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This 1996 collection of 25 of the Shangri-Las' hits, B-sides, and album tracks was originally released on the Mercury Chronicles label [Mercury 314-528 171-2], but for some unknown reason, all that's available now is this similarly-priced import. Note that this CD is 100% mono. Collectors might prefer the Varese compiliaton "The Girl Group Sound: 25 All-Time Greatest Hits from Red Bird Records," which has more stereo (and somewhat better sound quality), as well as the UK compilation "The Red Bird Story" from Charly Records.

I have to go along with the reviewer who gve this 5 stars and akso assign the top rating allowable. OK, so it doesn't include stereo versions, but this is the way most of us remember the original Red Bird 45s, and as an added bonus, without the hiss and pop. It also provides all eleven hit singles they had between 1964's Remember (Walkin' In The Sand), # 5 Billboard Pop Hot 100 that summer, and mid-1966's Past, Present And Future, # 59 Hot 100, along with six B-sides.

The liner notes contain a complete discography of the contents along with four pages of background information written in 1996 by Don Charles, and some wonderful photographs of the group, including one showing Liz Weiss, the sister of lead singer Mary Weiss, who did not always appear with the group, either on record or in person.

These two students at Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, New York were joined by twins Mary Ann and Marge Ganser, and were singing semi-professionally when discovered by disc-jockey Babalu [Bob Lewis] who brought them to the attention of producer George "Shadow" Morton. And, for two glorious years, they combined to put out records which can only be described as theatrical in their intensity, easily rivaling Phil Spector's Wall of Sound.

When the Red Bird label folded its tent in 1966, the group also disbanded. Sadly, the Ganser twins are no longer with us, Mary Ann having died of encephalitis in 1971 and Marge from breast cancer in 1996 at age 48.

A marvelously complete collection by one of the so-called "Girl Groups" which you will enjoy from beginning to end.

I'm a hard core rock, funk, jazz and folk guy and yet I love "girl group" music. That "in between Elvis and the Beatles" sound is fantastic. Anybody who is anybody that is/was cool in music also digs the genre. Beatles, Stones, Springsteen,,Aerosmith, Twisted Sister, Billy Joel, N.Y. Dolls, Ramones (heck, all the punk groups loved this stuff).

In 1979 I was searching the record bin at "Wax Trax" records in Chicago looking for cool stuff. All of a sudden Poison Ivy and Lux Interior from The Cramps walk in and ask where The Shangri-las records were. Is there anything cooler than a cutting edge, raw band demanding to buy this girl group stuff? I was in shock and as a 16 year old kid had to examine what was fueling these punk stars.

This is great stuff. Dramatic mini-operas sang in a faux, tough girl, New Yaaaaawk accent. THere are a lot of songs on this compilation with not all of them being hits yet the hits are here and boy do they sound sweet. "Walking in the Sand" is so great! How dare Aeromith cover this! "Leader of the Pack" sounds so great re-mastered and played in high fidelity. "Give him a great big kiss" is wonderful."Past, Present and Future" is so corny, so cinematic, so pretentious yet so GREAT! My favorite is "Heaven only knows" which is a perfect pop song (it was re-made when Shangra La's member Mary Weiss made a recent solo record but in a rock vein...this version is better).

I feel that the Shangra Las and Ronnettes best examplify this genre, because they produced substantial material and complimented their music with a great "bad girl: look and it is timeless and deserving to be placed into the "rock and roll" category.

I discoverd the real Shangri-Las, the Shangri-Las beyond the main hit singles while watching the brilliant Stonewall movie, in which the main drag queen will evolve into pseudo music videos of the Shangri-Las songs, and I haven't turned back since. The Supremes may have had their stake on the pop side of brilliant 60s music, but there has never been another group of girls like Shangri-Las - sure we have Ronnie & The Ronettes, but even in all their glory, they didn't take the prospect of teenage love and turn into the most melodramatic horrendous tragedies like the Shangri-Las did.

Everyone knows the two huge hits "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" and "Leader Of The Pack" - two groundwork setting singles depicting love's endings in all their heartbroken ways including death. But the latter and its motorcycle seem to have fallen into the world of camp all these years later and that's too bad because when you hear it next to the other 24 songs on this set you realize how gripping the drama of the Shangri-Las really is.

Every song is a labor of heartbreak and death be it of love or actual people; in fact it may be fun to go through the tracks and tally up how many people actually die in these little pop gems. But of course the Las aren't all about death; there's a bit of fun to be had by all "Give Him A Great Big Kiss" is an awesome 60s single, "The Train From Kansas City", "The Dum Dum Ditty" and the uber appeal of "Sophisticated Boom Boom" are all examples of the pop hooks but it really is the other songs, the songs with the edge, that get me every time - probably my all time favorite ballad of all time "Never Again" - ("You'd better stop playing games/ I've told you once before; it'll hurt you more this time/ if you walk out that door/ you better think it over baby/ remember what I told you baby cause Never again will I love you this way)

I've been trying to get the balls to do a cover of this for years - the song has to be one of the first feminist ballads in the pop music field. The death of the poor leads in "Give Us Your Blessings" who were crying so hard when their parents rejected the blessing for their marriage, they crashed through the sign that said "Detour!", the rape and subsequent hell of the lead in the spoken "Past, Present & Future", the poor runaway in "I Can Never Go Home Anymore".

I'm an old timer (65 years old!) and the early to mid 60's were the best days of my life! The Shangri-La's were part of those best of years! Sure, there were The Marvelettes, The Ronettes, The Supremes, The Shirelles and the rest of the girl groups of the 60's. But the Shangri-La's had a unique "street sound" that set them apart from the other girl groups of that era. I was "in love" with the Shangri-La's as I played their 45RPM singles on my RCA record player! The album tracks are all mono as they should be, as there were few stereo singles during this time period. There were very few record players that played 45RPM stereo singles without those plastic snap-in 45RPM disc hole adapters (Remember them?), or some sort of 33RPM spindle adapter which rarely worked(!), they were designed to play 33RPM stereo LP's. Hearing these original mono tracks takes me back 50 years to one of the best times in my life and in America before Viet-Nam, which ended my life of innocence. You really need to buy this album and be transported back to a better slice of America!

This collection offers clean monophonic copies of many of the Shangri-Las classics. If you're looking for the sound you enjoyed on AM radio, you'll find it here, in CD quality. For me, the special part of this album is the last four cuts, the increasingly hard to find Mercury recordings that are typically left off of the Red Bird collections. The group demonstrates their musical and vocal maturity in the Mercury sessions, yet they were hardly given a notice by the record buyers and radio programmers. If you're a casual fan, you'll like this collection, and for the devoted fan, you'll love it.

i heard this at barnes and noble, and i was surprised by how good the music and production was. the one that stood out for me was I CAN NEVER GO BACK HOME because i can sort of relate to that song due to my past experiences. i also loved that it was different from what other girl groups were doing in the 60s. i loved the haunting vibes, man. it will just hold you captive. this is one, in my opinion, that should be listened to with headphones. there is something "3D" about this music.

They were the first and they were the best! ...The BAD girls of the girl groups. Mellowdrama. These ladies were attracted to the Rebel of the pack.
As all young ladies were in that time (60's). The relationship as a pair were always on the run. Running from a society that didn't understand them. They ran away from home to marry but He met the grim reaper in a cycle accident on the way to the Justice of the Peace. Great stuff that kept the girls hearts racing and (us guys secretly liked it too.
Good stuff to interject into the old Ipod every here and there.