Customer Reviews

Raindrops

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There's not too much to choose between this offering from Neon of Sweden and the one titled Hey Little Girl from Charly of the U.K. Both have excellent sound reproduction and liner notes (two pages here by an unknown author) and both provide all eight of his hits with the Abner and Vee-Jay labels from 1958 to 1962.

Since Amazon only shows two of the 20 tracks above, I have listed them here for your information: 1) Raindrops; 2) Hey Little Girl; 3) Nobody But You; 4) Just Keep It Up; 5) How About That; 6) At My Front Door; 7) You're Looking Good; 8) Your Friends (with The Dells); 9) I'm Going Back To School; 10) Because I Love You; 11) (Don't) Walk Away From Me; 12) Shook Up Over You; 13) I'm A Soldier Boy; 14) Blues Get Off My Shoulder; 15) Seven Nights; 16) Just Can't Help Myself (with The Kool Gents); 17) When I Call On You (with The Kool Gents); 18) Just Like A Fool (with The Kool Gents); 19) Oh Little Girl (with The Upsetters); 20) Wondering (with The Upsetters).

With Abner Records his hits were: Nobody But You (# 3 R&B/# 21 Billboard Hot 100 in late 1958/early 1959 b/w When I Call On You); Just Keep It Up (# 9 R&B/# 18 Hot 100 in June 1959 b/w Whispering Grass); Hey Little Girl (# 1 R&B/# 20 Hot 100 October 1959 b/w If It Wasn't For Love); How About That (# 10 R&B/# 33 Hot 100 January 1960 b/w Blues Get Off My Shoulder which reached # 105 Hot 100 "bubble under"), and At My Front Door (# 56 Hot 100 in April 1960 b/w Cling A Ling). Three of the foregoing B-sides are omitted here.

With Vee-Jay he scored with: You're Looking Good (# 43 Hot 100 in September 1960 b/w Gloria); Your Friends (# 30 R&B/# 34 Hot 100 in 1961 b/w Because I Love You, which reached # 105 on the Hot 100 "bubble under"); Raindrops (# 2 Hot 100/# 3 R&B in June 1961 b/w I Want To Love You); and I'm Going Back To School (# 18 R&B/# 52 Hot 100 in November 1962 b/w Nobody But You). All the foregoing hits were backed by the Riley Hampton orchestra.

Neither CD provides his last hit, scored in late 1963 for the Constellation label (Crossfire Time - # 92 Hot 100/R&B b/w I'm Going Home).

But of additional interest here are three cuts at tracks 16 to 18 while with The Kool Gents under his real name Delecta Clark. Originally calling themselves The Goldentones, they renamed the group after DJ Hal "Kool Gent" Kent, who was instrumental in linking them with Vee-Jay Records. This group would also record as The Delegates, doing a humerous "break-in" cut called The Convention, along the lines of Buchanan & Goodman on Flying Saucer in 1956, only in this instance the focus was on politics. In 1972 another group calling themselves The Delegates would resurrect the idea for a # 8 Hot 100 called Delegation '72.

Either this one or the Charly release is recommended.

This reveiw is for "DEE CLARK raindrops" on Neon label, from the U.K. made in Germany in 2000.
Amazon has put this in more then one place.

This 20 track collection contains 9 of Clarks 10 songs that made the chart from 1958 to 1963, and 3 b-sides.
The one release missing is "Crossfire time" which bearly broke into the top 100 in 1963.
The first 9 songs of the album are the 9 charted tracks.
The rest of the album is also very good examples of the rock and roll -
rhythm and blues sound that is so distinctively EARLY 1960's.

Some highlights in chronological order, with the 3 b-sides that are here are:
1. "Nobody but you" b/w "When I call on you" bearly missed the top 20 in 1958.
2. "Just keep it up" top 20 hit in 1959.
3. "Hey little girl" top 20 in 1959.
4. "How about that" b/w "Blues get off my shoulder" top 40 in 1959.
5. "Your friends" b/w "Because I love you" top 40 in 1961.
6. "Raindrops" top 5 in 1961.
Every song on this album sounds good enough to have been released for a single.
This is an excellent collection of Clark's best.
All 20 tracks are original recordings, Neon has licensed them from Charly Records.

This reveiw also fell under the Amazon MP3 download, so for that purpose,--
within the 25 tracks of the MP3 sound bites are 13 tracks that are on this C.D.
so you can listen to some of whats here.
The MP3 track # are: 1 - 5 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 14 - 16 - 17 - 19 -21 - 24 and 25.
Again "Crossfire time" b/w "I'm going home his last 'pop' hit,
and "Heartbreak" b/w "Warm summer breezes" his last r&b hit are still missing.

Footnote: Another great collection is "DEE CLARK - RAINDROPS - 32 HIT RECORDS" on Charly Rhythm & Blues label.
The same 9 of 10 songs are also there, plus 4 b-sides.
More comments can be found at that location for that collection.

BEWARE! Only one track on this CD is in stereo and there is no excuse for this because most of these are availabe in excellent sounding stereo.

This product arrived on time as predicted. The product was in excellent shape. Amazon has always been and will continue to be my music Center of choice.

These comments are for "DEE CLARK - RAINDROPS - 32 Hit Records", on Charly Rhythm & Bluues label, aqua green cover.
Amazon has put this reveiw in more than one place.

This is definitely an album of Dee Clark's best, and one to enjoy again and again!
Here in these 32 tracks are 9 of 10 songs that made the pop chart from 1958 to 1963, and 4 b-sides.
If you click on the album picture you can read the song titles.
The track numbers that made the pop chart are:
#1 - #3 - #4 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #10 - #11 - #16.
The b-sides are: #5 - #18 - #25 - #30.

For convenience, here's the chronological order.
1. "Nobody but you" b/w "When I call on you" just missed the top 20 pop in 1958. (rhythm & blues, top 5 hit)
2. "Just keep it up" top 20 in 1959. (r&b top 10 hit)
3. "Hey little girl" top 20 in 1959. (r&b top 5 hit)
4. "How about that" b/w "Blues get off my shoulder" top 40 in 1959. (r&b top 10 hit)
5. "At my front door" top 100 in 1960. (cover of Pat Boones top 10 hit in 1955, didn't make the r&b chart)
6. "You're looking good" b/w "Gloria" just missed the top 40 in 1960. (didn't make the r&b chart)
7. "Your friends" top fourty in 1961. (r&b top 40)
8. "Raindrops" b/w "I want to love you" top 5 in 1961. (r&b top 5)
9. "I'm going back to school" top 100 in 1962. (r&b top 20)

The one song not here, and his last to make the POP chart is "Crossfire time" b/w "I'm going home" #92 in 1963.
There's one other song not here, that charted only on the RHYTHM & BLUES chart.
"Heartbreak" b/w "Warm summer breezes" just missed the top 40 in 1964.

If you click on the MP3 line you'll go to 25 samples of Dee Clark's music.
There are 19 sound bites that apply to this collection,
the number of those in the order they are on the C.D. are:
NUMBER: 19 - 5 - 11 - 10 - 9 - 24 - 12 - 17 - 16 - 6 - 22 - 23 - 14 - 25 - 13 - 1 - 3 - 4 - 2.

This entire album is the very recognisable sound of -
the rock & roll / rhythm & blues music of the late 1950's / early 60's.
In the early 1950's Clark had been a member of a group called the Goldentones,
which turned into the group called the Kool Gents.
Later on billed as the Deligates for Vee-Jay Records.
Here are some of those early original recordings.
Five by the Kool Gents, Four by the Deligates, two by the Upsetters, and one with Jerry Butler.

Clark's distinctive voice, and some of the best music from one of the best eras of music,
make this a compilation to get!
This album is for anyone looking for that great nostalgic sound!