Customer Reviews

Lost Hits of the '60s: 40 Solid Gold AM Radio Classics

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

 

 

This is an import version of a set that was originally available from Sound Exchange, a Time Warner direct marketing music operation that has since folded.

Though, since its original issue, some of these tracks have become available on CD elsewhere, there are several here that made their CD debut with this set and are still hard-to-find. Four Jacks and a Jill's "Master Jack", the Association's song from the movie, "Goodbye Columbus", Leapy Lee's "Little Arrows" and "Don't Just Stand There" by Patty Duke are among the rarities found here.

Sound quality is quite good overall with all tracks except disc 1, tracks 4,14,16,17,19 and 20 and disc 2 tracks 7 and 20 appearing in their stereo version. While it may seem a bit pricey, with 40 tracks on two discs, it represents a reasonably good value. This is a surprisingly interesting collection of mostly substantially charting, yet seldom-found 45's from the later 60's.

Since track listings are not supplied at the time of this review, they are as follows:

DISC ONE:
Lazy Day - Spanky and Our Gang
The 59th Street Bridge Song - Harpers Bizarre
Master Jack - Four Jacks and a Jill
Western Union - Five Americans
Morning Girl - Neon Philharmonic
Brand New Me - Dusty Springfield
Turn Down Day - Cyrkle
Shame, Shame - Magic Lanterns
Baby, I'm Yours - Barbara Lewis
I Got Rhythm - Happenings
Son Of A Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
Bowling Green - Everly Bros.
Don't Just Stand There - Patty Duke
Sweet Inspiration - Sweet Inspirations
Goodbye Columbus - Association
Pied Piper - Crispian St. Peters
Best Of Both Worlds - Lulu
Will You Be Staying After Sunday - Peppermint Rainbow
Next Plane To London - Rose Garden
Bottle Of Wine - Fireballs

DISC TWO:
Games People Play - Joe South
Baby The Rain Must Fall - Glenn Yarbrough
I'm A Fool - Dino, Desi and Billy
Apricot Brandy - Rhinoceros
Crying Game - Brenda Lee
And Suddenly - Cherry People
Malibu U - Harpers Bizarre
Alice's Rock and Roll Restaurant - Arlo Guthrie
D.W. Washburn - Monkees
Classical Gas - Mason Williams
Indian Lake - Cowsills
Action - Freddy Cannon
Mr. Bojangles - Jerry Jeff Walker
Nashville Cats - Lovin' Spoonful
Come On Down To My Boat - Every Mother's Son
I Love You - People
Little Arrows - Leapy Lee
Mr. Dieingly Sad - Critters
Long Lonesome Highway - Michael Parks
Let It Out - Hombres

There is little I can add to Zub's excellent overview except to say that the AAD sound quality is excellent and that, in the large fold-open insert are track-by-track comments written by Joe Knoche (which appear in alphabetical order based on the song's title rather than in their track order), who also compiled the album for Warner Special Products/Echo Records.

In those notes he lets you know the year the song charted and the highest position reached on the Billboard Pop Hot 100. But several also did well on other charts: Baby, I'm Yours and Sweet Inspiration both made it to # 5 R&B, while the following also made impacts on the Adult Contemporary (or Easy Listening) charts after their introduction in 1961: Baby, The Rain Must Fall (# 2); Brand New Me (# 3); Classical Gas (# 1); 59th Street Bridge Song (# 4); Goodbye Columbus (# 22); Indian Lake (# 17); Lazy Day (# 24); Little Arrows (# 38); Long Lonsesome Highway (# 5); Master Jack (# 3); Mr. Bojangles (# 28); and Will You Be Staying After Sunday (# 22).

Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Rock & Roll Restaurant is the 4:44 45 rpm version which reached # 98 Hot 100 in December 1969. The 18-minute LP version remains a classic that should be sought out.

I purchased this CD soley for one track, "Master Jack", which I had been searching for over a number of years. I was impressed with the quality of that particular song, but equally impressed with all others on the CD. The sound quality is quite good, and there were songs that I had all but forgotten, thus it is an incredible nostalgia compilation.

This 2-disc set offers an awesome selection of '60's tunes, some of which you just don't find on other compilations. How often do you see "Master Jack" (Four Jacks and a Jill), "And Suddenly" (The Cherry People), and "Apricot Brandy" (Rhinoceros) on any CD? I had totally forgotten about these songs, mainly because they aren't usually played on oldies stations, and when I heard them again on this CD I was happily reminded of them. Unfortunately, the sound quality is awful, especially considering the year of release. The CD was issued in 1999 and remastering was not uncommon for that time period. The label just got lazy and cheap. I would still highly recommend this compilation for the song selection but deduct two stars for sound.

This was a bit expensive, but it did recover a few lost hits that I wanted to have. Sound quality is generally good, albeit a little weak at low frequencies (which is expected for the era).