Customer Reviews

Hard to Find 45s on CD, Volume 6: More Sixties Classics

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As noted, this is a collection of songs which we are unlikely to find elsewhere. For those huge fans of '50's and 60's music such as myself, this collection is aimed at folks like us.

My lament about other volumes in this series is that the marketers put too few songs like that on each disc of this collection, with the hope we true fanatics would buy a bunch of discs for one or two songs on each one. This collection has far more great songs than most of the predecessors in this series.

Unlike other volumes in this series, there is not too much filler here. This volume has the kind of value which will appeal to the casual fans of the genre as well as the most fanatical of us. I am not sure that anywhere I have seen "Nothing but a Heartache" by the Flirtations, Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop", Chris Montez's "The More I See You.", "Pata Pata" by Miriam Makeba and one of my favorites, "Just Like Romeo & Juliet" by The Reflections. The first and the last of these I have never seen on disc anywhere. These make this worth the price of admission for me. Doubtless, other fans will have their own two or three favorites, all different.

Superb recreations of some great recordings. Worth the price.

I found this while looking for "Walk Away Renee" by the Left Banke. This is a great CD, although I'm inclined to say some songs like "Lightning Strikes" by Lou Christie, isn't *that* hard to find as "Laurie" by Dickey Lee (and let's face it, ANYTHING by Dickey Lee is hard to find!) The great moments on this disc are the two songs mentioned above, as well as "My Boy Lollipop" by Millie Small, "Nothing But a Heartache" by the Flirtations (which I had been looking for for quite some time), and "Rumors" by Johnny Crawford. This disc is worth it.

Hard to Find 45s on CD, Volume 6: More 60's Classics has some very good old tune that used to make thee airwaves sizzle back in the day! These songs are presented here in incredibly good sound; and the artwork is very nicely done. This is certainly a must-have for fans of the "oldies but goodies!"

"Lightnin' Strikes" by Lou Christie starts the CD off with a huge hit; and this is a fine song by Lou Christie. He sings this so very well; his excellent diction helps his performance even further. The female backup chorus works wonders for this rock and roll tune and the melody is very catchy and pretty at once. Tommy Roe also kicks in his own contribution with his hit "Everybody;" "Everybody" showcases Tommy's fine voice--and I can't figure out why he didn't have more hits in his day! Tommy Roe could really sing. In addition, there's also Los Bravos doing their "Black Is Black;" I predict that you will recognize this tune even if you don't remember the title of this classic 1960s rock song. "Black Is Black" is easily a major highlight of this album; Los Bravos was a very talented group indeed!

Millie Small sings her tune called "My Boy Lollipop;" this song celebrates the joys of young love and the harmonica really works well for the musical arrangement. "My Boy Lollipop" is a peppy little tune that you won't forget anytime soon! The Reflections also do a great job on "(Just Like) Romeo & Juliet." "(Just Like) Romeo & Juliet" compares a modern day love affair to the story of Romeo and Juliet--and this tune has quite a fine beat to make it snazzy, too! The Dixiebelles also do a wonderful job on "(Down At) Papa Joe's;" this rock ballad has just enough of a Dixieland flavor to it to make this a very, very major highlight of this album. Great!

Johnny Crawford sings "Rumors" with panache, heart and soul; Johnny Crawford sang with the best of them; and "Rumors" allows Johnny to show off the operatic qualities of his voice. "Rumors" is a very pretty ballad. Dale & Grace also score a hit with their fantastic "I'm Leaving It Up To You;" "I'm Leaving It Up To You" has great electric guitar and a touch of country flavor to make this really stand out! The Left Banke also does great on "Walk Away Renee;" this song has wonderful keyboard work and the strings are absolutely wonderful, too. The Sandpipers do a sublime rendition of "Guantanamera;" and the CD ends strong with Chris Montez performing "The More I See You." "The More I See You" uses handclapping as a type of percussion and this is very creative.

Overall, Hard to Find 45s on CD, Volume 6: More 60's Classics is an excellent CD that oldies fans won't want to ignore. I highly recommend this album.

Eric Records' on-going series of CDs provides a treasure trove of once-popular radio hits that are often surprisingly difficult to find on CD. The producers at Eric combine golden ears with Holmesian detective work in tracking down high quality masters - often in rare stereo - for hit singles that have often become little more than ephemeral memories in the CD era. This volume is perhaps their strongest, with both top-charting hits (Lou Christie's "Lightnin' Strikes" in glorious stereo, Dale & Grace's post-Don & Dewey, pre-Donny & Marie, chart-topping "I'm Leaving it All Up to You," Millie Small's ska-hit "My Boy Lollipop," and The Left Banke's baroque tear-jerker "Walk Away Renee," again in stereo) and lesser remembered, but no less worthy radio hits.

Tommy Roe's rockabilly-styled "Everybody" doesn't get the current spins of "Dizzy" but it's easily as good. Similarly for Johnny Nash's fine ska side, "Hold Me Tight" - a song that lives in the commercial (literally) shadow of his later success, "I Can See Clearly Now." Steve Alaimo's blue-eyed cover of Arthur Alexander's "Every Day I Have to Cry" just missed the top-40 (#46 in 1963), but it certainly deserves to be spun with the best of The Righteous Brothers and others of the era.

The album is filled with fantastic one-hit wonders, including South African inspired tunes from Miriam Makeba ("Pata Pata") and Four Jacks and a Jill ("Master Jack"), The Flirtations horn-heavy soul classic "Nothing But a Heartache" and The Reflections "(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet" (better known to many in its Nuggets incarnation by Michael & The Messengers). Dickey Lee's "Laurie (Strange Things Happen)" may be one of the wimpiest young-death songs to crack the top-20, and though its supernatural twist doesn't pack the emotional punch of "Teen Angel" or "Honey" (or even Lee's own "Patches"), it's still got a certain morbid something.

There are novelties like The Dixiebells' girl-group ragtime "(Down at) Papa Joe's" and Jo Ann Campbell's sound-effects heavy "A Kookie Little Paradise," and chart oddities like the Native American peyote chant "Witchi Tai To" and the German language "Sailor (Your Home is the Sea)" (the latter of which charted to #5 in 1960!). This is a super fine volume of radio favorites and rare smashes, many of which slipped into the digital divide. Masters are stereo, except for 2-4, 6, 11, 16 and 18. A must-have volume for anyone who loves the smorgasbord of music that was AM radio in the '60s. [©2005 hyperbolium dot com]

Eric Records continues its outstanding series of "Hard-To-Find 45's..." and shows the big guys how it should be done. Here in volume six are a generous 21 tracks of 60's singles with many of them seldom, if ever, found on other compilation CD's. Best of all is the appearance of first-time stereo mixes of JoAnn Campbell's "Kookie Little Paradise" and Lolita's "Sailor (Your Home is the Sea)".

Sound quality is excellent overall with all tracks except 2-4,6,11,16,18 in stereo. And here, even the mono cuts that are often fairly miserable in other compilations are as good as you're going to find. The eight-page liner notes booklet contains background on the included artists and tracks. Great stuff from a small label.

This is a must have set of 60s goodies for your music collection. These songs are rarely heard on oldies radio, especially since most stations seem to be moving to an emphasis on 70s music.

This collection features everything from the brilliant falsetto of Lou Christie's Lightning Strikes to English Invasion standards such as the Nashville Teen's Tobacco Road and Los Bravos's Black is Black.

There is a Carribean flavor provided by Johnny Nash's Hold Me Tight and Millie Small and her big little voice on My Boy Lollipop.

There is the Motownish Nothing But A Heartache by the Flirtations and a touch of Africa with Miriam Makeba's Pata Pata.

There are quirky early 60s jewels like Jo Ann Campbell's A Kookie Little Paradise. There is teeny bopper pablum in Johnny Crawford's Rumors and Dickey Lee's Laurie.

There is Native America chanting to a rock beat in Everything is Everything's Witchi Tai To. I can honestly remember hearing this on the radio back in 1969!

All together there are twenty cuts on this set and all are a lot of fun. The sound quality is excellent, even on the cuts that are in mono. I think you'll like this collection!

Not only is the price of this disc reasonable, but it would be worth it at retail. Twenty-one classic oldies from the sixties, all sounding better than they ever have before, at a good price. I can't imagine a better deal! This cd contains some of the hard to find hits like, "My Boy Lollipop" by Millie Small, "Laurie" by Dickie Lee, and "Rumors" by Johnny Crawford, in addition to first-time releases of "Witchi Tai To" by Everything Is Everything, the stereo single versions of "Sailor" by Lolita, Jo Ann Campbell's "A Kookie Little Paradise", "(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet" by The Reflections, Miriam Makeba's "Pata Pata", and the mono single version of "Master Jack" by Four Jacks and a Jill! In short, it's flawless, and is a must-have for anyone who loves sixties oldies.

On volume six of this series from Eric Records we get 21 tunes from the decade of the sixties (14 in stereo, 7 in mono). Most of the songs are truly hard to find on CD domestically, and are all single versions. All but four of the tunes hit the top 20 on the Billboard pop charts. The set includes Steve Alaimo's "Every Day I Have To Cry" (which should have been a bigger hit in early 1963), the Flirtations with the soulful "Nothing But A Heartache" from 1969, and Jo Ann Campbell's "A Kookie Little Paradise" from 1960 (on CD in stereo for the first time ever, and they even included the "Tarzan" yell at the beginning of the song).

Collectors will enjoy getting Johnny Cawford's "Rumors," the Dixiebelles' "Down At Papa Joe's," Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop," and Chris Montez's "The More I See You." These cuts never sounded better. Included is an eight page booklet with details on each song. Most of these songs are seldom played these days on oldies stations across the country. Get the whole series while you can.

What a wonderful collection of songs! I can't believe I found "Witchi Tai To" by Everything Is Everything, "Sailor (Your Home Is The Sea)" by Lolita, and "Pata Pata" by Miriam Makeba on CD, nevermind the same CD! I would gladly have paid the purchase price for these three songs.

For a month, XM radio counted down every charting song from the 40's to the present. Quite ambitious, and an incredible listen. I here this song I love, but didn't get the name. A week later I purchase this CD and "Witchi Tai To" is on the CD. Great luck for me. "My Boy Lollipop," "Black is Black," "Tobacco Road" - all great songs. Okay, Lollipop isn't a great song, but it's hilariously fun.