Pre-Beatles U.K. pop
Peter Durward Harris | 05/23/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Emile Ford had some big hits in Scandinavia, like the irresistible "What do you want...", "Slow boat to China" and finally the charming "Still". He wasn't around for long, due to British racism, he was one of the few black performers. But he was loved all around Scandinavia, he made many visits to Sweden and he will always be remembered for some very nice, catchy tunes that was all over the radio in the summers of -60 and -61. If you're into old U.K. rock or pop, this is a very nice album, indeed."
Early sixties British pop
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 08/31/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Emile Ford was born and raised in the Bahamas, better known for tourism than pop music. He eventually came to Britain hoping for a successful engineering career while singing was supposed to be just an extra. With his engineering skills, he developed a sound system better than was generally available back then. While the superior sound system may have helped him, Emile was a fine singer and deserved his brief period of fame.
While other singers generally chose to record covers of contemporary American rock'n'roll songs, Emile liked to record older material - sometimes much older - as well as contemporary material. His first single included a cover of What do you want to make your eyes at me for, which he intended to be the B-side but the record company made it the A-side. Originally recorded as a duet by Ada Jones and Billy Murray (very popular in their era but virtually unheard of now) in 1917, this went all the way to number one in the UK in 1959/60 (yes, he ended the old year and started the new at number one, a spot he occupied for six weeks). Shaking Stevens again revived the song in the eighties and had a UK top five hit with it.
Emile also made the UK top five with On a slow boat to China (an American hit for several artists in 1948) and Counting teardrops (a cover of a Barry Mann song). Emile had two other UK top twenty hits and several minor UK hits but he was always more interested in engineering than singing and his chart run ended in 1962.
This comprehensive compilation containing all his A and B-sides as well as all his EP tracks may be more than most people need but Emile's choice of material, great voice and superb backing musicians makes this collection enjoyable listening."
Track Listings (32) - Disc #1