Cheap Girls Girls Girls: 25 All-Time Classics Girls (Music) (Various Artists) Price

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Customer Reviews of Girls Girls Girls: 25 All-Time Classics Girls

Above the rest of the pack
Girl-group compilations abound in the CD reissue marketplace but often recycle the same ol' titles. How many times can you buy the Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back"? Here, Varese Vintage has gathered up a generous 25-track sampler of girl and girl-group, mostly pre-British invasion tunes representing both the "oh-no-not-again" and the rare. Among the girl-group standards here are the Murmaids' syrupy "Popsicles and Icicles", the Paris Sisters' Spectorian "I Love How You Love Me" and one of the most ubiquitously compiled tunes, the Chiffons' "He's So Fine". More interestingly though, the apprearance of significantly charting but seldom-found tracks such as the Sapphires' "Who Do You Love", Brenda and the Tabulations' "Right On The Tip Of My Tongue" and Linda Scott's "I've Told Every Little Star" notch up the interest level for this piece. Going even further and really intriguing the genre's collectors are real rarities in the form of Candy and the Kisses' "The 81" (a Martha and the Vandellas sound-alike out of Philadelphia), Diane Maxwell's "Jimmy Kiss And Run" and Felice Taylor's "It May Be Winter Outside...". Also to the credit of the compilers here is the choice of the Shirelles' (an almost mandatory inclusion in any girl-group compilation) "Mama Said" over the usual "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and the Angels' "Til" instead of their anthem, "My Boyfriend's Back". And going one step further, while the Chiffons' "He's So Fine" appears in a collection for the umpteenth time, here you get the extraordinarily rare binaural stereo version. And speaking of sound, the quality here is top-notch with most tracks in stereo (1-4,7-12,15,19,20,23-25), tracks 9 and 19 having been newly remixed from the session masters. Rounding out the package is an eight-page liner notes booklet with backround and some illustrations for the included tracks and artists. All together, a top-notch piece way above the crowd of girl group compilations.

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+1/2 -- Rich cross-section of '60s girl sounds
With so many girl group and girl singer anthologies and reissues on the market, it's hard to know where to start one's collection. Varese's generous 25-track collection provides a valuable tutorial, with a song selection that includes both iconic hits and lesser-known regional singles, it cuts a wide swath through girl groups (e.g., Shirelles, Chiffons, Dixie Cups, Murmaids, Paris Sisters, Shangri-Las), pop songbirds (e.g., Linda Scott, Marcie Blane, Kathy Young), and soul and R&B singers (e.g., Betty Everett, Claudine Clark, Barbara Lewis, Barbara George, Barbara Mason, Barbara Lynn).

Nearly all of these tracks started life on indie labels, some well known (Red Bird, Sceptor, Wand, Laurie), and some hopelessly obscure (Tuff, Seville, A.F.O., Arctic). They were produced and hustled to radio in a time when regional hits on indie labels could still break out nationally. Then again, some of these gems remained regional favorites; the Philly soul favorite "The 81" only touched #51, failing to ignite a nationwide dance craze, and Yvonne Carroll's sophisticated ballad "Laugh or Cry" was well known in Pittsburgh, but never cracked the national charts. And though Motown's Detroit sounds are missing, Felice Taylor sounds remarkably like Diana Ross on the Barry White produced "It May Be Winter Outside (But in My Heart It's Spring)."

In addition to the girls in the studio, the talent behind the glass is equally impressive. Songwriters anthologized here include Kenny Gamble (who would later co-develop the famed 1970s Philly Sound with Leon Huff), David Gates (whose "Popsicles and Icicles" is even stickier than his later work with Bread), and Brill Building stalwarts Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich, Gerry Goffin & Carole King, and Barry Mann. Producers heard here include Kim Fowley (who would develop a rather different girl-sound with The Runaways in the late 70s), Phil Spector, Van McCoy and Shadow Morton, along with lesser-known names whose talent is laid down in these grooves.

Varese's gathered together an impressive number of stereo masters (1-3, 7-11, 15, 19-20, 23-25, possibly 4 and 12), and several of these tracks (6, 9, 13, 19, 21) are reasonably rare in CD circles, making this a good catch for both collectors and neophytes.

4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings.