUS – Hollywood Rock 'n' Roll [80ts Rockabilly compilation] (Ace CDHP 026, July 2007)

23. VARIOUS – Fool's Gold [70ts Punk compilation] (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 028, August 2007)

24. LINK WRAY – Early Recordings (Ace/Chiswick CDCHM 6, June 2006

25. THE ZOMBIES – Odyssey And Oracle (Ace/Big Beat CDHP 025, June 2007)

"The Everly Brothers" by THE EVERLY BROTHERS (2006 Ace Records 'Hip Pocket' 5" Card CD Repro and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...They’re Off And Rolling..."

God Bless their little Steele Road cotton socks - but Ace Records of the UK probably thought the 'Hip Pocket' Series of card facsimiles/CD reissues was a good idea. But in truth - some of them have ended up looking every so slightly naff and inconsequential when that was clearly never the intention (this issue is a case in point). Not that the January 1958 Cadence Records Mono LP debut of The Everly Brothers is a dismissible platter - nothing could be further from the truth. In fact re-listening to its sub 28-minutes in 2016 (with just shy of 60 years distance) and its genuine brilliance and classiness is all the more remarkable. The Ev's first album is one of Rock's great debuts and a starter point for both harmony Rock 'n' Roll and (what we now call) Country Rock. Shame the card sleeve of it just ends up looking ordinary when you would have wanted more for this most brilliant of beginnings. That said let's get to the factoids and music...

UK and Europe released September 2006 - "The Everly Brothers" by THE EVERLY BROTHERS on Ace Records CDCHM 1127 (Barcode 029667021425) is part of Ace Records 'Hip Pocket Series' of CD Reissues (see list below) and plays outs as follows (27:03 minutes)

1. This Little Girl Of Mine
2. Maybe Tomorrow
3. Bye-Bye Love
4. Brand New Heartache
5. Keep A Knockin'
6. Be Bop A-Lula
7. Rip It Up [Side 2]
8. I Wonder If I Care
9. Wake Up Little Susie
10. Leave My Woman Alone
11. Should We Tell Him
12. Hey Doll Baby
Tracks 1 to 12 are their debut album "The Everly Brothers" (aka "They're Off And Rolling...") - released January 1958 in the USA on Cadence CLP-3003 and March 1958 in the UK on London HA-A 2081 (Mono only). It peaked at No. 16 in the US LP charts.

The 5" card sleeve repros the original American Cadence Records LP with some basic (boxed) reissue notes on the rear sleeve. Although it doesn’t say who did the mastering (probably Nick Robbins or Duncan Cowell) – Ace always use real tapes and the Audio here is fabulous – full of that Fifties atmosphere – the instruments and production kept so sweet. The CD label mimics the maroon colour of the rare original American LP – but there is no inner-sleeve or any assessment of the album - and it makes the reissue feel unnecessarily bare. It's also mid-price so available for less than six quid in most places. 

The whole 'Hip Pocket' series is designed to ape those 4" multi-track mini records (played at 33 1/3) put out in the USA between 1967 and 1969 as a way for fans to get the music in a 'handy and portable' way (they issued about 60 titles). As you can see from the list below – most of these albums are either obscurities - or overlooked classics Ace feel you should pay attention to. Genres stretch from 50ts Jazz (Chuck Higgins) to Blues Piano and Vocals (Roosevelt Sykes and Hadda Brooks) to 70ts Metal (Motorhead) to Punk (Radio Stars) and 60ts Garage & Psych (Sonics and Zombies) and beyond...

"The Everly Brothers" (sometimes called "They're Off And Rolling..." because of the liner notes on the front cover) is essentially a compilation of their first three US 7" singles (both sides) – two of which sold millions of copies - with six other tracks added on. The self-titled debut LP for Kentucky's DON and PHIL EVERLY may be short on playing time but is chock-full of hits and quality songs. "Bye Bye Love" b/w "I Wonder If I Care As Much" made No. 2 in the USA and No. 6 in the UK on Cadence 1315 and London HLA 8440 respectively - while the irresistible "Wake Up Little Susie" b/w "Maybe Tomorrow" went one better and hit No. 1 in the USA on Cadence 1337 (No. 2 UK on London HLA 8498). The third 78"/45 "This Little Girl Of Mine" b/w "Should We Tell Him" stalled at No. 26 in the USA (Cadence 1342) but didn't chart in the UK (London HLA 8554).

Of the other tracks "Rip It Up" and "Keep A Knockin'" are of course Little Richard covers while the UK's primo wildman Gene Vincent gets a look in with their Side 1 ender of the Screaming End's signature tune "Be Bop A-Lula". The two Ray Charles cuts "This Little Girl Of Mine" and "Should We Tell Him" suited their stunning Brotherly Harmonies so well as did the Titus Turner cover of "Hey Doll Baby" that ends Side 2. But impressively the album is dominated by the songwriting talents of Boudleaux and Felice Bryant – a husband-and-wife songwriting duo from Georgia who would become synonymous with both The Everly Brothers and that other great era crooner - Roy Orbison. They penned "Bye Bye Love", "Brand New Heartache" (beautiful Audio on this track) and "Wake Up Little Susie". Not to be outdone the boys penned "I Wonder If I Care As Much" and "Should We Tell Him" in very much the same vein - boppy catchy hits.

If you want to go the whole hog I'd recommend the truly gorgeous "Classic Everly Brothers" - a 3CD Box Set by Bear Family from 1992 and their stunning "Studio Outtakes" single-disc mini box set from February 2006 that offers fans 34 previously unreleased outakes complete with studio patter and Audio that defies its age.

Simon & Garfunkel covered "Bye Bye Love" on their "Bridge Over Troubled Water" 1970 LP masterpiece - singing "...I'm through with romance...I'm through with love..." Sixty years on and we're still not through with this fantastic start and the incomparable Everly Brothers...

Titles in Ace Records Mid-Price 'Hip Pocket' CD Series are:

1. DONALD AUSTIN – Crazy Legs (Ace/Westbound CDHP 016, Dec 2006)

2. THE BISHOPS – Cross Cuts (Ace/Chiswick CDWIKM 256, June 2005)

3. HADDA BROOKS – Femme Fatale (Ace CDCHM 1129, Nov 2006)

4. THE CHAMPS – Go, Champs, Go! (Ace CDCHM 1126, Sep 2006)

5. THE DAMNED – Machine Gun Etiquette (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 027, July 2007)

6. THE ESCALATORS [ex Meteors] – Moving Staircases (Ace CDHP 017, Dec 2006)

7. THE EVERLY BROTHERS – The Everly Brothers (Ace CDCHM 1127, Sep 2006)

8. FUNKADELIC – Maggot Brain (Ace/Westbound CDHP 030, Aug 2007)

9. CHUCK HIGGINS – Pachucko Hop (Ace CDHP 024, April 2007)

10. B. B. KING – The Jungle (Ace/Kent CDHP 031, Nov 2007)

11. JOHNNY MOPED – Cycledelic (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 029, Oct 2007)

12. JACKIE LEE – The Duck (Ace/Kent CDHP 032, Dec 2010)

13. LONNIE MACK – The Wham Of That Memphis Man! (Ace CDCHM 1134, Nov 2006)

14. MOTORHEAD – Motorhead [1977 Debut LP] (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 021, Oct 2007)

15. THE OLYMPICS – Something Old, Something New (Ace/Kent CDHP 018, Dec 2006)

16. THE RADIO STARS – Songs For Swinging Lovers (Ace/Chiswick CDWIKM 5, June 2006)

17. THE SONICS – Here Are The Sonics! (Ace/Big Beat CDHP 022, Feb 2007)

18. THE SONICS – The Sonics Boom (Ace/Big Beat CDHP 023, April 2007)

19. ROOSEVELT SYKES [aka 'The Honeydripper'] – Sings The Blues (Ace CDCHM 1132, Nov 2006)

20. VARIOUS – For Dancers Only [Kent's 1st Reissue LP compilation] (Ace/Kent CDHP 019, Feb 2007)

21. VARIOUS – For Dancers Also [Kent's 2nd Reissue LP compilation] (Ace/Kent CDHP 020, April 2007)

22. VARIOUS – Hollywood Rock 'n' Roll [80ts Rockabilly compilation] (Ace CDHP 026, July 2007)

23. VARIOUS – Fool's Gold [70ts Punk compilation] (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 028, August 2007)

24. LINK WRAY – Early Recordings (Ace/Chiswick CDCHM 6, June 2006

25. THE ZOMBIES – Odyssey And Oracle (Ace/Big Beat CDHP 025, June 2007)

"Party Time" by JULIA LEE (1995 Bear Family 5CD Box Set ("Kansas City Star") and 2016 10" Vinyl LP Repress Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...He Has Four-Foot Shoulders And That Ain't All..."

Back in the salty mists of time I reviewed Bear Family's fabulous 5CD Box Set "Kansas City Star" by JULIA LEE and HER BOYFRIENDS (Bear Family BCD 15770 EI) and provided a detailed Discography to quantify every track. Amidst the saucy R&B rhythms was her debut US LP in 1950 - "Party Time" on Capitol H-228 - an ultra-rare 8-track 10" Mono mini album. Capitol reissued it in 1955 in a 12" LP with 12 tracks (see list below). As part of their 'Vinyl Club Exclusives' - Bear Family of Germany have decided in their wisdom to give the original 8-track LP "Party Time" by JULIA LEE - A 2016 Vinyl 10" LP repress on Bear Family Records BAF 11002 with two bonus tracks added that weren't on the original nor the 12" reissue. They've pressed 1000 copies - the first 500 of which are on coloured vinyl (an instant collectable). As it says on the rear - 'these cats dig music'. The 2016 LP configuration plays out as follows.

Side 1:

1. King Size Papa

2. Snatch And Grab It [aka "(Opportunity Knocks But Once) Snatch And Grab It"]

3. You Ain't Got It No More

4. Tell Me, Daddy

BONUS TRACK:

5. Oh, Chuck It (In A Bucket)

Side 2:

1. Tonight's The Night

2. I Didn't Like It The First Time (The Spinach Song)

3. Ain't It A Crime

4. Don't Save It Too Long

BONUS TRACK:

5. Lotus Blossom

All of the tracks are old R&B shuffling 78"s ranging from October 1947 for "Snatch And Grab It" (Capitol Americana 40028) up to "Ain't It A Crime" from 1950 (Capitol 938). The music is almost all saucy tunes about her 'daddy' and her 'big man'. The double-entendres are brilliant - take "I Didn't Like It The First Time (The Spinach Song)" where she sings "...I used to run away from the stuff...but now I can't get enough..." or the seriously fruity "...somehow it's always hittin' the spot...especially when they're bringing it in hot..." In "King Size Papa" she warns the neighbours that "...I take the door off the hinges when he comes to call..." or missing her man in "Tonight's The Night" where she advises "...one time we set a record...and it was quite a feat...but I just have a feeling that record can be beat...yes tonight's the night..."

Other times she cools on her big beau where in "Ain't It A Crime" she whines, "...out of millions of men...it's me that got stuck with you..." Worse is to come in the soggy-chip song "You Ain't Got It No More" where Miss Lee breaks the sad news "...you say baby let's bop and let's beep...I get ready for action...but it's sound asleep...” And later on in that tune of bedroom woe Julia informs us that his 'rear end's shot' (ouch). Half the fun of course is listening to the whole combo – her voice, the sly and witty words, the genius arrangements and a super-tight house-band – all shuffling drums, piano rolls and Saxophone solos – what fun.

If you get a chance - sequence the stunning 12-Track version of the 1955 "Party Time" LP on Capitol T-228 (Mono) by JULIA LEE. You can do this by using the Bear Family "Kansas City Star" 5CD Box Set. Here's how it plays out (16/3 = Track 16 on Disc 3 and so on):

Side 1:

1. King Size Papa [16/3]

2. Snatch And Grab It [14/2]

3. You Ain't Got It No More [15/4]

4. Tell Me, Daddy [22/3]

5. Last Call (For Alcohol) [16/5]

6. I Was Wrong [11/3]

Side 2:

1. Tonight's The Night [7/4]

2. I Didn't Like It The First Time (The Spinach Song) [20/3]

3. Ain’t It A Crime [3/3]

4. Don't Save It Too Long [13/4]

5. After Hours Waltz [14/4]

6. My Man Stands Out [8/4]

Of the four new tracks - "Last Call (For Alcohol)" is a 1952 USA 78" on Capitol 2203 and is typical barroom boozy tune while "My Man Stands Out" gives lyrics like "...when my man's at the wheel...that's the deal..." (what a lucky gal).

Julia Lee's naughty R&B is forgotten now and the sexily great "Party Time" LP in all its forms is the same. Typical of the mighty Bear Family to remind us of the errors of our musical ways with this brilliant Limited Edition reissue - love it to bits...