Customer Reviews

Start the Party Again

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Lesley Gore was far more than America's little sob sister of the '60s. Her voice was solid and most of her singles on Mercury Records were well-produced. While she started out making (appropriately) adolescent records, her material definitely matured as time went on.

This 30-track retrospective START THE PARTY AGAIN - an import from Australia's Raven Records - is the best single disc available on Gore. Like MANY Gore collections, it contains all of the essential ("It's My Party," "Judy's Turn To Cry," "She's A Fool," "Maybe I Know" and her feminist anthem "You Don't Own Me") as well as the near-essential ("Sunshine Lollipops & Rainbows," "Look Of Love," and "California Nights") hits.

What gives START THE PARTY AGAIN the firm single disc edge is its greater abundance of minor hits and choice album sides. The double-voiced single "Brink of Disaster" is among Gore's most original recordings, with Gore reciting her "conscience's" lines through a megaphone. "Small Talk" and "Summer And Sandy" are nice, breezy summer fare. The relatively low chart placements of these 1967-68 singles says more about pop radio's attitude toward one-time teen stars than it does the quality of these records.

Four tracks from Gore's best album MY TOWN, MY GUY, AND ME are included, with the defiant "I Don't Care" and the ultra-poignant "What Am I Gonna Do About You" being particularly noteworthy. The only real clunkers on this collection are the frantic single "We Know We're In Love" (which Gore immortalized on The Donna Reed Show) and the three recordings Gore sings in German. Their spots would have been better occupied by some of Gore's late '60s singles such as the lush "He Gives Me Love" and the haunting, psychedelic "Magic Colors." Both of those pearls are available on the Bear Family's Gore box set and the double-disc IT'S MY PARTY: THE MERCURY ANTHOLOGY.

I have all the Lesley Gore compilations, and this is the best one. Whereas all the other compilations were put together by record companies and include the most obvious songs, this one was put together by a true Lesley Gore fan, and therefore includes some really interesting stuff.

For one thing, this is the only compilation that has Lesley's sizzling rendition of "No Matter What You Do", a very wild and passionate song that totally rocks out with a nasty guitar solo. Not a song one would normally associate with Lesley Gore. She and her background vocalists sound as if they're at a Chippendales performance after having been stranded on an island for ten years. Would've been a hit, except it was too "hot" for 1965 AM radio. I have to blow a fan on my speakers when playing this scorcher, lest all the wiring melt. Also, "What's A Girl Supposed To Do" is here, which should have been a hit single. This song is classic Barry/Greenwich, in the same class as the hits they wrote for the Crystals and Ronettes.

Also, this is the only compilation which includes the superior 45 rpm mixes of "Summer with Sandy" and "Brink of Disaster".

Also, you get to hear Lesley sing in German. "Sieben Girls" is a hoot, because Lesley makes it sound as if these seven girls can't keep away from Johnny.

Lastly, the liner notes and cover art are really fun to read and look at.

Lesley Gore worked with only the best producers and songwriters, and she sang of love and heartbreak, so her music will always be timeless. She was a total class act.

Next to the Bear family extravaganza covering all of Lesley's Mercury recordings, this is the best survey of her career. The guy who put this together really knew his Lesley! It is fascinating that 40 years on the world is finally realizing Lesley was more than a teen star, that she was an entirely original artist with an unusual voice unlike any other and records that were produced at the highest state of the art with some of the best talent around. Gore's records stand up incredibly today. There's so much TO them. This is an entirely captivating C.D. you will play over and over. Lesley may not want us to own her but she sure as hell owns us!

Great music from the 60s you'll never get tired of listening to. Lesly Gore is an original, professional talent. I miss her voice and didn't realize hom much I liked her 'till I purchased this CD. She is WONDERFUL!

Australian Billboard editor, Glenn A. Baker, who is also a prolific pop music writer, put this close-to-definitive anthology of sixties pop-rock queen Lesley Gore's work together in the 80s on his own vinyl label, and reissued it in 1993 on Raven. Most of the chart hits are here, along with a lengthy, informative and fun essay by Baker himself, who obviously loves the Teen Queen's records. His favorite Gore LP is "My Town, My Guy and Me" from 1965, and five of its tracks are found here, in addition to the title hit, which bear ample witness to his testimony. The 1968 Bonner and Gordon single, "Small Talk" (also covered by Gary Lewis and The Turtles) is here, as are three German language songs, including one original called "Sieben Girls" which is a hoot. Other cuts not found on the other Gore compilations currently available are the smokin' and incendiary balls-out rocker, "No Matter What You Do" and the snarling multi-tracked self-loathing of "I Don't Care." Recommended to anyone interested in a good overview of Gore's 60s material, and to serious Goreheads for the essay and photos alone.