The Goastt

A Golden Classics Edition Review by William Ruhlmann
In essence, Collectables Records' Gary Puckett & the Union Gap compilation A Golden Classics Edition is a two-fer CD combining the group's first two albums, named after its first two singles, Woman, Woman and Young Girl. But the addition at the end of the disc of the next five singles – "Lady Willpower," "Over You," "Don't Give in to Him," "This Girl Is a Woman Now," and "Let's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance" – makes this a more thorough best-of for the group, at a generous 76-minute running time. Gary Puckett & the Union Gap was very much a singles act; the first six of those seven singles, all of which reached the Top 15 and four of which went gold, are all most people know the band for. The full contents of the first two albums suggest that that is all the group should be known for, too. The albums are clearly afterthoughts thrown together to generate some LP sales tied into the hit singles.

Angel Baby by Rosie & The Originals is one of those oldies around which an entire legend, if not a career, has been built, such is its lasting impact among a generation of a certain age. Rosie Hamlin's primordial squeak, with its pangs of earnest yearning, was a sound with which every adolescent female in America could identify because they knew instinctively that she was one of their own. As Phil Spector used to ask his flunky, Sonny Bono, when the latest Spector masterpiece was blasting back at them over the studio monitors - "Is it dumb enough?" "What he meant was, did it grab the kids at their level enough to make them go out and buy it," Bono later remarked.

Andy Breslau described the Holmes Brothers' music as "gospel-infused doo wop funk," which pretty much captures the spirit and synthesis of their style. Combining old R&B, soul, and gospel, brothers Sherman and Wendell Holmes along with Popsy Dixon create a rich sound filled with lovely harmony. The intensity of the group's studio performances evokes a live feel, offering an inkling of what their performances at Lynch's in Manhattan must have sounded like during the '80s. Righteous! collects almost 75 minutes of material from the group's four Rounder albums, beginning with In the Spirit in 1990 and ending with Promised Land in 1997. The album kicks off with a bit of electric blues topped with a healthy dose of soul on "Got Myself Together," a song that jumps out of the gate at a gallop and holds to a steady gait for five minutes. Gospel-drenched pieces like "Promised Land," complete with electric guitar, will have non-believers singing along, while classics like "There Goes My Everything" combine classic soul with a touch of country. One also wouldn't want to miss the Holmes Brothers' takes on Tom Waits' "Train Song" and the Beatles' "And I Love Her." Breslau's liner notes, which travel back to the Holmes Brothers' residency at Lynch's, are both edifying and fun to read. While all of the albums the Holmes Brothers recorded for Rounder are worthy efforts, Righteous! offers a solid introduction to anyone who has missed out on their wonderful music.

Heartbeat City is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Cars. It was released on March 13, 1984, by Elektra Records. The band produced the album along with Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Picking up a positive commercial response, the Cars had many tracks getting airplay, and singles "Drive" and "You Might Think" in particular both reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. The album also received favorable reviews from several critics; for example, Robert Christgau stated that "the glossy approach the Cars invented has made this the best year for pure pop in damn near twenty, and it's only fair that they should return so confidently to form."

Already Free is the ninth studio album by The Derek Trucks Band. It was released in the US on January 13, 2009 by Legacy Recordings. The album has received very positive reviews, and debuted at #19 on the Billboard Top 200 reached #1 on the blues chart, #1 on the Internet chart, and #4 on the Rock chart. This marks the band's highest debut on the Billboard Top 200 chart to date. The album won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album, marking the band's first Grammy award. The first single, "Down in the Flood", was released on November 4, 2008. Guest musicians include Doyle Bramhall II, Oteil Burbridge, Susan Tedeschi, and Eric Krasno (of Soulive). The song "Back Where I Started" was co-written by Trucks with fellow Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes.

For The Price Sisters, and their new LP, Between the Lines, the familiar adage rings as truly as ever: the third time is, indeed, a charm - Rich in the bluegrass tradition, yet equally versed in country balladry, folk Americana, string bands, Gospel, and even indie blues-rock, the 15-song dazzler reflects a wealth of fresh ideas and precocious wisdom coursing through twin siblings, Leanna Price and Lauren Price Napier. With its arresting melodies intertwined in lush and dexterous harmonies, and supported by the finest of contemporary talent- not to mention some masterful special guests- this brilliant third effort from the duo not only revives and reflects the roots of the art form, but expands, with conscious reverence, upward and outward, budding with ambitious intent.

The Everly Brothers were not only among the most important and best early rock & roll stars, but also among the most influential rockers of any era. They set unmatched standards for close, two-part harmonies and infused '50s rock & roll with some of the best elements of country and pop music. In the late '60s and early '70s, their style proved a natural fit for the burgeoning country-rock movement. After a mid-'70s breakup, the duo reunited in the '80s and continued performing together into the 21st century. Their legacy was and is felt enormously by all rock acts that employ harmonies as prime features, from the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel to legions of country-rockers as well as roots rockers like Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe (who once recorded an EP of Everlys songs together).

The Cars are an American new wave band that first formed in 1976 in Boston, Massachusetts. This box set includes a whopping 60 tracks of early Cars material featuring digital remastering supervised by frontman Ric Ocasek. Albums in this box set include The Elektra Years includes The Cars (1978), Candy-O (1979), Panorama (1980), Shake It Up (1981), Heartbeat City, (1984) and Door to Door (1987).

Three CDs. With an Americana music pedigree born of their Appalachia roots, The Everly Brothers ably crossed over from the pop charts to the country music charts during their hit-making heyday. During the mid sixties however they suffered a lean spell for commercial success all the while trying to update their sound. RPM focusses on the following period from November 1966 - November 1968 when the Everlys recorded mostly in Los Angeles rather than Nashville with the duo searching for a musical direction. Disc One presents the The Hit Sound album, recorded from December 1966 onwards, with contemporary rock 'n' roll and pop covered in Everlys harmony style updated with the cream of the LA session crew including Glen Campbell, Larry Knechtel, Ray Pohlman, Hal Blaine. Includes bonus tracks. Disc Two presents the Sing album, the Everlys and their label Warner's response to the prevailing 'youthquake' band sound straddling the transatlantic. On the album are songs by The Buckinghams, Patrick Campbell Lyons, Procul Harum. Includes bonus tracks. Disc Three presents the Roots album, pieced together from the LA sessions at studios like Goldstar, conducted by Lenny Waronker during April-September 1968, again with the Wrecking Crew aided by Van Dyke Parks and James Burton. The Everlys took the chance to pay homage to their country roots with songs by contemporary country writers Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, George Jones as well as more from their own pen. In addition, amongst the bonus tracks here, from the November 1968 sessions held after Roots, are Neil Young's 'Mr. Soul' and Dolly Parton's 'In The Good Old Days'. Waronker had produced Newman in pre-Harpers Bizarre band The Tikis, and with Van Dyke Parkes the subsequent solo album by Newman.