The Clovers - Clovers [Sequel]

All Music Guide

The Clovers' 1956 debut album has been remastered and augmented by ten additional cuts, including overlooked B-sides, early singles that were bypassed for the original LP, and a surprisingly jazzy outtake of "Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash." Those forgotten sides have been well-preserved, and are as worthy of a hearing as any of the songs that did make it onto the original long-player. "Skylark," the slow ballad side of their first Atlantic single (and their first hit), was a reworking of the Earl Hines/Billy Eckstine version from a decade earlier, and sounds almost like a lost Ink spots track. "Needless" is the kind of soaring ballad that The Clovers did beautifully, but which was overshadowed on the radio and on jukeboxes by their up-tempo numbers. "Comin' On" is a slow blues with a sax solo that skirts effectively between hot and languid. "One Mint Julep" (possibly the best-selling record in the group's output), "Good Lovin'," "I Confess," "The Feeling Is So Good," and "Down in t...he Alley" are out and out rockers, the latter featuring a hot, brittle guitar solo that should have made it a rock roll standard in its own time (yet, somehow, the song never charted). "Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash" is a more swinging version of the released song and well worth hearing in this rendition. The production on the CD is very good, and the notes are thorough, although they do have some spelling and editing errors. - Bruce Eder, All Music Guide Read more Less