Standing Ovation - The Very Best Of The Dells [Box set]

Really, really good collection, charting the Dells from the mid 60s thru to the early 80s.

Production values are very high though one or two of the 60s tracks are a little tinny or harsh sounding.

The early 60s stuff is well represented by the Northern stomper "Run for Cover" and ballads like "Always Together" which just drip soul and emotion from every word! Other highlights from disk 1 include the anti war mid tempo anthem "Does Anyone Know I'm Here?" with its pleading lead, the dated but fun sounding "Believe Me" and the classic "I Just Don't Know"

Disk 1 comes to an end with the Dells signature tune, a lovely ballad "Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation" and "Closer" a mid tempo gem, both from 1973.

For me though, even better than the (great) mostly 60s stuff on the first disk is the 70s stuff on disk 2.

Here the Dell's baritone lead (Marvin Junior) really seemed to excel on a series of Philadelphia International Records/Teddy Pendergrass sounding - & rivalling - gems including the mid tempo "I Miss You" and "Learning To Love You".

In fact, for much of disk 2, the Dells come on like Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in their heyday - which is to say, great songs, great arrangements, great grooves & fantastic singing.

These songs are timeless quality, filled with genuine emotions!

Favourite track? Impossible to pick just one but try "We Got to Get Our Thing Together" with lovely baritone & high tenor intros, with a looping beat, or the absolute belter "Slow Motion", with its beautiful deep intro, catchy melody before exploding into some great almost shouting like lead from Marvin Junior.

Or maybe its "Thank God Your My Lady" with its uplifting tale of true love, wrapped inside some lovely warm vocals from Marvin again. Or maybe "All About the Paper", with a great bass line and more outstanding vocals from Marvin.

Or maybe its almost the whole of disk 2 & lots of disk 1!

Just buy it, you won't be disappointed.

As you can see from the listing below, with 39 songs, both discs are jam-packed full of goodies (10 are new to CD) with most being hard to find anyway. The 12-page booklet has an informative and very affectionate essay by lifetime-fan RICHARD SEARLING, but the pictures of the band, the tasty Cadet labels, the album sleeves are very small and almost unreadable, while there's 2 pages of track lists that don't tell you what track is from what. So here's a detailed breakdown for fans - all catalogue numbers are USA...

Disc 1 (78:23 minutes):
1. Run For Cover ("There Is", May 1968 LP on Cadet LPS-804 (Stereo)/LP-804 (Mono))
2. Thinkin' About You (June 1967 7" single on Cadet 5538, A-side)
3. There Is [Raynard Miner (of The Gems) & Bobby Miller song] (as per 1)
4. When I'm In Your Arms (as per 1)
5. (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher (Jackie Wilson cover) (as per 1)
6. Make Sure (You Have Someone Who Loves You) ("The Dells Musical Menu - Always Together", February 1969 LP on Cadet LPS-822)
7. Believe Me (as per 6)
8. Wear It On Our Face (as per 1)
9. Stay In My Corner (as per 1)
10. Dos Anybody Know I'm Here? (as per 6)
11. Always Together (Bobby Miller song) (as per 6)
12. Oh, What A Night (Remake of their 1956 Vee-Jay Doo Wop hit) ("Love Is Blue", August 1969 LP on Cadet LPS-829)
13. Medley: I Can Sing A Rainbow/Love Is Blue (as per 12)
14. A Whiter Shade Of Pale (Procol Harum cover) (as per 12)
15. One Less Bell To Answer (5th Dimension cover/Burt Bacharach song) ("Freedom Means", August 1971 LP on Cadet CA 50004)
16. It's All Up To You (Terry Callier/Larry Wade song) (as per 15)
17. The Love We Had (Stays On My Mind) (Larry Wade/Terry Callier song) (as per 15)
18. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself (Bacharach/David song) ("The Dells Sing Dionne Warwicke's Greatest Hits", July 1972 LP on Cadet CA 50017)
19. Just As Long As We're In Love (Terry Callier/Larry Wade song) ("Sweet As Funk Can Be", November 1972 LP on Cadet CA 50021)
20. Give Your Baby A Standing Ovation ("Give Your Baby A Standing Ovation", June 1973 LP on Cadet CA 50037)
21. Closer (as per 20)

Disc 2 (79:42 minutes)
1. I Miss You ("The Dells", November 1973 LP on Cadet CA 50046)
2. Learning To Love You Was Easy ("The Mighty Mighty Dells", September 1974 LP on Cadet CA 60030)
3. Strung Out Over You ("The Dells Vs The Dramatics", March 1974 LP on Cadet CA 60027)
4. Bring Back The Love Of Yesterday (as per 2)
5. We Got To Get Our Thing Together ("We Got To Get Our Thing Together", November 1975 LP on Cadet 60044)
6. I'll Be Waiting There For You (as per 5)
7. Thank God You're My Lady (as per 5)
8. No Way Back ("No Way Back", June 1976 LP on Mercury SRM-1 1084)
9. Slow Motion (as per 8)
10. Our Love ("They Said It Couldn't Be Done, But We Did It", May 1977 LP on Mercury SRM-1 1145)
11. Could It Be (as per 10)
12. Private Property ("Love Connection", January 1978 LP on Mercury SRM-3711)
13. Don't Trick Me, Treat Me (as per 12)
14. (You Bring Out) The Best In Me ("Face To Face", February 1979 LP on ABC Records AA-1113)
15. Your Song ("I Touched A Dream", August 1980 LP on 20th Century T-816)
16. I Touched A Dream (as per 15)
17. All About The Paper (12" Remixed Version) [Album version on 15)
18. Whatever Turns You On ("Whatever Turns You On", 1981 LP on 20th Century T-633)

It opens with a peach "Run For Cover" and frankly never lets up. No less than 6 tracks from their sensational Cadet debut "There Is" are included - and rightly so - but a big omission from the period is the truly gorgeous "O-O, I Love You" - a November 1969 USA 7" single on Cadet 5574 - as lovely a soul ballad as you could possibly hear with searing duet vocals from the boys and stunning Charles Stepney string arrangements. It's available elsewhere - seek it out.

Speaking of soul heroes - Stepney was heavily involved in the Cadet label (a Chess offshoot) and The Rotary Connection featuring Minnie Riperton, while he arranged and produced at least 6 of The Dells LPs for the label. He also worked on the beautiful Terry Callier trilogy for Cadet in the early 70's (see reviews for "Occasional Rain" and "I Just Can't Help Myself"). His classy stamp is all over most of Disc 1 and the beginning of 2 - sweet, sweet soulful arrangements.

A really clever choice too is the 12" extended mix of "All About The Paper" - exclusive to this disc; it's a funky little gem backed with Eugene Record's "I Touched A Dream" (sides were reversed on 12" in the UK). I also adore the slinky groove of Anthony Hester's "I Miss You". And on it goes...

Although it doesn't say who remastered the set, earlier Universal compilations were all done by ERICK LABSON (has over 800 mastering credits to his name) and the sound quality here matches those - BEAUTIFUL and CLEAR. Bobby Miller's original production values shine through also. And even though it gets a bit Stylistics cheesy towards the end - the quality of songs throughout is alarmingly good - there really is so much on hear to admire and enjoy. If anything - the discography provided above shows how many of their albums 'aren't' on CD and need to be...

The Dells are now the longest-running group in the world (remaining members are in their Seventies) and this gem of a release does them proud.

Big time recommended.

PS: Dear compilers in Universal/Hip-O Select - A Dells/Charles Stepney box set please...

This really is the best of The Dells, great sound, forgot how good they were had an album years ago the production so much better on CD