VA - You Heard It Here First! Vol. 01 [2008] + You Heard It Here First! Vol. 02 [2010] (2 x CDs)

 

FIRST HEARD

VA - You Heard It Here First! Vol. 01 [2008] + You Heard It Here First! Vol. 02 [2010] (2 x CDs)

VA - You Heard It Here First! Vol. 01 [2008]           2008 collection containing 26 original versions of some of the most enduring classics of the '50s and '60s. These tracks embrace some of the greatest Country, Soul, Pop, Rock 'N' Roll and R&B tunes ever recorded. Some of these originals are well known, others are hardly known at all. Most people with a passion for Rock 'N' Roll will know that Richard Berry wrote and recorded the original 'Louie Louie', but hardly anyone will know that the Kingston Trio and Mark James did 'Get Together' and 'Suspicious Minds' before the Youngbloods and Elvis Presley did. Hear how 'Rock Around the Clock' sounded three years before Bill Haley and the Comets got to it, or how the Crickets 'I Fought the Law' almost half a decade before the Bobby Fuller Four and 15 years before the Clash did. Find out where Led Zeppelin acquired the source material for 'Whole Lotta Love' and the Animals got 'Baby Let Me Take You Home' from. Marvel at how closely the later hit versions were often modeled on these originals, and wonder how come they weren't hits in their own right. Ace Records. 2008.

VA - You Heard It Here First! Vol. 02 [2010]          Here are another two dozen tracks that mostly went unheard and unheeded on release, only for someone else's second attempt to take them high into the Hot 100. Here are the original recordings of, or templates for, such iconic US hits as `Hush', `Cold Sweat', `The Lion Sleeps Tonight', `California Dreamin'', `Bend Me Shape Me' and more, all as you have probably never heard them.  The majority of these recordings are as good as, if not better than, the hit versions that followed in their wake. Many will be a revelation to those who bought and have long cherished those hit versions. At least half of them have never been reissued before, much less appeared on CD. (Amazon)

As ever, Ace Records must be congratulated on another marvellous concept, which deserves further exploration and hopefully a couple of follow-up volumes. This is a fascinating look at pop history with the usual recording quality and informative booklet that one comes to expect from Ace Records. 

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Track lists

Volume 1

01 Gloria Jones Tainted Love 2:13

02 Mark James Suspicious Minds 3:04

03 Wild Ones Wild Thing 2:30

04 Crickets I Fought The Law 2:14

05 Howlin' Wolf The Red Rooster 2:29

06 The Raindrops Hanky Panky 2:23

07 Bessie Banks Go Now 2:41

08 Priscilla Bowman; The Spaniels A Rockin' Good Way 2:14

09 Sammy O. Ambrose This Diamond Ring 2:32

10 John D. Loudermilk Tobacco Road 2:45

11 Yvonne Fair I Found You 2:26

12 Eddie Riff Ain't That Loving You Baby 2:18

13 Richard Berry & The Pharaohs Louie Louie 2:14

14 Barbie Gaye My Boy Lollipop 2:18

15 Little Darlings Little Bit O' Soul 2:18

16 Johnny Darrell Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town 2:17

17 Hoagy Lands Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand 2:38

18 Muddy Waters You Need Love 2:43

19 Diane & Annita A Groovy Kind Of Love 2:01

20 Ian & Sylvia You Were On My Mind 2:46

21 Tommy Hunt I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself 2:51

22 Kingston Trio Let's Get Together 2:39

23 Joe Jones California Sun 2:22

24 Carson & Gaile Something Stupid 2:05

25 Leaves Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go? 2:43

26 Sunny Dae & The Knights Rock Around The Clock 2:47

Volume 2

01 Billy Joe Royal Hush 2:29

02 Four Preps Love Of The Common People 3:00

03 Johnny Kidd & The Pirates Shakin' All Over 2:21

04 Barry Mcguire California Dreamin' 2:38

05 Pino Donaggio Io Che Non Vivo (Senza Te) 2:59

06 Dells Higher And Higher 2:33

07 James Brown I Don't Care 2:53

08 Bobby Parker You Got What It Takes 2:43

09 Tony Joe White Old Man Willis 3:07

10 Dan Penn I'm Your Puppet 2:47

11 Sir Mack Rice Mustang Sally 3:06

12 Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds Mbube 2:43

13 James Ray I Got My Mind Set On You Pts 1 & 2 3:25

14 Mccoys Sorrow 2:04

15 Corporation Candida 2:46

16 Four Voices Sealed With A Kiss 2:03

17 Fred Neil Everybody's Talkin' 2:43

18 Outsiders Bend Me, Shape Me 1:55

19 Hoyt Axton Sing In The Sunshine 2:10

20 Great Society Someone To Love 3:03

21 Don Cherry Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye 2:39

22 Greenbriar Boys Different Drum 3:03

23 Don & Dewey Leavin' It All Up To You 2:09

24 Chuck Berry Come On 1:47

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