Various Artists "BUBBLEGUM CLASSICS v.1" (Varese Sarabande, 1995)
Various Artists "BUBBLEGUM CLASSICS v.2" (Varese Sarabande, 1995)
Various Artists "BUBBLEGUM CLASSICS v.3" (Varese Sarabande, 1996)
Various Artists "BUBBLEGUM CLASSICS v.4: SOULFUL POP" (Varese Sarabande, 1998)
Various Artists "BUBBLEGUM CLASSICS v.5" (Varese Sarabande, 1998)
Mmmmmmm. Bubblegum music. That ludicrously pre-fab, late-60s/early '70s faux genre of catchy fluff tunes performed by studio bands with goofy names -- the Archies, The Ohio Express, The Shondells... These three CDs are a real class act, with a generous helping of irresistable old hits ("Dizzy", "Sugar, Sugar", and "I Think We're Alone Now"...) as well as tons of less-well known, silly little gems. This collection is clearly a labor of love, and highly recommended -- you simply can't find a better summary of the style. (Note: Volumes 4 and 5 fit less well with the first three discs; one is an iffy set of "soul pop", while the other profiles the work of songwriter Tony Burrows; both are less exuberantly satisfying than the first trio of discs in this series...)
Various Artists "THE COLPIX-DIMENSION STORY" (Rhino, 1994)
In my humble opinion, this is one of the single best records that Rhino ever put out. Some of the most deliciously wimpy, whiny teenpop handwringing ever recorded , with absurd novelty tunes and boo-hoo ballads culled from the vaults of Columbia Pictures short-lived music operation. Sure, there are a few verifiable hits on here, such as "Blue Moon" by the Marcels, and "Loco-Motion" by Little Eva, but it's the super-dopey wannabee tunes that give this 2-CD collection its kitschy appeal. Even though most of these songs were produced on the Brill Building assembly line, with writers like Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann and Carole King seemingly trying to outdo each other in a quest for the inane, there's also something mysteriously and legitimately charming at work here. Sincerity somehow seeps out of these tracks, which were mainly cynical and off-handedly produced but still captured the gee-whiz Leave It To Beaver teen yearnings of the time. The best tracks, though, are a couple of ancient Carole King singles, including "He's A Bad Boy", from 1963, which I've always thought should covered by the queercore band Pansy Division.
Various Artists "FROM THE KITCHEN TO THE GARAGE: DUTCH GIRLS AND GIRL GROUPS IN THE SIXTIES" (Distortions, 2000)
From the producers of the excellent BIET HET series comes this interesting, but flawed, collection of Dutch girl-group rarities. Unfortunately, this collection is a little disappointing -- even given that a lot of the charm of girl group archivism is coming across charmingly inept material. Many of these tracks are just plain irritating, or merely musically flat, though there are also plenty of cool sock-rockers as well. Sadly, Amsterdam just didn't have a Phil Spector or Shadow Morton around to give most of these gals the required ooomph! It's super-rare stuff, and definitely worth checking out, but you may be a little let down after a few tracks.
Various Artists "GIRLS IN THE GARAGE v.1-9" (Romulan, 1995)
Now that every bootlegger and their brother has a crazy-rare, mid-'60s girl-group collection out, the variable sound quality of this series makes these discs slightly less attractive than they were back in the '80s, when they started the whole trend. But the song selection is still awesome, as is the harder-edged, garagey, chicks-can-rock-too headbanginess of it all. As with most reissue series, the first volumes are the best... and they are all doozies! Highly recommended!
Various Artists "GOIN' BACK: THE SONGS OF GOFFIN & KING" (Sequel, 2000)
Carole King and Gerry Goffin's songwriting success in the Brill Building days is well-known (see above!), but how did their work fare across the Big Puddle? Here's an interesting set of Goffin & King covered by various Brits during the '60s and early '70s. It's a slightly different take, with that good old anemic English version of pop-rock... it doesn't always work out when they try to be the next Little Eva, but there are still plenty of fun moments on here. A nice, different take on some familiar terrain, though certainly not for everyone.
Various Artists "GROWIN' UP TOO FAST" (Mercury, 1996)
This 2-CD set full of classics and oddities is, quite simply, one of the best and most enjoyable girl group comps out there. A sweet cross-slice of a particular brand of American teen culture... If you don't have it in you to spring the big bucks for the various fetishistic European imports, but still want something that'll make you crank the volume and turn up the treble, this is about as good a collection as you could ask for. Plus it's got Ginny Arnell's backlash anthem, "Dumb Head", which is worth the price of admission alone. Highly recommended.
Various Artists "I WISH I WAS PRINCESS: THE GREAT LOST FEMALE TEEN IDOLS" (Collector's Choice, 1997)
Another great entry in the world of fetishistic girl group reissues. The most curious aspect of this collection of oddball one-offs is how far out of their way the liner notes go to point out that this music was not actually that good. But then again, that's not necesarily the point. Haley Mills was, indeed, unbelieveably bad (although in 1961 she still cracked the Top Ten with the tinkly "Let's Get Together"...) But no matter what disparaging comments the label wants to make, songs like Margie Rayburn's "I'm Available" and Janie Grant's "That Greasy Kid Stuff" (in which a bald Nikita Kruschev gives John Kennedy hair care advice...) are pure gold. Ditto with the ever-classic "Dumb Head" by Ginny Arnell, which seems to be one of the most widely collected teenpop novelty songs... and a classic. A fun, funny disc.
Various Artists "ULTRA CHICKS v.1-6" (1996/1999)
Fab French pop music! A great series, with plenty of punch compared to similar releases. Whether you're a francophile or a ye-ye girl-groupie, these comps are worth tracking down. Yes, Jacqueline Taib's often-collected "7 Heurs du Matin" is on here, but so are a whole host of others, including dozens of artists zat no one has evair 'eard of... All three CDs are high-test; Volume Three gets a little more modern, but in a power-poppy kinda way, not new wave. As with the ILS SONT FOUS LPs, this covers France, Belgium and the new world... v.3 also includes Tuesday Weld, which seems to be stretching things a bit... but who am I to say? HIGHLY recommended!
Various Artists "WHERE THE GIRLS ARE v. 1" (Ace, 1997)
Various Artists "WHERE THE GIRLS ARE v. 2" (Ace, 1999)
Various Artists "WHERE THE GIRLS ARE v. 3" (Ace, 2000)
Various Artists "WHERE THE GIRLS ARE v. 4" (Ace, 2001)
Various Artists "WHERE THE GIRLS ARE v. 5" (Ace, 2003)
In the reissues field, Ace Records has always had one great advantage: great sound quality. Crisp, clear, treble-heavy mixes are their specialty, and it's perfectly suited to old-fashioned AM radio fodder such as this. This particular series stands out amid the ever-thickening crop of gal group collections for a lot of reasons -- Volume One has awesome pacing and song selection (including one pre-Porter Wagoner single by Dolly Parton!), and a lot of stuff that's off the beaten path, but doesn't suck. Volume Two is a little more standard-issue, but Volume Three is a real archival doozy, collecting soul, R&B and girl group-ish singles issued on Chess and its subsidiary labels, stuff by the likes of Mitty Collier, Yvonne Baker, Sugar Pie DeSanto , Fontella Bass, and a slew of lesser-known African American gals. True, the formula strains at the edge after a while, but it's still pretty cool stuff. Another home run by the folks at Ace.
Related Slipcue Pages
If you dig the whole "girl" music thing, here are some other pages that might be of interest:
Indiepop Indiedex
New Pop Reissues
Slipcue Main Page
Various Artists "The Brill Building Sound" (K-Tel, 1993)
