Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Twin Cities Funk & Soul



Three outstanding soul ballads buried in thins mainly funk compilation. "Baby, Baby I Need You" by Dave Brady And The Starts, "Love Me, Leave Me" by The Valdons and "Take Care" by Wanda Davis make this CD well worth picking up.
6 out of 10

King Floyd




"Groove Me" is a nice beat ballad and "What Our Love Needs" follows right behind. Besides those two tracks "Think About It" and "Don't Leave Me Lonely" are decent but not great.
4 out of 10

The Two Things In One





Funky sounds with a few nice soul ballads mixed in. Highlights include "Silly Song", "Close the Door" and "Together For Ever".
4 out of 10

Monday, April 29, 2013

A Barrel Of Oldies




A very god compilation put together by Del-Fi Records. You have to marry up the track titles on the front cover to the artists listed on the back cover to know what you are getting. Good sound quality, recommended addition to your collection.
7 out of 10.

Donna - Ritchie Valens
Lonely Guy - The Gallahads
Teardrops - Lee Andrews And The Hearts
Eternally - The Twilighters
I'm Sorry - Bo Diddley
To Be Loved - The Pentagons
So Long - Johnny Flamingo
Come On, Let's Go - Ritchie Valens
Love You So - Ron Holden
Under The Stars Of Love - The Carlos Brothers (AKA The Shadows)
So Dearly - Rosie And Ron
My Babe - Ron Holden
La Bamba - Ritchie Valens

The Charades




Central California sounds featured  in this Collectables Records release. Highlights include "For You", "Open Up Your Heart", "Close To Me" and " Please Be My Love Tonight".
4 out of 10

Los Nombres


A couple of very nice tracks from this northern Ohio Latino group. The first and last tracks are the highlights for me, "Loving You" and "Just Call Me". Excellent sound quality and liner notes.
5 out of 10.

Tiny Morrie





Pop / R&B sounds from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fans of 60's Spanish rock will quickly recognize the track "Lonely Letters" as it was covered by Mexico's Los Apson, "De Hoy En Ocho". Other notable tracks include "Ring Telephone Ring", "Another Lonely Letter", "Don't Take Advantage", "Please Don't Make Me Cry" and "The Last Goodbye". excellent sound quality. A recommended addition.
6 out of 10

Westside Oldies













The mother of Texas soul compilations! A truly incredible collection of rare tracks that should be in everyone's collection. Way too many good tracks to give mention to all. Sound quality is better than other collections out there featuring many of these same tracks.
10 out of 10

Rocky Gil And The Bishops





A couple of good doses of rare Texas soul. Highlights include "Place In The Sun", "Love Can Make You Happy", "Everyday Of My Life", "I'm Sorry", Goodnight My Love" and "Me and You".
6 out of 10

Publio And The Valiants




Being familiar with "Image Of Love" I thought for sure there will be at least one more nice track on this CD, I was off on my hunch. I can honestly say I did not enjoy this CD. The sound is of more recent recordings with more of a blues feel (should have known from the title) that just did not do it for me. I cannot recommend.
1 out of 10.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Rudy Tee Gonzales Y Sus Reno Bops




A mix of early and late recordings with below average sound quality. Even with that said the track "In The Palm Of Your Hand" makes this a good pick up. "It Was Just An Illusion" is also a solid track. 4 out of 10.

Little Jr. Jesse & The Teardrops




A great set of tunes are featured here, "Give Him Up", "Cry Baby",  "Giving Up On Love" and "Ain't No Big Thing". A definite add for the collection.
8 out of 10

Charlie And The Jives



A few really nice cuts in these two releases featuring Charlie and The Jives. The good ones are "For The Rest Of My Life", "My Angel Of Love"and "Mercy Baby" on the Memories CD. Their cover version of "Sad Girl" was the sole highlight for me on the Making Time release. Sound quality varies. Memories is a recommended pick up.
5 out of 10