	A Band Of Angels - United Artists UP 1066 She'll Never Be You (45UP 1066 A) - Gonna Make A Woman Of You (45UP 1066 B) There was no mistake about it : judging from the straw boater hats they wore in the film 'Just For You', the five guys who were part of this band had met at the famous Harrow School in London. They were : Mike D'Abo (piano & vocals), Christian Gaydon (guitar & vocals), John Baker (guitar), Dave Wilkinson (bass) and James Rugge-Price (drums). They had two 45's on UA in 1964 and two more on Piccadilly in '65 and '66, none containing the number they sang in the film ('Hide'n'Seek'). The one I'm reviewing is their second on UA and it's a powerful British Beat double sider. 'Gonna Make A Woman Of You', written by D'Abo and Baker, is a real belter, sung by Mike in a raucous voice not unlike that of Paul Jones. It comes as no surprise then that he was chosen to replace Jones in Manfred Mann in 1966. There's a short guitar solo near the end but it's the bass and drums which are prominent in the mix, à la Dave Clark Five. Echoes of the 'Tottenham Sound' are still palpable in the flip, 'She'll Never Be You', an excellent cover of another catchy Neil Sedaka song (RCA 47-8382). This time, both D'Abo and Gaydon are featured on vocals to reproduce Neil's double tracked voice. The group split up after Mike's departure with Gaydon later becoming a successful manager. Their entire output appeared on two very rare French EPs, one on United Artists (#36050) and the other on Pye (PNV 24162).
	The Academics - Elmont E 1001/2 Drive-In Movie (E-1001) - Somethin' Cool (E-1002) That's the kind of doo-wop sound that I like : tuneful and rockin' ! This double sider, released in August 1958, is sought after by vocal group and rock'n'roll collectors alike. 'Somethin' Cool' begins with a pseudo-classical piano intro before the drummer signals his arrival with a few rimshots and then the group, entirely white but sounding really black, launches into one of the many variations on Frankie Lymon's 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love'. It's nicely done and the wild guitar break in the middle fits in perfectly. The lead singer here is Dave Fisher whereas it's Morty Ganter on the flip, 'Drive-In Movie', another rocker with some tenor sax added to the backing. Lou Silvani's invaluable bbok, 'Collecting Rare Records', tells us that other members included Bill Greenberg and Charlie Luth, both of whom are co-writers here. The group, from Connecticut, had two previous releases on Ancho. This record is a styrene press but, contrary to what Lou stated, my copy has written matrix # in the dead wax. It was re-issued (bootlegged ?) on the Nu-Disc label (#8001) with pressings on both red and blue wax.
	The Accent - Parrot PAR-40022 Red Sky At Night (DR 41348) - Wind Of Change (DR 41349) This British group had only one release on the Decca label (F 12679) in late 1967, at the height of the psychedelic movement. Written by all four members of the band (including Rick Birkett) and produced by Mike Vernon, 'Red Sky At Night' was rightly described as 'mind-numbing' by some. After a gentle acoustic guitar intro followed by some weird sounds, the music gets real heavy, with echoes of The Small Faces at times. As for the words, they leave no doubt as to the experience they relate ('the night is over, I can't see dawn breaking, what's this strange glow ?'). Clearly, the seeds of 70's Prog-Rock are in these recordings and they're all the more captivating for that. The flip, 'Wind Of Change', was also written by the whole band and owes perhaps a little more to Cream, sound-wise. The disc saw a promo-only release in the USA on the Parrot label (a styrene press). A bit less rare than its English counterpart, it's still a difficult piece to obtain. 'Red Sky...' was reissued on Deram in 1998 on a CD called 'The Psychedelic Scene' (844 797-2) as part of the brilliant series of discs devoted to UK's Decca.
	Roy Acuff & His Smoky Mountain Boys - Hickory 1090 So Many Times (F 195) - They'll Never Take Her Love From Me (F 197) As good as this single may be, it would seem unfair to review only one record by this giant of country music who became a star as soon as he joined the Grand Ole Opry way back in 1938. Acuff was a Tennessean (he came from Maynardsville) who cut a long list of early country classics for labels like Okeh and Columbia. In the early 50's, he signed with Capitol, then had a brief affiliation with Decca. In 1957, he went to Fred Rose's Hickory label where he stayed well into the 60's. 'So Many Times' is a Don Gibson composition that Roy handles in a lively fashion with good backing from, in all probability, his usual musicians ; these would include Shot Jackson on steel guitar. The fiddle break may be Roy's own work. Certainly one of his best sides for the label. The flip is a Leon Payne song, slower in tempo but again sung with conviction, and displaying Roy's powerful, earthy and unmistakeable voice. This song, popularized by Hank Williams, attracted cover versions by other Greats like Johnny Horton and later, George Jones. My copy of this 1958 record is on a darker yellow color than Hickory's usual outings, perhaps due to the fact that it's a Sheldon pressing ('Sheldon' is stamped in the dead wax although matrix # are only etched).
	Hobo Jack Adkins - Adco 777 Kentucky Moonshine (12349) - I'll Be Long Gone (12350) Sometimes simply billed as 'Hobo Jack', this little known bluegrass singer & musician had a long career starting, according to the notes of an old Collectors Classics album, in 1944 (?) on the Acme label located in Kentucky. His band was called The Kentucky Pals, whose ranks included at various moments Ray Goins (banjo), Cousin Ezra Cline (string bass), Curly Ray Cline (fiddle) and Kenny Baker (fiddle), all outstanding musicians in their own right. Adkins then had records on Lucky, Ace, Big A, Starday (notably #448, 'Union Man' coupled with a talkin' blues entitled 'Country Boy Went To Town'), Nashville and finally, Adco, the Cincinnati imprint. This is the first of his two Adco releases. A Rite pressing, the matrix numbers would indicate a 1964 recording date. I don't think any of the above musicians are featured here but both sides are of high quality nonetheless. 'Kentucky Moonshine' is a fast bluegrass mover with humorous lyrics about that sought-after liquor and three breaks, on mandolin, dobro and 5-string banjo respectively. Taken at a slower tempo, 'I'll Be Long Gone' showcases the high-pitched, nasal vocals of Hobo Jack and his band even more. Both songs are penned by Adkins who had previously written and recorded 'Another Night' on Big A (#5) which was later covered by The Stanley Brothers, no less, on Starday (#466). To the attention of collectors, the Adco record interestingly shows a Starday Music publishing credit. Also, 'Rite 427' and 'Rite 428' are etched in the dead wax, as well as 'Adco 777'.
	Nancy Adams - RCA Victor 47-8410 I Wanna Hear It From You (RPKM 4275) - Lipstick, Paint A Smile On Me (RPKM 4276) If you had bought this record forty years ago, you would have paid $5 at the most. In the following years, soul collectors (especially in the UK) began to investigate other music areas and took a liking to all those girl singer/group sounds which were bouncy, tuneful, and whose arrangements separated them from straight, middle-of-the-road pop. That's why this item from 1964 has seen a dramatic rise in price. However, to my mind, its musical content remains definitely more pop than soul. Some would perhaps call it 'popcorn' ! That's no put down though. Nancy sings with enough conviction to grab your attention. In the notes to a 1972 album she cut for Mega in Nashville, composer Johnny Mercer wrote that she sang in the Peggy Lee tradition. Both tracks here feature organ. There's brass in 'I Wanna Hear it' whereas a section of violins is featured in the slower, moodier flip side. Also, Nancy's vocal is double-tracked on 'Lipstick'. She had a few more singles on RCA, all produced by Andy Wiswell. Most of her songs were penned or co-written by Floyd Huddleston and that went on when she subsequently recorded for MGM, Philips, Ticfaw and Mega. Typical machine stamped RCA pressing on the flat black label with dog on top, this copy coming from the Rockaway, New Jersey, pressing plant.
	Nicky Addeo & The Darchaes - Savoy 45-200 Gloria (BVD 2000) - Bring Back Your Heart (BVD 2001)
	Les Aigles et leurs guitares - Vogue-Pye PNV 24101 March Of The Eagles - Exodus - Bristol Express - Johnny's Tune
	Denni Alan - Academy 434
	Alan Lord & Sir Richard Cannon - Cannon CR-101
	Charles Alexander - CB 302
	Kirby Allan - Maze 1018
	Lonnie Allen - Val-Hill 1002
	Ronnie Allen - San 208
	Jim Alley & The Alley Cats - Pearl 1111/2 The Great Pretender (MO8W-1111) - The Alley Cat Scratch (MO8W-1112) This had to be one of the greatest discoveries of the early 80's for it was unknown even to Don Kirsch when he published the superb second edition of his 'Rock'n'Roll Obscurities' in 1981. Jim Alley had two 45's on the Pearl label out of Muncie, Indiana, but for years, only the second (#4447/8, 'Dig That Rock'n'Roll' c/w 'Lonesome Feeling') was listed. The top side was a superior (if a touch repetitive) rocker with a neat acoustic guitar intro and an incessant lead guitar, while the other side was a very tuneful country offering with steel guitar, Bakersfield-style. But what a gas when we uncovered his unexpected, powerhouse version of 'The Great Pretender' - yes, the Platters' smash from 1956 ! Cut in 1961, recorded at Jan Eden Recording & Sound studio in Indianapolis, produced by George Mc Mahon and custom pressed by RCA (hence the stamped matrix numbers in the dead wax), it rocks like there will be no tomorrow ! The vocal is superb - clear, melodious and totally free of any sort of chorus in the background ; as for the guitar break, underlined by some real pumpin' piano, it certainly ranks as one of the best of the genre. You'll never play the Platters' original again afterwards, believe me ! But you'll also avoid the funfair-style instro on the flip, 'The Alley Cat Scratch', just the same... And therein lies the magic of those great singles, as well as the foolishness of collectors : many a time, one side can be enough to satisfy our soul, regardless of the steep price of the whole disc !
	The Ambassadors - London HL-2165
	Andy Anderson - Century Limited 601 & 602 - Felsted 8508
	Jimmy Anderson - Zynn 1014
$The Antons$	The Antons - Ty-Tex 104
	Eddy Arnold - RCA Victor 48-0001
	The Arrows - Cupid CU-102
	Chuck Atha - Fox 6
	The Attack - London 1013
	Cliff Ayers & The Crowns - Emerald 2014

**© Paul Vidal * Privas, France**