Customer Reviews

Platinum Collection

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Europe's "The Platinum Collection" is essentially Rhino's USA 21-track 1992 compilation "Snatching It Back: The Best Of..." minus one song ("Slipped, Tripped And Fell In Love"). The new 2007 20-track running order has been rearranged, there's cheaper artwork and it's now at a budget price. But it still has that great Rhino remastered sound. It's reissued as part of the labels 60th Anniversary celebrations.

Carter made 4 albums for Atlantic and a slew of 7" singles came off them, but his career stretched back to 1965 when he was a duet act with Calvin Scott on the Fame label credited as CLARENCE and CALVIN (some of those rarities are on here). The detailed booklet of the original CD has been reduced to a fairly slight inlay, so here's a track-by-track breakdown of what song came from what (55:24 minutes):

"This Is Clarence Carter"
1968 USA STEREO LP on Atlantic SD-8192, Atlantic 588 152 in the UK
(CD Tracks 1, 5, 6, 7 and 17)
"The Dynamic Clarence Carter"
1969 USA STEREO LP on Atlantic SD-8199, Atlantic 588 172 in the UK
(CD Tracks 13 and 19)
"Testifyin'"
1969 USA STEREO LP on Atlantic SD-8238, UK on Atlantic 588 191
(CD Tracks 2, 3, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 15)
"Patches"
1970 USA STEREO LP on Atlantic SD-8267, UK on Atlantic 2400 027
(CD Tracks 10, 16 and 20)

Tracks 4 and 14 are "Tell Daddy" and "I Stayed Away Too Long", the non-album 7" single A and B-side of Fame 1010 from 1967
Track 18 is "Step By Step", the non-album 7" single A-side on Atco 6362 from 1965

There are so many highlights on here - "Looking For A Fox" (a huge 60ts club classic these last few years), the deliciously naughty "Back Door Santa" with his trademark chuckling after ever saucy lyric (quoted above), the fantastic "I want to tell you about it..." soul of "That Old Time Feeling" with its keyboard and brass build up - irresistible. The only real dog is the awful cheese of "Patches" (his biggest chart hit ironically), but it's a tiny glitch in a sea of great Atlantic Sixties soul.

If you want to go deeper, his 4 albums for the label are available elsewhere as twofers on the USA's Collectables label, but in the meantime this little gem sells for six or seven dollars online - and it's a solid gold foxy purchase at ten times that price.

Recommended - big time.

PS: the other Atlantic artists in "The Platinum Collection" series are: LaVern Baker (see REVIEW), Archie Bell & The Drells (see REVIEW), Brook Benton (see REVIEW), Booker T & The M.G.'s, Ruth Brown, Solomon Burke, The Clovers (see REVIEW), Arthur Conley (see REVIEW), Don Covay, The Detroit Spinners, Eddie Floyd, King Curtis, Barbara Lewis (see REVIEW), The Mar-Keys, The Persuasions, Sam & Dave, Percy Sledge (see REVIEW), Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, (Big) Joe Turner (see REVIEW) and Betty Wright

Bought this CD because my husband loves the song, Patches. It is on this CD and that is why I purchased it. There is one other song on the CD that I like. If you like "the Blues", you should love this CD