Customer Reviews

Hard To Find 45s On CD, Volume 2: 1961-1964

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Volume two continues Eric Records' "Hard To Find 45s..." series culling non-British invasion (with the possibly arguable exception of the Irish Bachelors) charting singles from the early 60s. While all of these tunes were top-30 and about half have appeared at least occasionally in other CD reissues, there is a treasure of seldom- and never-found on CD 45's here. Among the more commonplace tracks are Clyde McPhatter's "Lover Please", Little Peggy March's "I Will Follow Him" and the Murmaids' "Popsicles and Icicles", all top-10 hits. Nestled in amongs these more familiar tracks however are lost gems such as Joe Dowell's "Wooden Heart", Richard Chamberlain's "Three Stars Will Shine Tonight", the theme from his Dr. Kildare show, Paul and Paula's "Young Lovers", their follow-up to the chart-topping "Hey Paula" and Julie Rogers, a British artist whose "The Wedding" is hardly the stuff of the "British Invasion". One truly obscure track, "Little Red Rented Rowboat", a top-30 tune from Joe Dowell whose above-mentioned number one hit is also here, makes its CD debut in this piece. While other CDs of rare 45's are available, Eric does it better than most with the highest quality sound quality and well-researched backround info on the included tracks and artists. Half of the songs here (tracks 1,2,4,7,10,12,13,19-21) appear in stereo with the remainder in clean mono. In every way, this is an outstanding collection of familiar yet not often found tunes interspersed with lots of true rarities from the more innocent golden era of early rock and roll. This piece is highly recommended for both the casual listener and avid collector. Eric records is rapidly setting the standard for such reissues.

Hard To Find 45s On CD, Volume 2: 1961-1964 is a very good installment in this CD series of oldies but goodies. This music is wonderful which is why I'm astonished that these tunes ARE harder to find on other CD compilations. However, here they are--finally! The sound quality is excellent and the artwork is very nicely done as well.

Joel Dowell starts things off with a fine hit for him called "Wooden Heart;" this tune is a bit like a polka mixed with pop to make this shine so very brightly! One listen to "Wooden Heart" and you'll easily be hooked; Joe Dowell performs this with great sensitivity and I'm very impressed. The Flares also make a great contribution with their hit entitled "Foot Stomping, Part I;" I first heard "Foot Stomping, Part I" in the movie Hairspray by John Waters and this can be found on the CD soundtrack of that movie just in case you're interested. In addition, Clyde McPhatter performs an excellent interpretation of "Lover Please;" "Lover Please" has a great early `60s beat that is both catchy and rather upbeat. "I Wish That We Were Married" by Ronnie & The Hi-Lites is another major highlight of this album; they sing and play this so very well and they harmonize well, too.

Joe Dowell returns to do his "Little Red Rented Rowboat;" "Little Red Rented Rowboat" is quite a positive tune with lots of energy and Joe does this very well with a female chorus backup. Thank goodness for Joe Dowell--he's an artist that is so overlooked today. Marcie Blane also does "Bobby's Girl" with lots of feeling; and the percussion enhances this ballad while it marks the beat as well. Marcie Blane sings this with all her heart and it's absolutely wonderful to hear and enjoy this tune. Little Peggy March also scores a goal with her "I Will Follow Him;" this number got a lot of airplay when it was released even though today it's somewhat a lost, forgotten hit. "You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry" is a very pretty tune that will charm you, too.

"Popsicles And Icicles" gets the royal treatment from The Murmaids; they sing and play this so very well and perhaps you'll recognize this number; it's still getting some airplay on the "oldies" radio stations just as it deserves. Similarly "Little Honda" by The Hondells is an excellent number that celebrates the joys of youth and having fun as these young men cruise the town going after girls and enjoying themselves.

In short, Hard To Find 45s On CD, Volume 2: 1961-1964 has lots of great hits for us to enjoy and I heartily recommend this CD for people who like this genre of music. Enjoy!

The purchase of this compilation is mandatory for the wonderful bonus of Diane Renay's 'Navy Blue' which is very, very hard to find on 45 or any where else for that matter. Eric/Polygram did a superb job in re-mastering these and they sound just fabulous turned up loud and in living stereo (most cuts). The mono cuts are just as good. The Stereos entry as well as Marcie Blane, Little Peggy March, Paul and Paula, The Bachelors (wow!) end off a wonderful visit to my favorite time in popular music, heard for the first time (for me) in true stereo. Hats off and Cudos for this one, I can't explain how nice it was to hear 'Navy Blue' again. If you are a fan of 'jet age' 60's popular music this is a must have for your collection. I want Volume 1 now from '61-'64! By the way, a second added bonus is 'Diane' (in stereo!) by the Bachelors, perhaps the last top 10 'group harmony' single to chart that high, being pushed aside by the new arriving British invasion, which by the summer of '64 was gathering steam.

You can trust Eric Records to give you the tracks that were originally on the charts, not remakes like you get from Madacy, K-Tel and St. Clair. That pleased me so much I was planning on getting the entire series of Hard To Find 45s. Unfortunately, the mixing and mastering went somewhat awry. Sugar Shack comes out with the organ kind of low in the mix, unlike on the 45. Bobby's Girl vocalist Marcie Blaine is lacking most of her familiar echo (BMG has that song on a CD and it's just like the 45). Possibly younger folks who hadn't grown up listening to the songs did the mastering. Mind you, I listened to this CD with headphones on. I didn't try it amplified through speakers.

The 21 songs on this album range from those which are utterly indispensible to any oldies collection, to those which are completely forgettable (and almost completely forgotten, though some may have been regional hits). Some of the songs (e.g., "Popsicles and Icicles" by the Murmaids) are widely available on other, better collections. Check the track list before you buy to see if there are tracks you must have that aren't on a CD you already own.

Sound quality is good enough, but, for whatever reason, most of these tracks sound like stereo (or in some cases, mono) versions of the original AM radio mixes. More careful remastering (as Rhino does with its oldies collections) would have resulted in some selections sounding less shrill.

The 21 tracks on this CD were remastered very well. The songs sound like I remember them except with the crisp CD quality not available with small AM radio speakers. The title is a bit misleading though. Most of the tracks are readily available in other CD collections. If you're like me, you want to purchase the CD for the few that aren't.

This is where you will find the incredible true stereo version of Bobby's Girl. The back of the CD states:

"All tracks digitally transferred from the original analog master tapes"

You will never hear Bobby's Girl sound better than this.

Richard Chamberlain's "3 Stars Will Shine Tonight" has haunted my memory since the first "Dr. Kildare" show. I have searched for this recording for many years without luck. Now the CD is about to burn up from so much play. Other songs long forgotten are like long lost friends resurfacing in my life. What a lift!

Contrary to the suggestion elsewhere that this contains some "regional" hits, allow me to point out that ALL 21 were Top 40 on the Billboard charts and, in fact, the LOWEST charter among the bunch was 1961's I Really Love You by The Stereos which settled at # 29 Hot 100 and # 15 R&B.

Admittedly, some among the 21 do not really fit the definition of "hard-to-find" - being readily available on any number of compilations or "best of" sets. But what you CAN be certain of in Bill Buster's Eric Records releases is that you are getting the ORIGINAL versions.

Among the truly "hard-to-find" in this volume are Joe Dowell's Little Red Rented Rowboat [# 23 Hot 100 in 1962], Dear One, a # 11 Hot 100 by Larry Finnegan in 1962, Paul & Paula's # 3 Adult Contemporary (AC)/# 6 Hot 100 hit Young Lovers [1963], The Wedding by Julie Rogers [# 1 AC for 3 weeks amd # 10 Hot 100 in 1964], and You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry - # 2 AC/# 3 Hot 100 by The Caravelles in 1963.

As usual in this series, the liner notes [6 pages of them] by Fred Bronson [author of The Billboard Book Of Number One Hits among others] are most informative, and on the back you get the Billboard Pop Hot 100 chart performances for all 21 selections. The sound is just fine, and you can rest assured that this is among the very best series of CDs containing oldies on the market today.

This CD was worth the purchase and I plan on purchasing others in the future.