Customer Reviews

The Complete Indigo Recordings

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

 

 

The folks at Ace of London, usually so flawless in their releases which ranks them at the top of any list of oldies distributors, were not up to snuff on this one covering The Innocents. Because conspicuously absent - which has come to be expected of all Ace products - is a discography of the contents showing the year of release, label details and, where applicable, their rankings in the Billboard Pop Hot 100 or Bubble Under charts.

The Innocents may be better known to some as the group that sang with Kathy Young on all three of her hit singles for Indigo in 1960/61, but the factis, they did score on the charts first, in late summer 1960, when Honest I Do reached # 28 Billboard Pop Hot 100 b/w My Baby Hully Gullys on Indigo 105. Then, in late October, a cover of a 1954 recording by the R&B group, The Rivileers (a strong local hit that did not chart nationally) called A Thousand Stars was released on Indigo 108 billed to Kathy Young with The Innocents b/w Eddie My Darling, and it rose to # 3 Hot 100/# 6 R&B in December. At almost the same time, on Indigo 111, Gee Whiz, billed to The Innocents, hit # 15 R&B/# 28 Hot 100 b/w Please Mr. Sun.

And that would be it insofar as solo hits were concerned for lead James West, bass Al Candelaria, and tenor/guitarist Darron Stankey. although there would be other releases, including a few more with Kathy. Early in 1961, for exxample, Kathy Young with The Innocents took Happy Birthday Blues to # 30 Hot 100 b/w Someone To Love on Indigo 115, and in September, Magic Is The Night to # 80 Hot 100 b/w Du Du'nt Du on Indigo 125.

On their own they tried and failed with 1961 cuts Kathy b/w In The Beginning (Indigo 116), Beware b/w Because I Love You So (Indigo 124), Donna b/w You Got Me Goin' (Indigo 128) and Pains In My Heart b/w When I Become A Man (Indigo 132). All are here in this otherwise excellent album, along with a tune they did in 1959 for two young trumpet players named Lou Adler and Herb Alpert for Keen's Andex subsidiary called Dee Dee Di Oh when they were known as The Echoes. It came out on Andex 2102 b/w Time, which infortunately is not included here. In 1962, Indigo would re-release both sides on Indigo 141 as by The Innocents, again without chart success. But it's a great little Doo Wop-style song.

The two pages of liner notes by Rob Finnis, written in 1992, are quite informative, and credit any quotes contained therein to an article by Rip Lay in Goldmine magazine issue 52 dated September 1980. It only loses 1 star in my view for the lack of a discography.

Okay, I'm not bashing this group, but the cd is very low key. Nothing stands out at all, very (pardon the pun) monotone! It's great to see all the stuff on one cd as a collector, but without Kathy Young... well... just buy it and you be the judge.
Don't worry about the quality, it's clear and crisp from the master tapes with false starts and a great booklet.

Not a bad CD, some music is on the edge for fifties/sixties music. If you like oldies, this would be a good edition to your collection.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this trio's background harmonies. Now,after listening closely to this CD with them doing their own thing I see it is where they Really shine!

Some of the tunes seem to be included before they were completed
in the studio and ready for actual release. That doesn't take
away from the body of work presented here-it has great emotional
feel. The trio had to be 18 or 19 at the time and you get an authentic youthful lovesick yearning put across with a truly
unusual harmony blend-soft and breathy with a minimum of music so
you can really hear the vocals. Sometimes the harmony is so close
and blended you can't pick out the separate parts. The lead vocalist sings with sincerity and heart and does some unusual
things-there is alot of freedom, experimenting and stretching
going on-and what a sound!

Most of the songs are ballads, but hey, that's what this group is all about.

LISTEN! BUY! ENJOY!

Okay, I'm not bashing this group, but the cd is very low key. Nothing stands out at all, very (pardon the pun) monotone! It's great to see all the stuff on one cd as a collector, but without Kathy Young... well... just buy it and you be the judge.
Don't worry about the quality, it's clear and crisp from the master tapes with false starts and a great booklet.