Eclectic Collection of Hits
Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 04/06/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It took five years for ACE Records to release a sequel to the the initial CHARTBUSTERS USA, but the wait was worth it. This is a thoroughly satisfying collection of hits from 1963 to 1969. ACE has used the highest quality source material available and you get a whopping 29 tracks. [Not even reissue king Rhino Records comes close to putting this many songs on a single disc!]
A few of these songs were not huge hits: "Harlem Shuffle" was a huge hit in England (home base for ACE), but it barely made the Top 50 here. Likewise, the Gants' cover of Bo Diddley's "Road Runner" peaked just outside the Top 40. And Ike and Tina Turner's "I Can't Believe What You Say" only reached No. 95 in 1964.
However, this diversity of big hits and near misses only adds to the charm of this eclectic batch of songs. You not only get the No. 1 hits ("Good Lovin'," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," "Mr. Tambourine Man" among them), the million-sellers (including "Dancing in the Street," "Magic Carpet Ride" and "Time of the Season"), but you also get seldom anthologized songs like Jerry Jeff Walker's 1968 version of "Mr. Bojangles," The Bobby Fuller Four's follow-up hit "Love's Made a Fool of You," and Tony Joe White's swampy "Polk Salad Annie." You also get four instrumentals that--aside from "Classical Gas"--rarely get anthologized. The other three are "Mission: Impossible," "Watermelon Man" and "Batman Theme."
In addition, ACE provides an informative 18-page booklet that details the artists and songs. Lalo Schifrin, for example, was at one time Dizzy Gillespie's musical director and scored the soundtracks for "Cool Hand Luke" and "Dirty Harry." Bobby Hebb wrote "Sunny" as a tribute to his brother who was killed during a mugging. John Fred had released 15 singles over a ten-year period before attaining one-hit-wonder status with his sixteenth release, the No. 1 "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)" in 1968.
While many of the heavy hitters are missing (Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys, etc.), there are enough sheer delights to satsify any Baby Boomer looking for a quick Sixties fix. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED"
Track Listings (29) - Disc #1