RICHARD BERRY
Yama Yama!: The Modern Recordings 1954-1956 (Ace; CD)
     Ace continue apace to try to hip the world to the genius that was Richard Berry; 2004 alone saw three compilations which heavily featured the New Orleans-born, Los Angeles-based singer - Have Louis Will Travel was reviewed by me in the April reviews and The Ultimate Flairs was praised in November. The present CD expands and improves upon Ace's long-term best-seller Get Out Of The Car (CDCH355) from 13 years ago, and gives a wonderful overview of Berry's talents, from lead vocalist of a doowop group ('At Last' and 'Wait For Me') and novelty comedian ('The Big Break' and 'Oh! Oh! Get Out Of The Car'), to funky blues singer ('Big John' and 'Crazy Lover') and solid rocker ('Look Out Miss James' and 'Mad About You'), and even that of instrumental pianist on the previously unissued, bizarrely-named 'Predoehlicious'. It also includes possibly his most well-known role in rock 'n' roll history; that of "Henry" in Etta James' #1 R&B chart-topper 'The Wallflower (Roll With Me Henry)' and it's sequel 'Hey Henry'. Sadly, this just about exhausts the rich seam of Berry that Ace have been industriously mining over the last few years, but with an attractive and informative 12 page booklet annotated by Ace's vintage reissue honcho, Tony Rounce, this is quite a way to bow out.
www.acerecords.co.uk

BRENDA LEE
Grandma, What Great Songs You Sang!/Miss Dynamite
This Is...Brenda/Emotions (Both Ace CDs)
     Born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1944, little Brenda Mae Tarpley signed to US Decca aged just 11 and for the next seven years made all of her recording sessions at the Owen Bradley's studio in Nashville with the cream of the city's session musicians, such as Boots Randolph, Floyd Cramer, Grady Martin and Bob Moore. These two CDs contain her first four Decca LPs, all stereo masters, remastered in sparkling sound and each release is accompanied by a twelve page booklet stuffed with label shots, album sleeves and other memorabilia.
     The larger storage capacity of the CD medium has resulted in many of these two-for-one releases, but the first compilation throws up the weakness in such programming: The concept album Grandma... was a fairly low-key affair containing Lee's renditions of old Tin Pan Alley standards, while 'Miss Dynamite' was an early 'Greatest Hits' package featuring Billboard Pop hits such as 'Dynamite', 'Sweet Nothins', 'I'm Sorry' and 'That's All You Gotta Do'. Slavishly preserving the original LPs track running order - at least in this instance - makes for a poor listening experience, but nevertheless highlights such as 'Some Of These Days', 'A Good Man Is Hard To Find', 'Just Let Me Dream', 'Heading Home' and 'Let's Jump The Broomstick' are all worth having.
     The second compilation is much better; the two LPs it reissues are well-matched and Lee's fast-maturing voice was impressive on, particularly, big dramatic ballads such as the hits 'I Want To Be Wanted' and 'Emotions', and covers such as The Shirelles' 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow?' or The Ink Spots' old 'If I Didn't Care'. The more upbeat tunes are also attractive; she had obviously fallen under the spell of Ray Charles at the time (who hadn't?), but Fats Domino, Nat "King" Cole and even poor old Johnnie Ray get a look in .
     The other weakness about reissuing strict two-for-one compilations is that non-album singles and unissued tracks get neglected, and Brenda Lee has a full CD's worth of such tracks from the 1956-59 period alone, including her delicious rockabilly offering 'Bigelow 6-200', which deserve a fresh airing.
www.acerecords.co.uk

VIDO MUSSO
The Swingin'st (Ace; CD)
     When the popularity of the big swing bands came to an abrupt end after WWII, suddenly a surfeit of good, professional musicians were set adrift. The lucky few managed to continue as usual with a job in one of the few remaining orchestras or drifted into small group modern or mainstream jazz, many more left the profession completely to become postmen or taxi-drivers, but some few began to carve the foundations for what would be built up by the next generation as the next successful popular music: rock 'n' roll.
     Such a one was Vido Musso, a Sicilian-born saxophonist who came to the US in 1920 and played with the top big bands of Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Harry James, Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey and Stan Kenton. In the late 1940s, the positions for a Swing tenorman becoming few and far between, he began playing on R&B recording sessions in Los Angeles for the likes of Modern/RPM Records and by 1953-54 was recording in his own right for RPM and the new Crown subsidiary. Two now-collectible LPs were released in 1956 and 1957, The Swingin'st and Teen Age Dance Party, and the best of these recordings are featured on this new Ace release. Inevitably, his own Swing years are revisited in'Sing, Sing, Sing', 'Intermission Riff', 'Jersey Bounce' etc. but much more satisfying are the raucous post-swing stompers such as 'On Stage', 'Movin' On', 'Rockin' Time', 'Sherry Pink', 'Rock House Blues' and the expected 'Vido's Boogie'. Two lively faux concert recordings complete a CD compilation that should appeal to both lovers of jazz and early rock 'n' roll.
www.acerecords.co.uk