My first taste of ACE
Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 04/14/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This thirty song compilation is the first I've ever heard from the good people at ACE. (I do have 11 other CDs by them on order, though.) The package includes a terrific 24 page booklet that has notes on each song, reproductions of record labels as well as original Billboard clippings.
Released in 2006, the "Bubbling Under" compilation is an interesting mix of early rock & roll, doo-wop, surf and cajun-style tunes. None of these songs ever made it into the Top 100, and for quite a few of them you have to wonder why?
The greatest appeal of this CD is the opportunity we have to hear some then-unknown artists who later went on to genuine fame. A few examples: the five members of Dylan's back-up group "The Band" appear on Ronnie Hawkins' cover of "Bo Diddley." Dr John (the Night Tripper) performs on Robert Parker's "All Night Long--Part 2." Freddy Fender's first ever English language recording "Holy One" although somewhat interesting, shows no indication of the stardom he would reach in 1975 with "Before The Next Teardrop Falls."
Other well knowns in this compilation include Phil Spector, Aaron Neville, the Jesters, the Del-Vikings, the Earls, Bobby Bare and Ral Donner, who does a fine Elvis impression on "I Got Burned."
The CD is definitely worth a listen even for the casual fan, and for lovers of obscurities (like myself) you are in for a real treat! My personal favorites are: "Gee Baby" by Joe & Ann, "Seagrams" by the Viceroys (a catchy instrumental in stereo), "Tore Up" by Harmonica Fats, "Maybe You'll Be There," a stereo track by Billy & the Essentials and "Ronnie Is My Lover" by the Delicates (their name describes their style).
"Bubbling Under" is a simply wonderful collection. In closing I'll just say this-- Buy it . . . you'll like it!
"
Maybe I expected too much
S. Costantino | Here, There, and Everywhere~~~ | 03/09/2008
(2 out of 5 stars)
"WEll, for me, as a whole, this cd was a major disappointment, content wise. The 2 stars I did give it, are for the sound quality, which is perfect, and the extensive liner notes. I buy many of the forgotten oldies cds , (found it the attic, treasured tunes, hey look what I found) and although their sound quality, and lack of any information, is tiresome, there are always treasures on them. I listened to this cd, 3 times, straight, hoping something would grab me, and sadly, nothing did. I could say I kind of like, possibly 5 songs, and the rest weren't hits for a reason. The best song, oddly, is the 1st one, Tore up. I will probably keep the disc, solely for that song. A few others that were ok:
Ronnie is My Lover (a bit too soft to be a hit, and probably the only reason it wasn't), Shim Sham Shuffle, is just a fun tune.
If your expecting alot of real treasures here, you might be disappointed. Go for the 11 real cds in this series, or the pop volume (which also may NOT be for everyone)."
Another Spin-Off From Ace's Premier Series
Annie Van Auken | 05/17/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Over the years there have been many compilations released which focus on that melancholy group of artists known as The One Hit Wonders, those who were only able to crack the primary Billboard Pop Top/Hot 100 but once. Unfortunately, the producers of such albums have frequently played fast and easy with the term, at times apparently only considering anything that made the Top 10 to 20 as "hits" and, in other (less frequent) cases, going to the Top 40. Most also ignore anything that made the R&B, Country and Adult Contemporary charts when compiling their selections. In that regard you see such as Jimmy Soul, The Bobettes, The Rocky Fellers, Bruce Channel, Troy Shondell, Curtis Lee, Bobby Day, Barry Mann, The Raindrops, Thurston Harris, The Impalas, Johnny Cymbal/Derek, and Joe Henderson reflected as One Hit Wonders.
There are many more such examples, and the fact is, each of them had more than one Top/Hot 100 hit (some had quite a few more) and in many cases also had R&B, Country and AC hits to their credit which may or may not have crossed to the Pop charts. The reason they are included is because most producers do not regard ANYTHING that came in below the Top 40 as a "hit." Which, of course, is nonsense. It's been estimated that, in any given year, for every song that made the Top/Hot 100 there were 3 or 4 that did not. Indeed, there were so many that, even though major local hits, just missed making the national charts, prompting Billboard to create the Bubbling Under charts in 1959 to reflect those that clocked in at # 101 to about # 140.
In this off-shoot of Ace of London's wonderful series, The Golden Age Of American Rock `n' Roll, they provide 30 such selections, with full details, including discography, in a multi-page insert which comes complete with vintage photos and poster/record reproductions as only they can do them. More than half the artists here had at least one song make the Top/Hot 100 and in those cases what they give you are the tunes that just missed. Full details are in the background notes. But 13 included in this volume never even made it to the status of One-Hit Wonder, starting with track 1. Harvey Blackston, who recorded as Harmonica Fats, had a very popular hit in the L.A. area in 1961 called Tore Up on the small Darcey label. He may never have had a national hit, but he was in demand as a session harmonica player and appears on records by Ringo Starr and Lou Rawls, among others.
Another based in L.A. were The Metallics whose Need Your Love was also a local hit in early 1962 on Baronet Records. They broke up after four single releases. A group calling themselves The Delicates also operated on the West Coast, but the one here with the same name was a trio of girls from Belleville, N.J. who had a big New York City area hit in the summer of 1959 with Black And White Thunderbird for Unart Records. A favourite among those who concentrate on the Girl Group Sound, this was chosen many years later for inclusion in the album Lightning McQueen's Fast Tracks, inspired by the Disney/Pixar animated film Cars. Ronnie Is My Lover was the flipside to that Unart release.
Before this release there was very little known about Doug Warren & The Rays (the selection here is from 1965 on Image Records), The Viceroys (an instrumental on Bethlehem), Eddie Quinteros (1960 on Brent), and Joe & Anne (circa 1960), but the liner notes provide some background on each. The 1963 cover of the 1955 classic A Story Untold by the Nutmegs, was done on 20th Century Fox by The Emotions, who were actually a combination of The Moments and Runarounds, both of whom functioned in the late 1950s. Barry Peregoy, who recorded as Barry Darvell, had a popular local hit called Geronimo Stomp in 1960 for the Colt-45 label, and How Will It End? was regarded as the B-side. That also applied to My Type Of Girl by The Memos, a Brooklyn group formerly known as The Hurricanes, which appeared on the flip of The Biddy Leg in the fall of 1959.
A Philadelphia group, Billy (Marlucci) & The Essentials offers up Maybe You'll Be There. while the first release of Nut Rocker belongs to pianist H.B. Barnum who recorded it in 1960 as Jack B. Nimble & The Quicks, only to lose out to a studio group calling themselves B. Bumble & The Stingers - actually Rene Hall on guitar, Earl Palmer on drums, and Lincoln Mayorga at the piano. The Ducanes and their I'm So Happy (Tra La La) were among the earliest (1961) production efforts of Phil Spector leading up to his Wall Of Sound, and in 1960 Ricky Lyons, using the same melody as Freddy Cannon's Where The Action Is, did The Shim Sham Shuffle.
It will be interesting to see if sales of this album were sufficient to encourage Ace to come up with follow-up volumes. If so, there are plenty of "bubble under" songs from which to choose."
Track Listings (30) - Disc #1