Customer Reviews

Early Years 1961-62

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

 

 

This is basically a reissue of a 1965 Colpix LP originally put out to capitalize on the success The Ronettes were enjoying with Phil Spector (later to be Veronica's husband), consisting of pre-Spector single releases with a distictively different sound, feel and mood to them than Phil's legendary "Wall Of Sound" masterpieces. But don't let that throw you, Ronettes fans. This CD is rivaled only by The Paris Sisters' knockout 1966 Reprise LP as the greatest non-Spector production by a Spector-shaped girl group. The cuts are Brill Building ballads and powerhouse rock featuring some amazing string and keyboard work to which the girls adapt their vocalization perfectly. My personal favorites: "I Want A Boy", "Memory", "He Did It", "I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead" and a gorgeous cover version of "Silhouettes". I also like a couple of the others here, but I'm not particularly crazy about "Recipe For Love" (I think it's the lyrics, but that's just my opinion). The only difference between the CD and the old vinyl disc is the inclusion here of an alternate version of "You Bet I Would" as the original source tape was lost. Overall, this is a must-own for anyone who loves The Ronettes and is open to hearing them with a different--but equally amazing--sound. Plus, this CD reissue is a lot easier to obtain than the vinyl disc of yore...which is more than likely scarce and pricey in any condition these days!

The Early Years is a good slice of the early girl group sound and The Ronettes deliver the goods, since these are not the 'Wall of Sound' type of arrangements, like the other reviewer says do not overlook this collection, a great version of 'Silhouettes', the country\doo-wop 'Memory', the fun 'Good Girls' & 'Recipe For Love', and others, this is a must for collectors' of girl groups and the Ronettes fans who want more Ronnie, Estelle & Nedra.

Pre-Spector recordings showing that girls really needed better material and inspired producer next time around.
it is common now to throw mud at Phil Spector but the guy was genius and his magic touch made all the difference. Almost all of his singers (with few exceptions,like Ike & Tina Turner) were not known before he started working with them and Ronettes were just one of the many names from the list of hopeful wannabies.

Ronnie had appealing,sexy voice and and it's (almost) fun to hear her in this sub--par material,without earthquake going on around her. One cannot really hear other girls as Ronnie is front and center,and as for musicians,well to me it all sounds like demo anyway. Everything sounds like demo compared to Phil Spector!

What is truly fascinating is how bad these material is - even Supremes debut album had more depth - gimmicks,clichés,derivative ideas... you name it,it's here. Even girls squeaks have already been done (much better) by The Tammys. From historical perspective,it is interesting to hear Ronettes the way they were as "diamonds in rough" but from music standpoint this was just awful because there is nothing here that hasn't already been recorded by everybody else + songs themselves are offensive in their simpleness.
Girl-group era had a lot of inspired highlights,but this is not one of them.

The girls put out some great songs pre-Phil Spector that were under-appreciated. This CD is well worth the price and is their second-most desired as a collectible. This CD is hard to find in the factory seal. (Many of the songs on here are the same as on their cheaper "red CD"..."the Ronettes". So if you want to skip the collectible aspect you will pay for with this CD, buy the red CD. I wanted to have all of their CD's and definitely wanted this one.

The tracks on this CD cover the period in the early 60s when the Ronettes were trying to establish themselves as a pop group.You can see here that the girls,Ronnie Bennet,her sister,Estelle, and cousin,Nedra Talley,were feeling their way towards what they might and could be.But this is not the big surround sound that Ronettes fans might be harking back to.The wall of sound that they are now associated with was still ink in the pen of Phil Spector.Several years in the future,Phil was able to take the best of what the Ronettes already had and put his own stamp on it.
Nevertheless,if you like these girls -and they were very charismatic -and you want to hear how they first started to project themselves into our musical hearts,then this is a worthwhile purchase.It's proto-Ronettes,neo-Ronettes.And they sing with a lot of power and magnetism.This CD captures that early drive and that attractive sound that went into the great girl groups of the 60s.

I own a copy of the original record release which is exactly what we have here. Always loved it. It is proof positive that these girls did not need a wall of sound to get accross the goods. You Spector fans don't Ho-Hum me. The production here is great but somewhere along the line, someone had to take the ball and give them the fame they deserved. It just happened to be Phil. I recently saw Ronnie in New Orleans and she slayed the people. Go see her if you can, and buy this disk!