gullbuy music review

One Kiss Can Lead To Another

title

One Kiss Can Lead To Another

label

Rhino

format
various artists 4xCD

One Kiss Can Lead To Another box set cover Any box set that tries to serve up an entire genre is bound to have problems, and knowing their box set history, Rhino has dealt with it as well as could be expected with their girl group rarities box set. Not unlike the Beg Scream & Shout: The Big Ol' Box of '60s Soul (or their 80s and 90s box sets), which compiled a multiple disc set in a unique looking box set, One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found compiles together an excellent collection featuring one genre that will (mostly) please both the collector and the novice. Because this is a lost and found collection, there are no out and out hits, no Leader of the Pack or It's My Party, and because of licensing, there's no Phil Spector related material.

Whether a definitive girl group box set could ever be compiled is a good question, but rather then try to sum up the genre definitively, Rhino decided to hone in on the girl group "sound". That means, along with girl groups, a slew of girl singers singing with the girl group "sound" have been included. And for the most part they succeeded. But like the soul box before it, there's always more that could've been done or included that didn't make the cut (there's even some that appeared on that earlier box set like I Sold My Heart to the Junkman by the Starlets).

It's interesting how the compilers decided to combine the US and UK artists and stretch the girl group sound definition to include more garagey stuff or soulful stuff. Basically the box set can be divided up into "true" Girl Groups, Girl Singers who recorded in the Girl Group "sound", Girl Groups and Girl Singers singing soul, and some girls in the garage styled tracks - and each disc bounces around between these 3 or 4 different styles and types of girl group "sounds".

Crossing all those boundaries are a slew of rarities, but because a handful of UK labels (Ace, RPM) have been mining the girl group sound for years (spotlighting the likes of Twiggy, Twinkle, Lulu, Sandie Shaw, Cilla Black, Julie Driscoll, and The Breakaways) for a couple of series of excellent compilations (Dream Babes; Where the Girls Are; Phil's Spectre: A Wall of Soundalikes) and artist spotlight discs. Because of this, there is often duplication from those discs found here. There's even been plenty of the British compilations spotlighting American artists (the Best of Reparata and the Delrons, for instance) - so for those of us who have been following these British releases, much of this box set will not actually be so new to us.

Because the boundary jumping occurs from track to track, the transitions between tracks are sometimes jarring and sometimes inspired. When the transition between tracks is jarring. Sometimes it feels like you've put the songs on rotation in a playlist; and when the transitions work, it's when you can feel the connection between tracks you hadn't noticed before.

A transition I noticed right away, was between the first two tracks. Moving from Needle In A Haystack by The Velvelettes to He's Got The Power by The Exciters, reminded me of the influence that rubbed off on the likes of Dusty Springfield, since she covered Needle In A Haystack and was inspired by The Exciters to tackle the girl group "sound" to begin with, coming from the folk rock sound, when she heard their biggest hit Tell Him.

Speaking of Dusty Springfield, it's fascinating just how many girl singers recorded in the girl group sound, but it sometimes feels like cheating when there are so many included here. If this were a perfect world, girl singers could've gotten their own box set and actual girl groups (honing in on those rarities - even many not included here, perhaps) could've been included here.

Being a girl group and girl singer collector myself, I found myself questioning some of the girl singer inclusions when such great groups like The Paris Sisters, The Clinger Sisters, or The Pixies Three were excluded. Some girl singers that were included don't even really have the true girl group "sound" that Rhino is trying to wrap around them since they don't always have that girl group backing vocal (that is a must) and sometimes even male background vocals pop-up (although even some of the great girl groups, like The Exciters or The Raindrops, had male vocalists).

I wonder if this could've been split up into more sensible 2 cd sets featuring two discs of girl singers doing the girl group sound and two discs of actual girl group rarities (or just 1 disc volumes in a series like those UK comps).

And when it comes to the bigger girl singers, do we really need to have 2 songs each by singers like Dusty Springfield and Lesley Gore? As great as they both are, Magic Garden by Dusty and Brink of Disaster by Lesley were both odd choices. Why not include something actually rare by these artists - like for instance, the alternate multi-tracked vocal take of Lesley Gore's What Am I Gonna Do With You that was only released on the mono version of My Town, My Guy and Me and has never been released on cd?

With that said, there is a slew of great music and it's never sounded better. One could quibble about which versions appear, like for instance, why was the stereo version of Alder Ray's Cause I Love Him included, when the mono version packs more of a punch? Or why even bother with a lesser tune like He Did It by The Ronettes, when there's so much better girl group music that they didn't include? This box set is a step in the right direction for a US label, even with the sidesteps and missed chances they had going for them. What it comes down to it, no US labels could afford the high licensing fees that all the magnificent ideas for multi-artists compilation would cost, I bet, including Rhino.

Here are some highlights from each of the discs, split up into soul, girl groups, girl singers and rarities.

Disc 1

Disc 1 has the most soul oriented tracks of any of the discs, including Needle In A Haystack by The Velvelettes (which was later covered by Dusty Springfield in a better known version), the floor filling Nothing But A Heartache by The Flirtations, the Motown swagger of I'll Keep Holding On by The Marvelettes and the earthy early version of You're No Good by Dee Dee Warwick (Dionne's sister, before Linda Ronstadt had a hit with it).

Brute Force was an enigmatic songwriter, and he wrote the psych girl group song Nobody Knows What's Goin' On (In My Mind But Me) for The Chiffons in 1965, one of the coolest tracks on disc 1. The Shirelles' Boys has been made popular by everyone from The Beatles to Thee Milkshakes (Pete Best even covered it, and that version is featured on the Cameo Parkway 1957-1967 box set), but it's the original Shirelles version people should be listening to.

Out In The Streets is another masterful story in a song by The Shangri-Las, that hasn't been heard as much as their larger hits. Please Don't Wake Me by The Cinderellas is a heavenly piece of girl group music. The Toys' May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone has a more upbeat British Invasion sound than their more classically influenced hits.

Curious about hearing more by The Cookies? Then try out the dreamy I Never Dreamed (and there's more Cookies sprinkled on the other discs, ready to be baked in your cd player, even if they changed their name).

The Ronettes recorded singles for the Colpix and May labels in 1961-1962 before joining forced with Phil Spector. These sides can't but pale next to their Phil Spector material, but He Did It is amongst the best of them.

The girl singers that do the girl group sound on disc 1 are also many and include Keep Your Hands Off My Baby by Little Eva (her follow-up to the Locomotion); the earthshakingly beautiful You Don't Know by Ellie Greenwich; the honest Big Bad World by Cathy Saint; the John Carter/Mickie Most penned Is It True done up by Brenda Lee in a British invasion style with Jimmy Page on guitar; Dream Boy by Jackie DeShannon (another shining example of Jimmy Page's stellar session work on guitar here); the anthemic I Can't Let Go by Evie Sands; the giddily paced Break-A-Way by Irma Thomas; and the aforementioned What Am I Gonna Do With You by Lesley Gore and Magic Garden by Dusty Springfield.

Disc 1 also has a quite a bit of rarities for us collectors. I'd Much Rather Be with the Girls by Donna Lynn was written by members of The Rolling Stones, also recorded by The Rolling Stones as I'd Much Rather Be with the Boys and covered by Johnny Thunder and Nikki Sudden. More recently it was also covered by in an incredible modern day version of the girl group sound in the retrocool It's My Party! (a band). So, having heard the version by It's My Party!, I was glad to have finally heard the original - and it's remarkable how similar it is compared to the modern day cover.

Happy, That's Me is a Graham Gouldman (pre-10cc) song sung by Little Frankie (ex-Chimes) that was released on a UK Columbia 45 as the B-side to It Doesn't Matter Anymore, a tune that was written by Paul Anka and also produced by Gouldman. Backing is by The Country Gents, who helped Little Frankie on a trio of singles, and her management team was the same as the Herman's Hermits (Charles Silverman and Harvey Lisberg). And yet Little Frankie remained without a hit. Happy, That's Me has a chirpy British Invasion sound.

Try the Worryin' Way by The Fabulettes is a weight loss anthem, which somehow compares the family way to the worryin' way (at least in my mind), where worrying about a man will help with weight loss.

And the greatest rarity on disc 1 is saved for last. Track 30 is the incredible Baby That's Me by The Cake. Written by Jackie DeShannon and Jack Nitzsche, Baby That's Me was also recorded by The Fashions and Lesley Gore, but it's this soaring Spectorian version by The Cake that is the definitive version.

Surprisingly, this version wasn't actually produced by Jack Nitzsche, but rather by Stan Ross (engineered at Gold Star), Harold Battiste (arranger) and Green & Stone (producers). So even though this track seemed destined for the Jack Nitzsche compilation that came out recently, because of its astonishing great Spectorian sound, it really only bears Nitzsche's name in the songwriting credit. The Cake recorded two stellar albums which combine varying styles (girl group, folk, soul) together with some self penned songs and covers for a bizarre and fascinating journey, that will only be complete when the two albums get reissued on cd in their entirety.

Disc 2

Disc 2 is chock full of girl singers doing it girl group style. Let Me Get Close To You by Skeeter Davis is taken from the album of the same name, and is a sweet, refreshing number. Earl-Jean from The Cookies gives a solo vocal track in I'm Into Something Good. Lulu is joined by Jimmy Page (in yet another stellar session) on the stomping rave-up I'll Come Running. Sadina has an echoey, mellow vibe hitting her on It Comes And Goes. Girl Don't Come has a swinging, icy vibe as sung by Sandie Shaw.

Dolly Parton offers up an uncharacteristic girl group styled track on Don't Drop Out, which is not actually about dropping out of school. Dorothy Berry does up the Spector sound perfectly fine without Spector on You're So Fine. Alder Ray's Cause I Love Him (a Gary Zekley tune, the mastermind behind Yellow Balloon, Fun & Games, The Clique) is a delight, though the mono mix packs more of a punch (the stereo mix is found here). And finally, P.P. Arnold gives us her versions of the classic Cat Stevens song The First Cut Is The Deepest, which has recently been redone by Cheryl Crow.

Disc 2 starts out with the adorable girl group gem I Adore Him by The Angels: handclaps and a sweet girl group harmony chorus all created with the help of Artie Kornfeld, the father of Woodstock and the co-writer of Dead Man's Curve by Jan & Dean, The Rain, the Park & Other Things and We Can Fly by The Cowsills, I Can Tell by Reparata & The Delrons, Don't Drag No More by Susan Lynne, Only to Other People by The Cookies, and Please Go Away by The Shirelles - many of these also featured on this box set.

The Shangri-Las' Train From Kansas City is an influential track that was later covered by The Shop Assistants in the 1980s, so here it is in all its original trainspotting glory. Please Go Away by The Shirelles has a natural, yearning sound, which makes for the perfect girl group sound. I Have A Boyfriend was also done by a Reparata & The Delrons, but its The Chiffons that really do it up perfectly here on this box set.

When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes is an early Supremes hit that isn't as well known nowadays, as catchy as it is. The Cinderellas' Baby, Baby (I Still Love You) is a heartwrenching girl group song. The One You Can't Have by The Honeys is a Brian Wilson production that has been compiled so much lately. It still makes for some great girl group listening.

I'm Nobody's Baby Now by Reparata & The Delrons took way too long to make it to cd, but recently it was included on not just this box set, but also the Best of Reparata and the Delrons and Phil's Spectre II: Another Wall of Soundalikes - all 3 of these compilations released it 2005. So in some regards it was the year of I'm Nobody's Baby Now, a brilliant (probably one of the best) Phil Spector soundalike. Not to be confused with the Connie Francis song of the same name, which can be found on the White Sox, Pink Lipstick...& Stupid Cupid box set and Connie's original Who's Sorry Now? album.

My One And Only, Jimmy Boy by The Girlfriends (a David Gates song) is one of my all time girl group gems, and it feels buried here near the end of the 2nd disc. So dig it out, crank it up, but please don't pass this gem up.

This song and Chico's Girl by The Girls were both included on the brilliant but long out of print Brill Building Sound box set. Chico's Girl has that Girls in the Garage sound (it was also included on one of those compilations). And the final girl group goodie on disc two is the Egyptian Shumba by The Tammys, a wicked fun dance song which is a whole lot of fun (and should've been covered by a band like The Bangles).

There are only a few girl group soul tracks on Disc 2, including the midpaced If There's Anything Else You Want (Let Me Know) by Roddie Joy, the sweeter soul sound of That's When The Tears Start by The Blossoms, and the slow burning buzz of A Friend Of Mine by The Geminis.

The handful of rarities on disc 2 are a delight and worth digging for. Another Brute Force track can be heard in one of the best Shangri-Las soundalikes of What a Lonely Way to Start the Summertime by the Bitter Sweets, a mini psychedelic girl group masterpiece that is so fine to hear in all its cd glory.

I Won't Tell by Tracey Dey is a Bob Crewe/Bob Gaudio composition, which was released on Amy Records in 1964. There's a cool slamming beat in there and a distorto production which just gives the song more oomph.

Walking in Different Circles was also covered by The Peppermint Rainbow as their first single and on their Will You Be Staying After Sunday album in 1968, Ronnie Dio & The Prophets on a Parkway single in 1967, The Castaways on a Fontana single in 1968, and The Elves on a Decca single in 1969 (this last one was actually produced by the songs co-composer Scott English, with vocal arrangements conducted by Claus Ogerman).

The Goldie and the Gingerbreads' version was originally released on an Atco single in 1967 and included here gives this much covered track the all girl rock band sound. Goldie and the Gingerbreads had been one of the earliest all-women rock bands to be signed.

The Hideaway by the Young Generation was only ever compiled on the very hard to find Dressed In Black: Red Bird Sound Vol.4, and the now rare but super awesome Chapel of Love and Other Great Girl Group Gems (the only other girl group box set that I know of) and featured Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer when she was 12. The Young Generation released two singles including The Hideaway b/w Hymn of Love on Red Bird Records in 1966, and It's Not Gonna Take Too Long b/w Diggin' You on Kapp Records, but we're treated to the plaintive, longing beauty of The Hideaway to end disc 2 which reminds me of The Old Crowd by Lesley Gore.

The Goodees released an album called Candy Coated Goodees and some singles on the Stax' pop label called Hip in the late 60s that are so worth compiling on a cd, but sadly the only song that usually makes it on compilations is their Shangri-Las soundalike Condition Red which shows up on disc 3.

Great tune, a motorcycle drama complete with sound effects, but I'm still waiting for all their recordings to see the CD age. Jilted, another of their great songs, where the singer is actually pregnant has been compiled before but not here. But also, how about their version of Double Shot of My Baby's Love? which has the girls passing out in their boy's front yard because "it wasn't wine that [she] had too much of - It was a double shot of my baby's love!" - or their non-lp single sides?.

Another Shangri-Las soundalike (hey, now there's a compilation idea - compile all the Shangri-Las soundalikes) is Nightmare by The Whyte Boots. Where the Goodees had a heart, Nightmare is all vengeance and venom, detailing a girl fight over a boy named Bobby.

Interestingly, another Goodies (unrelated to The Goodees) actually recorded a Shangri-Las tune, so by that token are a Shangri-Las soundalike, although I think the Goodies actually recorded Sophisticated Boom Boom before The Shangri-Las. A groovy little bopper, Sophisticated Boom Boom is a lot of fun.

Reparata & The Delrons were one of the most prolific girl groups from the 60s, and their psych pop masterpiece Saturday Night Didn't Happen came later in their career, but is worth checking out for its demented psych and sectional design and feel.

Daddy You Gotta Let Him In by The Satisfactions is a Then He Kissed Me soundalike - mixed with a Shangri-Las like chorus about how her boy is one of Hell's Angels.

The Darnells' Too Hurt To Cry, Too Much In Love To Say Goodbye actually has a Then He Kissed Me styled melody as well, but never goes into Hell's Angels territory, so it stays in that sweet buildup sound.

You can't go wrong with After Last Night by The Revlons, another sweet girl group song buried so deep on disc 4 here. After hearing this one, it'll be in your head for a long while.

There a few girls in the garage tracks here, and The Luv'd Ones' Up Down Sue is one of the best there ever was. Nice fuzz guitar, and a solid tune make this a great girls in the garage classic. It would've been nice to include She's Boy Little Boy (or its fiery b-side, Outta Reach), a late example of the girl group sound from circa 1970, as a contrast of what other girls in the garage bands were doing - and since that song is buried as the last track on the She Wants a Piece of You disc.

Little Eva is given another shot here with her tune The Trouble With Boys, a track that starts out disc 3, in fact. Cher recorded some sides before joining forces with Sonny as a duo, and Dream Baby is a nice Spectorian gem (although I like her Beatles tribute Ringo, I Love You even better).

Jackie DeShannon is given a chance at the Phil Spector inspired sound on the retro sounding Should I Cry which sounds like something from the musical Grease.

Evie Sands, on the other hand, mined a sound in the late 60s somewhere in between the Ellie Greenwich sound and Motown on Take Me For A Little While, a song that was made into a hit by Jackie Ross.

Twinkle was a British singer who put her own twist on the teen death song on her folk pop tune Terry. Twinkle's voice always makes me melt, so I'm always happy to hear a Twinkle song compiled as it is here.

I had never heard Nita Rossi's Untrue Unfaithful (That Was You) or at least don't remember it, so I was getting into her groovy mod James Bond styled sound on this track and would like to hear more by her now.

If you haven't bothered picking up any of the myriad of Connie Francis collections out there (preferably her Bear Family ones, but her Gold compilation is really nice too), then what have you been waiting for? The girl could sing everything, including the girl group sound, as witnessed by her incredibly sweet song Don't Ever Leave Me. Now what was I saying about Connie Francis collections? Oh, yeh go out and get yourself one (or two)! Until then though put Don't Ever Leave Me on repeat.

This mixes in perfectly with Barbara Lewis' Don't Forget About Me, a Spectorian influenced piece of genius. And we were first startled by Twiggy's mod soulful blast in When I Think Of You on the Dream Babes, Vol. 4: Go Girl compilation back in 2003, where it was a highlight track.

There's only a few soul tracks on disc 3, but they are good ones. I've always been curious about Chris Clark, having heard some of her tracks but knowing nothing about her. It was good to get her story straight as well as hear her hardhitting Motown track Love's Gone Bad. On the other side of the coin, there's the mellow vibe of How Can I Tell My Mom & Dad by The Lovelites, a small hit for this Chicago trio on the Uni label in 1969. Add this to the list of teens gotten pregnant songs. This disc ends with the Blossoms' Good, Good Lovin' which had some chart action in 1967.

Disc 3

Disc 3 has a few choice rarities. Lookin' For Boys by The Pin-Ups has always been a favorite of mine - it was the follow-up to The Angels' My Boyfriends Back on Bob Feldman's (who wrote and produced My Boyfriends Back, was a member of the Strangeloves, the producer of Hang On Sloopy by the McCoys and Corey Feldman's father) new label Stork in 1964, and it's an awesome My Boyfriends Back type song.

The Honey Bees have two songs here that were featured on the hard to find Carole King: Brill Building Legends including Some Of Your Lovin' on disc 4 and She Don't Deserve You on disc 3. They both have a lighter soul sound, with She Don't Deserve You having the sweeter sound.

The Four J's from Los Angeles featured Brenda Holloway (from Tamla), Patrice Holloway (later of Josie & the Pussycats), Pat Hunt and Priscilla Kennedy and their Will You Be My Love was released on 4 J Records in 1963 with a girl group doo wop sound that really kicks into high gear.

The Charlie McCoy song Funnel of Love by Wanda Jackson has been reissued on some Bear Family compilations and was redone by Wanda in 2003 on Heart Trouble with the Cramps backing her up. It's great to hear Wanda's original version from 1960 here, because the Bear Family compilations are hard to come by.

One of the most exciting rarities on this disc is I'm Gonna Destroy That Boy a song written by Ronnie Dante, Artie Resnick and Kristin Resnick and performed by The What Four - a group that featured Kristin Resnick on vocals (Artie Resnick's then wife). It has that girls in the garage sound and was released on a Columbia 45 in 1966. It's too bad more girl power music could not have been included, like, say The Clingers as produced by Kim Fowley and Michael Lloyd on their Columbia Records 45 cover of the Easybeats' Gonna Have A Good Time or the Pleasure Seekers' What A Way To Die.

The Emeralds' Wanna Make Him Mine was a Jubilee 45 previously compiled on the second Gems compilation which was only available on vinyl and was full of girl group goodies but is hard to find. It goes without saying that this is a girl group gem and as good as they come with the added bonus of a sweet electric guitar sound.

You get a taste of a variety of girl groups on disc 4, from the gleefully exuberant When the Boy's Happy (The Girl's Happy Too) by the Four Pennies (the Chiffons in a disguise, covering a truly infectious Raindrops song), the in your face British girl group sound of That's How It Goes by The Breakaways, the dreamier Who Do You Love by The Sapphires (not the Bo Diddley song), and the Shangri-Las cover Dressed in Black by The Pussycats.

There's actually more girl singers on disc 4 it seems, than girl groups. Starting with the drag-racing no-no plea of Don't Drag No More by Susan Lynne, which is another Artie Kornfeld creation, and a follow-up to Dead Man's Curve by Jan & Dean.

Counter that drag-racing drama with the sweetness of Thank Goodness for the Rain from Peanut (aka Katy Kissoon), a vastly under-rated Brit girl singer who worked with Mark Wirtz and has tunes scattered on various compilations (ok, you didn't ask but here you go: I Wanna Hear It Again - a Pye 45 from 1965 on Girl Don't Come; I'm Not Sad - a Pye 45 from 1965 on From Calypso To Disco - The Roots Of Black Britain; Home Of The Brave - a Pye 45 from 1965 on Here Come The Girls Vol 8; I'm Waiting For The Day - a Columbia 45 from 1966 on The Fantastic Story Of Mark Wirtz And The Teenage Opera; I Didn't Love Him Anyway - a Columbia 45 from 1967 on Am I Dreaming; and Come Tomorrow and Someone's Gonna Be Sorry - Columbia 45s from 1966-67 on Backcomb 'N' Beat. Now wouldn't we thank goodness if someone put all these on one fine cd someday?).

Lesley Gore, Petula Clark and Dusty Springfield are given some time on this disc, with Brink of Disaster (Lesley's last charting MGM single from 1967), Heart (a Petula Clark co-penned tune with Georges Aber and Tony Hatch from her 1965 album I Know a Place) and I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face (which was used as the basis for the Saint Etienne song Nothing Can Stop Us), respectively, all respectable lost classics. Also, for those who like to dig deeper than these top notch singers, try Madeline Bell's Dusty-like You Don't Love Me No More, who finally got her solo 60s albums and singles reissued on RPM - Bell's a Poppin' and Doin' Things.

We Don't Belong by Sylvan is a piano driven pounder with a mysterious vocal by Sylvan - a pretty sweet death song with bells, tension, and an eery horn solo we first heard on the Backcomb N' Beat - Dream Babes Volume Three compilation.

Yvonne Carroll recorded a number of Keith Colley songs including Laugh Or Cry (not included here) and Mister Loveman (the latter being the b-side, featured here) which Colley wrote in 1965. Keith Colley has gotten his due lately with a Rev-Ola compilation called Bird Doggin' and a Sonic Past Music compilation called Mindrocker, but his contribution to the girl group sound has remained unsung, including the Yvonne Carroll Northern Soul classics on the Challenge label.

Only a handful of soul girl sides are featured on disc 4, and they include another Velvelettes' classic floor-filler called He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' (later covered by Bananrama), the Diana Ross and the Supremes sounding I Can't Give Back the Love I Feel for You by Syreeta Wright and an early version of Every Little Bit Hurts [the Del-Fi Version] by Brenda Holloway, recorded before she joined Motown's subsidiary, Tamla.

Disc 4

Disc 4 is chock full of rarities. One of the best is I'm Afraid They're All Talking About Me by Dawn (not the Tony Orlando 70s group), a paranoid anthem written by Doug Morris and Eliot Greenberg, the guys who also wrote Sweet Talking Guy for The Chiffons (and Eliot Greenberg was co-founder of Laurie Records). I'm Afraid They're All Talking About Me was also covered by Thee Milkshakes related duo Mickey & Ludella.

The Honey Bees have featured another lovely lost treasure (also check out the aforementioned She Don't Deserve You), in Some of Your Lovin', made more famous on the Dusty in Memphis album by Dusty, but I think the The Honey Bees version is as sweet as honey.

More a novelty than a true girl group sound, Peanut Duck by Marsha Gee is nevertheless one of the most unique "sounds" you will ever hear, when Marsha Gee squacks like a peanut duck. Peanut Duck has only ever been compiled on the UK LP compilation It's Finking Time, while it's also been covered by The Micragirls on the Are You Insane, Girls? EP (oddly enough they also cover Funnel Of Love in concert).

Jerry Ross's wife, April Young recorded the early Kenny Gamble co-composed Steady Boyfriend (written with Joe Renzetti and Ross) for a Columbia single which bounces along supremely.

He Makes Me So Mad by the Hollywood Jills was written by Sax Kari from New Orleans and is a track that can be found on one of the vinyl Gems girl group compilations (no label, no liner notes, no problem!) which feature a slew of rare and hard to find girl group gems. The Hollywood Jills have a snarly girls in the garage sound on this raw gem.

Toni Basil (of Mickey fame in the 80s) covered the Graham Gouldman composed Getting Nowhere (originally recorded by Friday Browne but also covered by PJ Proby on his Enigma LP) and released it as I'm 28 on A&M in 1966. Another Graham Gouldman rarity (see Little Frankie) about growing old.

They Never Taught That in School is a raucous little number by Gayle Harris (a singer who was backed by the Pacific Northwest garage rock band The Wailers at one time), that was written by Dick St John along with Here Comes the Hurt (not included here) on the Carlton label in 1963.

I was a little disappointed with the live sound of Mixed Up, Shook Up, Girl by Patty & The Emblems (later covered by Mink Deville), but it's fun to hear the girl group sound translated to the stage from the Saturday Night at the Uptown album.

The Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found packaging is cool, but storing it will be a nightmare because it's round and shaped like a hat box. Maybe if you have kids, it can become a toy for them, or you could keep it on a coffee table. I also would've loved more pictures of the artists and their record sleeves rather than the powder puff idea, but the slimline cases work, and the booklet is excellent. But for those with storage issues, this is going to be a tough box to store (much like the Rhino soul box).

---Patrick, February 1, 2006