Customer Reviews

Best of 1961-1965

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The wait is over. This collection brings us the official release of the original Parkway recordings of the five man Philadelphia group led by lead singer Len Barry. The set consists of 21 tracks total, including all eight of the Dovells' Hot 100 hits. Every track is in mono except "1-2-3" which is in stereo. You get their five top 40 hits and six b-sides, plus album cuts and Len's solo single releases for the label (that failed to chart). It's interesting to hear the group's remakes of three hits of the day: "Mope-itty Mope" (by the Boss-Tones from '59), "Foot Stompin'" (by the Flares from '61), and "Baby Workout" (from '63 by the great Jackie Wilson). As an added bonus, the set closes with Len's top five solo hit from '65 (when he was on the Decca label). The digital sound is terrific. A four page essay (written by Jeff Tamarkin, who also authored the essay for the Cameo Parkway box set released in May 2005) plus five pages of credits and chart info detail their short career (by the time Len went solo the group was down to a quartet in just three years). Most fans and collectors will be satisfied (you can't beat the price). Highly recommended.

This CD is a good overview of The Dovells hit years and a bit beyond. I (and many others) have been waiting several years (20 or so) for The Dovells recordings to be issued on CD, so I am very pleased to have this CD in my possession. It contains their charted hits, a few B-sides, a few LP cuts, three Cameo releases under Len Barry's name and his big solo hit on Decca, "1-2-3". Liner notes detailing The Dovells' story and their encounter with the 42nd President is also included. If you've been waiting to capture "Bristol Stomp", "Bristol Twistin' Annie", "You Can't Sit Down", "Do The New Continental" and "1-2-3" all on one single CD at a bargain price, then wait no more and order this one. Be sure to check out the Cameo-Parkway Story box set too.

This is part of Abkco Records' Cameo/Parkway series.
Along with Chubby Checker, The Orlons, Bobby Rydell, Dee Dee Sharp, The Tymes and ? (Question Mark) & The Mysterians.......The Dovells were part of the missing Philly recordings in the CD era.

But now they are all here in clear, clean, crisp digital sound!

The Dovells were: Len Barry (lead singer) Jerry Gross (first tenor) and Mike Freda, Arnie Satin & Danny Brooks. By 1962 they were reduced to a quartet.

The Dovells' first chart record narrowly missed the #1 spot on Billboard. It rested at #2 in 1961. That record was "Bristol Stomp".

This package contains all their hits including: "Do The New Continental", "Hully Gully Baby", "You Can't Sit Down"....and surprisingly "1-2-3" the solo hit by Dovells' lead singer Len Barry that reached #2 in 1965 after the Dovells chart run was over.

The mood is upbeat for the most part here. The "do-the-dance" songs are many.

Listening to the better Dovells' hits like "You Can't Sit Down" and "Do The New Continental" it is clear that given their unique blue-eyed soul approach, they could have easily been as successful as The Four Seasons. Unfortunately, unlike the Four Seasons, The Dovells were supplied with a lot of substandard material: "Bristol Twistin' Annie", "Dance The Froog" et al.

They were at their best wailing on R&B tinged numbers....not trite dance songs. Their version of "Baby Workout", included here, is the equal of Jackie Wilson's original!
Len Barry's feel for R&B is evident throughout this material. His voice backed by the other Dovells had a definite polished soulfulness.
This CD is highly recommended to any fan of good time '60s pop music.

I GREW UP WITH THE MUSIC.I AM VERY HAPPY TO SEE THE DOVELLS,WITH LEN BARRY,FINALLY RELEASED THE SOUND OF THIS ALBUM IS TERIFFIC,AND AT THE ALBUMS ASKING PRICE,A REAL STEAL.YOU CANNOT GO WRONG WITH THIS ALBUM.

The music quality is better that now than in the 60's. The Parkway set of oldies are the best for their grougps such as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, Orlons, Dee Dee Sharp and the Tymes.

Great dance music from the sixties. All their hits and some very rare ones at that. Their second hit record "No, No, No"
was not a big hit but when you hear it you will ask yourself why wasn't it. For twisting and stomping fans only.

After twenty years of pop music being reissued on CD, the owners at ABKCO Music FINALLY have gotten with the program with the recordings of the artists of the Cameo-Parkway family of labels. In the early 60's, the output of this independent label in Philadelphia was a major force in the pop music of the day and included, among others, the likes of Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp, Bobby Rydell and the Tymes. Up to this point, the only available source for these C-P recordings on CD were imports of dubious legitimacy and varying quality, some decent some not so. Unfortunately, due to the unavailability of the original recordings, much of what is available are re-recordings and oftentimes these "details" are not made evident on the product leading to a lot of disappointed buyers. Here, finally, are the ORIGINAL recordings in quality reproduction.

This CD gathers up 20 original Dovells Parkway-label recordings including all of their top-100 charting singles including a few solo tracks by group leader Len Barry (ne Leonard Borisoff) as well as his biggest single success after he left the label, that being "1-2-3" on Decca. Although the Dovells were not as repeatedly successful as Chubby Checker or Bobby Rydell, they did achieve major success with two songs, both of which have become signature tunes for them, namely "Bristol Stomp" and "You Can't Sit Down". They scored several other lesser hits mostly all with their trademark frenetically-paced dance theme. Their popularity was relatively short-lived however and by the end of 1963, their appearance on the charts was no longer. Internal conflicts between the group members and the departure of lead singer Barry fatally wounded the group. The move of Dick Clark's American Bandstand - a vehicle for many of the C-P artists - to Los Angeles and the change in music brought about by the British Invasion further precluded any chance of the group's survival.

Beside the nine charting singles, the remaining tracks are comprised of non-charting singles, b-sides and album cuts. As the output of the Cameo-Parkway artists was aimed primarily at the teen market, the technology of stereo intended for lp's was not a priority at C-P and consequently, all the tracks here appear in mono except for the Decca-label "1-2-3" track. Either the stereo mixes were noticeably different from the mono ones - or were never made - and making new stereo mixes from the original multi-tracks was also not an option here, so much of what is coming out on these C-P reissues is lacking the improvement in sound afforded by the stereo soundstage. This is one factor in the less than five-star rating given here. On the positive side is the 12-page liner notes booklet that offers a history of the group as well as some statistics for each of the included tracks.

Shortcomings aside - the lack of stereo, mostly - this new Dovells collection finally fills a long-standing gap in the availability of significant music from the golden era of American rock and roll. It is a competent compilation that easily replaces the previously available imports of questionable legitimacy and inferior quality. Along with other titles in the series of ABKCO's Cameo-Parkway reissues, it deserves shelf space in the CD collection of the fans of the genre.

Bristol Stomp and Can't Sit Down. Well, in terms of the way things are done today? Not bad. Money well-spent.