Like the previous volume of this admirable
Ace Records
series devoted to songs by the great composers
Jerry Leiber
and
Mike Stoller
, this isn't so much a best-of survey as a representative sampling of what the pair were up to during this part of their career. There are a few sizable to modest sized hits here, like
Jay & the Americans
'
"Only in America,"
Johnny Cash
&
June Carter
's
"Jackson,"
the Drifters
"Rat Race,"
Dion
"Drip Drop,"
Peggy Lee
"Is That All There Is?"
The emphasis, however, is more on less renowned recordings of their songs -- not always written, incidentally, by
Leiber & Stoller
as a team, but sometimes in collaboration with other writers, and sometimes with the involvement of just
Leiber
, or just
Stoller
. Sometimes, too, the versions selected are not the most famous ones, but less celebrated interpretations, as in the cases of
Jimmy Scott
"On Broadway"
(rather than
' big hit with the same song) or
Dee Dee Warwick
"I (Who Have Nothing)"
(though it was
Ben E. King
who had the big hit with it). There's also the original recording of a tune far more famous as a song covered by
the Rolling Stones
on one of their early LPs,
Alvin Robinson
"Down Home Girl."
Though still capable of great work,
were a bit past their peak by the mid- to late '60s, so this isn't the first or second place to get acquainted with their prime material. Also, some of the tracks, though welcome to collectors for their rarity, simply aren't up to the level of their better efforts. Nonetheless, this is still a good and well-programmed compilation that has its share of both memorable hits and some overlooked goodies and oddities, like
Richie Barrett
"Tricky Dicky"
(covered by
the Searchers
during the British Invasion),
Betty Harris
' soul ballad
"His Kiss,"
the Honeyman
's odd hickoid novelty
"Brother Bill (The Last Clean Shirt),"
Tommy Roe
's gunfighter narrative
"The Gunfighter,"
Willie Bobo
's Latin-funk boogaloo
"Juicy,"
the Walker Brothers
' typically lush melodrama
"Take It Like a Man."
Mick Patrick
's excellent liner notes give track-by-track details plush with insider info about the songs and recordings. ~ Richie Unterberger