Various Artists - The Best of the Girl Groups, Vol. 1

fungun

A sister cdof vol 2 , has the secret of songs that old wrinklies mime to in their sleep. wonderful sounds that stay timeless whilst the rest us don't. February 13, 2008

VOLUMES 1 & 2 ARE BOTH MASTERPIECES

First of all, for those who complained about the lack of songs by Phil Spector's girl groups as well as Motown's, it's all due to licensing permission. If you already own cd's by said artists, why not do what I did a long time ago and make your own mixes, including songs from these collections? For anyone living in the NY/NJ area-there is still one oldies station on AM radio that plays many girl group songs, as well as songs from the 50s thru the 70s and that radio station is WMTR1250AM and once you tune in you will not be sorry. Back to Girl Groups Volumes 1 & 2, they bring back wonderful memories of fun times growing up in the early to mid 1960s when your radio was constantly on. Very highly recommended for fans of 60s pop music.
January 22, 2008

The Best Of The Girl Groups, Vol. 1

If your a fan of the 60's or of the girl groups this CD is a must to have in your collection. January 20, 2008

Best of the Girls Group Vol. 1 Review

I enjoy this collection of the Best of the Girls Groups. For those of you who love the sounds of the 50s and 60s, this collection will not disappoint. There is a Best of the Girls Group Volume II which is good, but I believe Volume I is better due to it having a better compilation of songs than Volume II. The sound quality is good. November 19, 2007

It's More Than Worth The Money

"The Best of The Girl Groups, Vol. 1" is a really well-chosen, well-reproduced Rhino compilation of some of the greatest of the girl group sounds from their pop music era, the early 1960s. It lacks some of the most influential groups, those of Berry Gordy's Motown, Phil Spector's Gold Star Studios, and Philadelphia's Cameo, but there's still a wealth of fondly-remembered music here.

As is typical of the period when girl groups were at their height, those Brill Building gnomes have their fingerprints all over this album. There are three Shangri-La songs, "Leader of The Pack," "Remember (Walking in the Sand)," and "Give Him a Great Big Kiss." Credit Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry with the writing; the mysterious George (Shadow) Morton with the production, throbbing motorcycle sounds and big sloppy kisses on the soundtrack. These songs all told little stories, and they lifted the Shangri-Las, four tough-sounding girls-- the Weiss sisters and the Ganser sisters, actually twins-- from Queens, New York well out of the ordinary.

Four Bronx girls, the Chiffons, have "He's So Fine" (the song the Beatles's late George Harrison unwittingly rewrote as "My Sweet Lord"), and "One Fine Day" here: their "Sweet Talking Guy" is in Vol.2. Mind you, I've seen the Chiffons perform, at New York's South Street Seaport, and I can tell you those girls still love to make music. The Shirelles have three songs here: Carole King's famous "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," Burt Bacharach's "Baby It's You," and "I Met Him on a Sunday." I've managed to see Shirley Alston Reeves, their former lead singer too, with backup singers, for sure; and she can still punch them out, I promise you. That New Orleans girl group, the Dixie Cups, has two songs here, the world-famous "Chapel of Love," and the melodic, though lesser-known, "People Say." Both written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, with Phil Spector an additional writing credit on "Chapel;" both produced by Leiber and Stoller. You'll also find two mysterious, haunting songs of the era, the Jaynetts' "Sally Go Round The Roses," and Claudine Clark singing her own "Party Lights." The Ad-Libs' "Boy from New York City," a pure Brill Building product. Betty Everett's "Shoop Shoop Song;" now much better known as "It's in His Kiss," as sung by Cher. Cher's early "Dream Baby" is also here; production is credited to Sonny Bono; but as both these artists began their music careers working for Phil Spector, it sure has Spector's sound, if not his signature.

Many, if not most, listeners will have a few favorites that just aren't here: I wish the Dixie Cups' "Iko Iko," a real African-influenced, New Orleans sound, heard on the soundtrack of that entertaining New Orleans-set movie "The Big Easy," had been included. But what is here is more than worth the money. June 21, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...