Search - ARCHIE & THE DRELLS BELL :: Tightening It Up...Best of

Rhino Misses the Boat

Robert Ward | 04/27/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"How could Rhino do it? The most electrifying bass intro of the 60s is left off the beginning of Tighten Up, one of THE funkiest songs of all time. No opening bass line! Not only that, but the linear notes disses Archie and the Drells' early albums, loading up on their mid-seventies disco crud. True, the album has the three big ones - Tighten Up, I Can't Stop Dancin' and Gonna Be a Showdown. But Tighten Up is the only song from their first album included on this CD. No I Don't Wanna be a Playboy, A Soldier's Prayer, Give Me Time, or any of the others. Whoever put this compilation together for Rhino is NOT an Archie Bell and the Drells fan. The minute I put the CD on and heard Tighten Up start with the drum roll and not the bass line, I knew I would be disappointed. Let's hope someday Rhino comes to its senses and releases whole albums of Archie Bell and the Drells, not this pathetic compilation."

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!! OOOH TIGHTEN UP...

Robert Ward | 04/19/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"What? No TIGHTEN UP-Part 2? Although it wasn't the most original track layed down by the Drells, this light hearted b-side is very endearing and justifies inclusion for it's comic relief alone. (If you're not familiar with this song, it's Archie ad libbing dance instructions etc. over the basic track . The Drells chime in with a vocal refrain of "oooh tighten up...")Thankfully, we have the single mix of Tighten Up here. This has a very full sound with a nice reverb. Most compilations in the past have used the LP mix which is a very dry mix and the guitar (the hook of the song) is lost. The Lp mix does have merit, though. That's where you'll find the bass intro .All in all there is a focus on later material with this CD. Why weren't we given tracks from the first 2 LPs? I would have rather had a 2cd set --or even 2 separate releases (vol.1/2 ).
There is a big difference between 1968 R&B and 1978 R&B , so if you're a fan of the latter this is a great CD. Unfortunately, most people are buying this to get the 60's tracks. Rhino should have realized this and delivered the goods."

Sorry Example of "The Best Of.."

Soulful Annie | Bay Area, California | 11/20/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is ok for an Archie Bell & the Drells primer, but this incredible group deserves better. Fortunately, it appears now as if all but 2 of the AB & D LPs have been reissued on CD (the missing 2 being; Dance Your Troubles Away--TSOP/1975, and I Never Had It So Good--Becket/1981). Unfortunately, about half of them are imports. While I'm tired of paying big $$ for imports of exported soul music(!), at least you often get the albums in their entirety, rather than hit and miss compilations like this one.



Archie Bell & The Drells are mostly known for their happy uptempo dance music, but few have appreciated Archie's ability as a powerful and passionate lead vocalist. In fact, smack in the middle of the disco years (a period when many fans wrote them off), on the LP Dance Your Troubles Away, Archie Bell is down on his knees on the delicious 9 min. slow jam "I Won't Leave You Honey, Never". But you won't find that gem here. Hey-Hey, y'all...Collectables? Rhino? Please, more LP reissues, less compilations.



Incidentally, I agree with the other reviewers about the criminal edit of the bass intro on "Tighten Up" here. But you can recapture those valuable few seconds AND hear "Tighten Up, Pt.2" on the vinyl reissue of the LP, or on the CD Tighten Up/I Just Can't Stop Dancing import(!) BTW, the music on "Tighten Up" is provided by the fabulously funky TSU Toronados."