The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features

Vee-Jay: The Definitive Collection

Shout!
By TED DROZDOWSKI  |  October 30, 2007
4.0 4.0 Stars
inside_11VEE-JAY---THE-DEFI
What pioneering American indie label issued records by both the Beatles and John Lee Hooker? If you answered Vee-Jay, you still need this box set of 86 songs that are part of the foundation of rock and roll. Because of licensing issues, Vee-Jay’s Beatles stuff ain’t here — but you’ve heard all that anyway. What’s left is a stunningly upbeat, joyful collection of classic R&B and gospel by historic figures like Hooker, the Staple Singes, Jerry Butler, Jimmy Reed, Hank Ballard, and the Mighty Clouds of Joy, plus obscure killer numbers like Eddie Taylor’s “Bad Boy” and Hoyt Axton’s “Bring Your Lovin.’ ” How about the original “Tainted Love” by Gloria Jones and Betty Everett’s 1963 blueprint for Linda Ronstadt’s 1974 hit “You’re No Good”? Some of this set’s acts, like Butler, Gladys Knight, and the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, are still going strong. Others, like the Highway QC’s and the Dukays, are long gone. But every one of these tunes still burns with life.
Related: Boxed and ready, Loose Ends, Live To Tell, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Linda Ronstadt, The Beatles, Jerry Butler,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

[ 11/27 ]   Pixies + Jay Reatard  @ Wang Theatre
[ 11/27 ]   They Might Be Giants  @ Wolf Den @ Mohegan Sun
[ 11/27 ]   Legends In Concert  @ Fox Theatre @ Foxwoods
[ 11/27 ]   John Fogerty  @ MGM Grand @ Foxwoods
[ 11/27 ]   Fat Angus  @ Steve’s Backstage Pass
ARTICLES BY TED DROZDOWSKI
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   MYSTIC MUSO  |  November 04, 2009
    “America’s Pre-eminent Music Writer Dead at 52” was the headline on Robert Palmer’s obituary in Rolling Stone after his liver failed in 1997.
  •   BRENDAN HOGAN | LONG NIGHT COMING  |  October 21, 2009
    Self-released (2009)
  •   DARRELL NULISCH | JUST FOR YOU  |  October 22, 2009
    This Boston-based blues and soul singer’s seventh album might seem an update of the elegantly funky Stax sound, with its deep grooves and smartly harmonized horns.
  •   REVIEW: TOM RUSSELL | BLOOD AND CANDLE SMOKE  |  September 22, 2009
    This LA-born troubadour with a Dustbowl voice works voodoo on his 24th studio album, conjuring ghosts of the ’60s and ’70s along with apocalyptic visions as he relates tales of gun-toting madmen and dark rifts of the heart.
  •   TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS  |  September 14, 2009
    Boston is one of the healthiest markets for live roots music in the country. Here are the 10 roots shows we don't want to miss this fall.

 See all articles by: TED DROZDOWSKI

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group