Wild Wild Young Men [Import]

Ruth Brown | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 2, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Complete Rock N Roll
• ASIN: B000QCQUHO
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #555,398 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. So Long

2. Sentimental Journey

3. Tearsdrops From My Eyes

4. I'll Wait For You

5. I Know

6. Shine On

7. 5-10-15 Hours

8. Daddy Daddy

9. Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean

10. Wild Wild Young Men

11. Ever Since My Baby's Been Gone

12. Love Contest

13. Oh What a Dream

14. Old Man River

15. Somebody Touched Me

16. Mambo Baby

17. I Can See Everybody's Baby

18. As Long As I'm Moving

19. It's Love Baby

20. I Gotta Have You

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding fifties R+B, June 3, 2009

By 

Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wild Wild Young Men (Audio CD)

Ruth Brown was the most successful singer on the Atlantic label in its formative years. Indeed, it was said at the time that Atlantic was the house that Ruth built. By the early sixties, Atlantic had become a huge corporation and Ruth was largely ignored; it was a sad way to end her career there. Ruth never again came close to emulating her fifties successes but this collection, focusing exclusively on that period, shows what Ruth sounded like at her brilliant best.

During the fifties, Ruth had many hits on the various Billboard R+B charts (jockey, jukebox and best sellers), although her music was conspicuously absent from the main pop charts for most of the time. Ruth made those pop charts with just three of her R+B hits. One of them, Lucky lips, became a huge British hit for Cliff Richard. Of Ruth's own hits included here, Lucky lips is likely to be the song that is most familiar to the majority of people around the world outside America, even if only because of Cliff's cover. (Hey, don't knock it, because it's one of the routes via which people discover Ruth's own music.) Despite its relative success in the American pop charts, Lucky lips peaked at six in the R+B charts, lower than several hits that didn't make the pop charts. Ruth had many top five R+B hits including five (Teardrops from my eyes, 5 10 15 hours, Mama he treats your daughter mean, Oh what a dream, Mambo baby) that went all the way to number one, as well as three (I'll wait for you, Daddy Daddy, Wild wild young men) that peaked at three and a further three (So long, As long as I'm moving, It's love baby) that peaked at four. One of the other R+B top ten hits (Love has joined us together) is a duet with Clyde McPhatter. All of those songs and plenty of others are included here.

Ruth charted 24 singles on the R+B charts but although there are 24 tracks here, some hits have been omitted to make way for other recordings. The most surprising omission, This little girl's gone rocking, was one of Ruth's three pop hits as well as making the R+B top ten. Two other R+B top ten hits (I don't know, Don't deceive me) are also missing. Of the non-hits that replaced these tracks here, it's particularly interesting to hear Ruth's version of Sentimental journey. I'm extremely familiar with Doris Day's two recordings of the song (the original with Les Brown and a solo re-recording from the sixties) but Ruth makes it sound like a rock'n'roll song - much livelier but less romantic. A great song is still a great song, however interpreted, and here is further proof.

Ruth eventually died in 2006, but she left a great legacy behind with these and other recordings - and that's not counting the influence she had on other singers as well as her importance in the growth of the Atlantic label. If you must have the hits that aren't here, you may prefer a different compilation to this one, although other compilations may be missing other hits that can be found here, not to mention Ruth's amazing version of Sentimental journey. Nevertheless, if you are interested in fifties R+B, you should have at least some of Ruth's music in your collection and this is a good choice.