Various Artists - East Side Story, Vol. 8 (CD)

All Music Guide

Philadelphia RB, '70s Chicago soul, and '60s folk-rock harmony meet East Los Angeles on this volume, covering the 1950s thru the 1970s. The Defonics' "Didn't I Blow Your Mind" shares space with the Premiers' "Duffy's Blues," and a couple of generations of RB and soul rub shoulders with them. Billy Stewart ("Do I Love You"), the Moonglows ("Sincerely"), the Mello Kings ("Tonite, Tonite"), the Shells ("Baby Oh Baby") and Eddie Holman ("Hey There Lonely Girl") are all here, representing 15 years of great music. The mix is surprisingly compelling, considering the divergence of styles and periods, the Casinos' 1967 Association-style cover of John D. Loudermilk's "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" alongside Holman's falsetto-textured "Hey There Lonely Girl" and the Elgins' 1966 Motown debut "Darlin' Baby." It's hard to tell the meaning or the links between the material, as the disc's programming is more akin to what a good oldies deejay would play than to anything that should sell to the public ...in big numbers, which is why this CD deserves to sell -- or, at least, it would if it had more than a dozen songs and maybe some sleeve notes, or a slightly lower list price. But it isn't bad as a fairly serious oldies collection. - Bruce Eder, All Music Guide Read more Less