VA — Phil Spector\’s Flips And Rarities (2000)
FLAC (tracks) | Pop, Oldies | 1h 17 min | 462 MB
1 — I Idolize You — Ike & Tina Turner (3:40)
2 — Black Pearl — Sonny Charles & The Checkmates (3:25)
3 — Dream For Sale — Gene Pitney (2:28)
4 — Some Of Your Lovin\’ — Johnny Nash (2:17)
5 — World Of Tears — Johnny Nash (2:26)
6 — When You Dance — Billy Storm (2:26)
7 — Spanish Harlem — Santo & Johnny (1:56)
8 — Mr. Robin — The Spectors Three (1:57)
9 — Some Of Your Lovin\’ — Emil O\’Connor (2:27)
10 — I Love You Betty — Terry Day (2:04)
11 — That\’s Alright Baby — Gary Crosby (2:08)
12 — Yes I Love You — Paris Sisters (2:33)
13 — That\’s What Girls Are For — Timothy Hay & The Wanderobo (2:03)
14 — Where Can You Be — Tony & Joe (2:03)
15 — Raincoat In A River — Sammy Turner (2:11)
16 — To Know Him Is To Love Him — Lesley Gore (2:26)
17 — Be My Girl — Ray Peterson (2:07)
18 — Unchained Melody — Blackwells (2:38)
19 — Oh! Why — Teddy Bears (2:29)
20 — Home Of The Brave — Bonnie & the Treasures (3:03)
21 — Why Can\’t A Boy And A Girl Just Stay In Love — April Stevens (2:32)
22 — Why Don\’t They Let Us Fall In Love — Veronica (2:27)
23 — (Let\’s Dance) The Screw — Crystals (4:32)
24 — Bumbershoot — Phil Harvey (2:16)
25 — (I\’m A) Woman In Love — Ronettes (2:53)
26 — He\’s A Quiet Guy — Darlene Love (2:27)
27 — Here It Comes (Here I Go) — Jerri Bo Keno (3:48)
28 — Puddin\’ \’n\’ Taim — Alleycats (2:48)
29 — Dream For Sale — Joey Paige (2:35)
30 — I\’m So Happy (Tra-La-La) — Ducanes (2:33)
Certainly this is an unauthorized CD compilation of rare 1960s tracks that Phil Spector had something to do with, as either producer, songwriter, or even artist. There\’s no label (though there is a catalog), but it certainly does exist, and was, as of 2001, available for sale at specialized record stores with extremely deep stock. Just because Spector was involved in a record didn\’t necessarily mean it was good, and the merits of this 30-song anthology are extremely erratic, though there are some undoubted high points. Most of these are run-of-the-mill early-\’60s tracks that weren\’t hits for a reason: The songs were trivial and not that hot. And most of them don\’t have an identifiably Spectoresque sound, in part because on several of them he was only involved as a songwriter, in part because some of them predate his true Wall of Sound techniques. Some of these cuts are good, or at least okay, like Gene Pitney\’s \»Dream for Sale\» (which actually isn\’t too rare), Bonnie & the Treasures\’ \»Home of the Brave,\» April Stevens\’ breathy \»Why Can\’t a Boy and Girl Just Stay in Love\» (which Spector co-wrote with Nino Tempo), Johnny Nash\’s \»World of Tears,\» and Veronica\’s \»Why Don\’t They Let Us Fall in Love\» (which is actually Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes). Sonny Charles & the Checkmates \»Black Pearl\» is very good, and was a pretty big hit in 1969, but why it\’s included here isn\’t too clear, as it\’s been officially released as part of Spector\’s Back to Mono box. There are also items that fall into the novelty realm, like the guitar instrumental \»Bumbershoot\» that Phil Spector cut under the alias Phil Harvey, and the ridiculous Crystals B-side \»The Screw (Let\’s Dance),\» a throwaway track interrupted by poker-faced admonitions to \»do the screw\» (spoken by Spector\’s lawyer). Overall this is interesting to acquire for dedicated Spector enthusiasts, but the utter lack of liner notes (though at least there are songwriting credits) is a major strike against its value. There are no clues as to why some tracks, like Santo & Johnny\’s \»Spanish Harlem,\» are considered to have any Spector associations whatsoever. The sound quality is pretty good, but the tracks have almost certainly (somes quite audibly so) been taken from vinyl records rather than master tapes.
