Where the Girls are, Vol. 6 [CD]

This is a good, strong installment of this ongoing series, IMO due to the good sized handful of "previously unreleased" songs! These are always like a special surprise to collectors like myself when I hear them for the first time - my own favorite here is Little Eva's "Sugar Plum (Give Me Some). Also I've pretty much enjoyed the majority of the re-released songs from Reparata and the Delrons - this CD's cut too. I do notice, however that this track reminds me an awful lot of Captain & Tennille's "Love will Keep us Together" by the funky sitar arrangement, which leads me to believe it was the next generation of R & D. Amusingly enough, there are also some "sound-alikes" to famous songs on this collection too (the one most noted is "No More Tears" - The Sweethearts - being called a "Marriage of "Stop in the name of Love" and "Come See About Me" in the liner notes)! The Chiffons even imitated themselves doing "Every Boy and Every Girl" like it was "He's so Fine, Part 2"! Only this time they took the "Shoo-lang, Shoo-langs" and embellished them to "Ding-dang, bomb-shoo-lang"! What fun!

OK, If you're a music "purist" and can only accept versions of pop tunes done by the original artists that made the classics famous, this may or may not be a collection for you. If you can still enjoy a variety of lesser-known singers and covers done in their own interpretations, this CD could still be very enjoyable! For example, in my own opinion I prefer Lulu's version of "I Can't Hear You (No More)" - Pat Powdrill; and I like an obscure British group's (New Faces) version of "Walk Tall Like a Man" better than The 2 of Clubs. But the interpretations done here are to me, just fine - I still like the versions I like, though!

Lastly, among this collection of the serious to the silly, my favorite gorgeous composition is hands-down: "Big Time Operator" by Joan Moody. Among the most fun, IMO is "Little Baby" (Kathy Lynn & the Playboys) with its "Grinch horn" in the beginning & end of the song (...the Grinch sounding his trumpet...as he ascended Mount Crumpet...)! Overall a fun, collectable compilation!

ACE Records UK have done another excellent job of compiling a superb collection of rare oldies. In this case, it's a collection of obscure girl group tracks that were somehow overlooked their first go around. For example, the 2 of Clubs. from my hometown of Cincinnati Ohio. Their song Walk Tall was a hit here in Cincinnati and still receives heavy play on our local oldies stations, but it didn't fare too well nationally. This CD has a host of great tunes that were regional hits but didn't hit it too big on a national level. There are some real gems in this collection and it was a great find. I highly recommend it. Remember this: Even though it's old music, if you've never heard it before it'll be new to you.

After a good, solid run of strong albums in volumes 3, 4 and 5, this long-running series stumbles in volume 6. While collectors will rejoice at the usual inclusion of rare and previously unreleased material, the plain fact is that there are no truly outstanding tracks on this compilation.

This is not to say that WTGA6 consists of bottom-of-the-barrel stuff -- it doesn't. In fact, pretty much every track on this disc is professional, competent, and a pleasant listen. Unfortunately, for most listeners, there's also not a whole lot on this disc that will demand repeated listens, or stick with you after it's done.

As with other weak volumes in this inconsistent series, the culprit is usually pedestrian songwriting, rather than any production or performance issues. This means that what you get with WTGA6 are sincere, spirited and well-recorded (and well-mastered) performances of unexceptional material. Standing out a little from the crowd are a few stronger tracks by Barbara Mills, 2 of Clubs, The Belles and Pat Powdrill ... but even the best of these rate as good-to-slightly-better-than-good, not excellent. (And standing out in the other direction is a truly bizarre mid-70s recording of "Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Heart" by 60's girl-group star Reparata -- it's arranged to sound almost exactly like the Captain & Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together"!)

Collectors and completists will want this, of course, but even they will probably first turn to other volumes of this series when it comes time to just sit back and listen for pleasure. Everyone else, meanwhile, can probably safely skip this volume, and look for other, stronger girl-group compilations.