VARIOUS ARTISTS - WHATEVER YOU WANT ~ BOB CREWE'S 60s SOUL SOUNDS [CD]

KENT

£14.58

Format: CD
Catalogue No.: CDKEND508
Barcode: 029667105125
Release Date: 24 Jun 2022
Genre: Pop/Soul

• Most soul fans know Bob Crewe through his 60s pop-soul
songs and recordings with Frankie Valli & the 4 Seasons, Mitch
Ryder & the Detroit Wheels and his New Voice and Dynovoice
labels that teem with hidden gems. Less known are his early
songs and productions by such heavyweights of the black
music world as Ben E King, Chuck Jackson, Jerry Butler and
Barbara Lewis. That follows from his first big success in
music, which was with black Brooklyn doo wop combo Hal
Miller & the Rays, whom he managed, wrote and produced for.
‘Silhouettes’ by them was a big hit on both the pop and R&B
charts in 1957. Crewe clearly loved the R&B sound and penned
for Faye Adams, Charlie & Ray, the Bey Sisters and Billy &
Lillie in the 50s. He took Hal & the Rays through to the early
60s, when he also wrote and produced soul singers Lenny
O’Henry and the High Keys.
• Crewe was adept at composing soulful ballads for Hal Miller,
Chuck Jackson, Jerry Butler and the like but could also hit a
dance groove, as shown by Dee Dee Sharp’s swinging 60s 45
‘Deep Dark Secret’ / ‘Good’ and the High Keys’ R&B gem
‘Pistol Packin’ Mama’. He wrote groovy numbers for Tracy Dey
and Shirley Matthews and an inspired and sublime ‘Pushin’ A
Good Thing Too Far’ for Barbara Lewis.
• Frankie Valli & the 4 Seasons started out as a street corner
vocal group and were steeped in the black music tradition, so
they were happy to go along with Bob Crewe for the ride when
Motown’s success inspired him to write in that vein. ‘I’m
Gonna Change’ was an obscure LP track that got picked up by
Northern Soul DJs in the 70s and went massive – in the
terminology of the day. Frankie Valli had belatedly charted with
his solo billing ‘You’re Ready Now’ in the UK, due to the rare
soul scene spins, though his ‘(You’re Gonna) Hurt Yourself’ is
arguably the more soulful of the tracks from that mid-60s
period. Mitch Ryder fronted a white Detroit rock band whose
music was its own genre of tough soul – ‘You Get Your Kicks’
being a high point in teenage angst with an adrenalin-fuelled
dance beat. By the mid-60s, Crewe’s labels had moved with the
times and the slick, rhythmic pop soul sounds of Lainie Hill’s
Time Marches On’ and Kenny Wells’ ‘Isn’t It Just A Shame’
reflect that.

• Crewe was working for many other labels, producing gems
such as Lynn Randell’s ‘Stranger In My Arms’ for Columbia
and writing ‘Everything Under The Sun’ for revered soul man
Walter Jackson at Okeh. In the UK there were excellent covers
of his songs by Kenny Lynch and Kiki Dee, while UK band the
Soul Mates covered Dey & Knight’s groovy ‘Sayin’ Something’
– we went with the original in this case.
track listing
1. AN ANGEL CRIED - Hal Miller & The Rays
2. WHATEVER YOU WANT - Jerry Butler
3. THE BEGINNING OF TIME - Ben E King
4. ANOTHER DAY - Chuck Jackson
5. PISTOL PACKIN’ MAMA - The High Keys
6. LONG TIME, NO SEE - Tracey Dey
7. (YOU CAN) COUNT ON THAT –
Shirley Matthews & The Big Town Girls
8. DEEP DARK SECRET - Dee Dee Sharp
9. MY OWN TWO FEET - Kenny Lynch
10. PUSHIN’ A GOOD THING TOO FAR - Barbara Lewis
11. A BLESSING IN DISGUISE - Hal Miller
12. DOWN BY THE OCEAN - George ‘N Sonny Sands
13. ISN’T IT JUST A SHAME - Kenny Wells
14. (YOU’RE GONNA) HURT YOURSELF - Frankie Valli
15. YOU GET YOUR KICKS - Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
16. TIME MARCHES ON - Lainie Hill
17. SAYIN’ SOMETHING - Dey & Knight
18. I’M GONNA CHANGE - Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons
19. STRANGER IN MY ARMS - Lynne Randell
20. EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN - Walter Jackson
21. SOCK IT TO ME BABY - James Carr
22. I’M GOING OUT (THE SAME WAY I CAME IN) - Kiki Dee
23. YOU NEED ME TO LOVE YOU - Billie Dearborn
24. 3 MINUTES HEAVY - The Time Keepers