With this volume,
Ace Records' songwriters series -- which had previously documented such well-known early pop/rock composers as
Burt Bacharach,
Leiber & Stoller, and
Goffin & King -- takes a more daring step into the catalog of a writer less famous, though not less talented. Though she had a couple big hit records of her own in the 1960s and released many discs in the decade,
Jackie DeShannon was even more active as a songwriter, with many of her compositions (including many she never released under her own name) getting covered by artists in both the U.S. and U.K. This compilation has 27 such songs, some written by
DeShannon herself, and some in collaboration with noted figures like
Sharon Sheeley,
Jimmy Page, and
Jack Nitzsche. Though there's one big hit here (
the Searchers'
"When You Walk in the Room") and another track that was on a famous hit album (
"Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe," from
the Byrds' 1965 debut LP), for the most part these are songs known only to record collectors, and in a couple cases more known by versions other than the ones represented here.
Like all of the other CDs in the
Ace songwriters series, this isn't exactly a best-of as regards
DeShannon covers, mixing some of her most famous tunes with rarities by big names, and just plain rarities by singers hardly anyone's ever heard of. While
DeShannon went on to record quite a bit of material in a late-'60s/early-'70s serious singer/songwriter vein, these songs make plain her skill at creating catchy Brill Building-style pop, sometimes with a gutsy sexy and folky streak missing from the more pop-oriented Brill Building tunesmiths. For all her talent, however, these interpretations don't always do the material full justice.
"When You Walk in the Room," "Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe," and
Irma Thomas'
"Break-A-Way" (a great song given wider exposure when
Tracey Ullman made it into a Top Five British hit in 1983) are the only really superb tracks. A few others (
P.J. Proby's
"Just Like Him," Brenda Lee's
"So Deep") are pretty good; a few of the better ones were done better by other artists (notably
Cher's
"Come and Stay with Me" and
Gay Shingleton's
"In My Time of Sorrow," both given superior treatments by
Marianne Faithfull); and a few are disappointingly tame or clumsy versions of clearly fine songs (
Diana Dawn's
"Back Street Girl," the Bandits'
"I Remember the Girl"). And while several other stars are represented (such as
Duane Eddy,
Rick Nelson,
Peggy March,
Bobby Vee, and
Dobie Gray), their cuts aren't highlights in either their or
DeShannon's careers.
Break-A-Way, of course, is still a fine compilation, put together and annotated with
Ace's customary expertise. But while this might be a somewhat insider collector-oriented point, such collectors know that
DeShannon herself -- a great singer in addition to being a great songwriter -- recorded versions of some of these songs (like
"Back Street Girl" and
"Blue Ribbons") for rare publisher demo LPs that, both vocally and production-wise, were immeasurably superior. It's to be hoped that some or all of the material from those demo LPs eventually sees CD release to put the record straight, which doesn't seem to be as far-fetched a whim as one might think, since the
Break-A-Way CD itself closes with a previously unissued folky 1967
DeShannon demo,
"Only You Can Free My Mind." Even if such releases don't come to pass,
DeShannon was so prolific that additional compilations of covers of her compositions would be welcome. ~ Richie Unterberger
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