Search - Fabulous Flips :: Fabulous Flips: Great B Sides Of The 1950s & 1960s

Remember those "B sides" of 45's you thought were great?

02/04/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a collector's CD for those growing up in the 1950's who turned a hit rock 'n 'roll "45" over to hear the "B-side". "Fabulous Flips" is the only way to hear some of these songs again (unless you saved all those singles). Some flips were as great as the original hit, but many were EVEN better. Yes, it's nostalgic, but the high quality of the sound and the new availability of these recordings created by defunct rock labels, makes this particular collection unique. Technically, ACE records (UK) used the original masters or a pristine "needle-drop". OUTSTANDING!"

The Sides That Received Little Attention

08/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Back in the days when hit singles were based upon one side or the other of a 78- and then 45-rpm release, labels were not always keen when both sides of a record received enough air- and jukebox play to earn itself a place on the charts. The reasoning was quite simple: far better to have songs good enough to receive that kind of attention issued separately. A record where BOTH sides were considered major hits and million sellers (e.g., Elvis Presley's Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel) would be far better off garnering sales of a million each. But where some artists were concerned, and again I cite Presley, any plans to the contrary by people like Colonel Tom Parker proved fruitless as every one of his singles at RCA Victor, beginning with Heartbreak Hotel/I Was The One in 1956, to Good Luck Charm/Anything That's Part Of You in 1962 were two-sided hits. That's something like 19 straight single releases!



In most cases, however, the artists had to be satisfied (and were naturally ecstatic) if just one side scored because the two-sided hit was, for the most part, a rarity. Only the major stars, or some lucky enough to have had their record "flipped" by DJs enough to grab attention, received that honour.



In this first of a 3-volume series (to date) from the Mount Everest of oldies compilations, Ace Records of London, England, there are five cuts that have gone into the books as hit singles: Leroy by Jack Scott, a # 5 R&B/# 11 Top 100 flip of his summer 1958 # 3 Top 100/# 5 R&B smash My True Love; I Wonder If I Care As Much by The Everly Brothers, considered a Top 100 "follow-along" hit back of their # 1 Country (7 weeks!), # 2 Top 100, # 5 R&B monster hit in summer 1957, Bye Bye Love; Miss Ann by Little Richard, a # 6 R&B/# 56 Top 100 flip of his # 2 R&B/# 10 Top 100 hit in summer 1957, Jenny Jenny; Crazy by The Hollywood Flames, considered a Top 100 "follow-along" hit back of their # 5 R&B/# 11 Top 100 in late 1957, Buzz-Buzz-Buzz; and Over And Over by Bobby Day, a # 41 Top 100 and R&B "follow-along" back of his major summer 1958 hit, Rock-In Robin # 1 R&B/# 2 Top 100).



As to the rest, many were indeed good enough to have become hits on their own in the right circumstances and are sure to please both casual fans of that bygone era and the hard-core collector. Many of the sides you just won't see anywhere else, and that's especially true of the One-Hit Wonders like The Crescendos, Kuf-Linx, Aquatones, Eternals, and Ron Holden & The Thunderbirds, for whom you only ever see their one hit.



And rest assured, Ace provides full details in their discography of the contents and multiple pages of liner notes as only they can do them. The sound quality is, as always with their products, excellent. If you're not familiar with Ace, be sure to check out their magnificent multi-volume Golden Age Of American Rock `N' Roll and Golden Age Of American Popular Music series, as well as smaller series such as Early Girls and Teen Beat (an all-instrumental series). You simply won't be disappointed."