Girl group records were just a part of what the Laurie label issued. But even excepting its big hits by
the Chiffons, there were more than enough of them to fill up this 24-track CD (which does include a few
Chiffons tracks, just not their big chart entries). Unlike, say, the Red Bird or Philles labels, Laurie girl group discs didn't have a particularly distinctive house sound, which is part of what makes this collection's appeal limited to genre specialists. As such anthologies go, however, it's a little above the average, with songs and performances that are largely respectable, if only seldom exciting. Certainly the pick that stands head and shoulders above everything else on this particular batch is Beverly Warren's version of the
Carole King-
Gerry Goffin song "Let Me Get Close to You." It wasn't a big hit, but is as indelibly melodic as most of their other famous classics, though to be technical this isn't the original version, the song having been previously released by
Skeeter Davis. Another track that is an original version of a famous song is the Summits' 1963 single "Hanky Panky," covered with great success (and with far more exciting flair, it must be said) by
Tommy James & the Shondells. Beyond that it's not such eventful sailing, but some decent numbers are present in the Charmers' "Shy Guy," which could come close to passing for an early-'60s Motown single by
Mary Wells or
the Marvelettes; the Cheese Cakes' (yes, that was their real name) "Heading for a Heartbreak," which has a touch of British Invasion influence; Bernadette Carroll's "He's Just a Playboy"; and Marie Antoinette's "He's My Dream Boy," a pretty blatant imitation of
Phil Spector's
Crystals/
Darlene Love productions, if executed with rather less finesse. The most notable oddity is Reparata's death disc "Your Life Is Gone" (done solo sans her usual backup group, the Del-Rons), which despite its 1972 date would come close to approximating a
Spectoresque girl group production if not for an intrusive electric sitar. ~ Richie Unterberger