CD Reviews

Vee-Jay: The Definitive Collection

Shout!

By TED DROZDOWSKI | October 30, 2007

4.0 Stars

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

Topics: CD Reviews , Linda Ronstadt, The Beatles, Jerry Butler, More

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