Chartbusters USA, Vol. 2

by N/A

Overview

Like volume one, this is a high-grade assortment of hits, all but one by American artists, from the five years or so following the Beatles' invasion of the United States (though a couple of the tracks are from 1963). If there's one thing that might keep some listeners from lavishing unrestrained praise on this collection, it's that there's no real theme other than they were all, or virtually all, big hits and all pretty good. (You can't even say that the theme is American pop and rock, due to the inclusion of the Zombies' "Time of the Season.") Naturally, part of what makes rock and '60s rock in particular interesting is its diversity, and this 29-song anthology covers a lot of bases. Among them are folk-rock (the Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man"), blue-eyed soul (the Rascals' "Good Lovin'," the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"), Motown (Martha & the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street"), psychedelia (the Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love"), hard rock (Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride"), hot rod (Jan & Dean's "Little Old Lady from Pasadena"), and garage rock (the Syndicate of Sound's "Little Girl," the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie"). Plus there's good old pop/rock in the Turtles, one-shots like John Fred's "Judy in Disguise" and the Newbeats' "Bread & Butter," and even a little non-rock in Mongo Santamaria's "Watermelon Man" and Lalo Schifrin's "Mission: Impossible." Nothing here's real rare; even the few low-charting items, like Jerry Jeff Walker's original version of "Mr. Bojangles" and the Gants' cover of "Road Runner," aren't hard to get elsewhere. But if you're not a specialist collector yet are on the lookout for '60s oldies anthologies, this series and this volume are recommended above most others. That's due to the exceptional quantity (29 songs on a single disc), consistent high quality (even the novelties and light pop tunes here are fun guilty pleasures), and packaging (excellent annotation provides the stories, some relatively little known, behind each track). ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	02/19/2002
Label:	Ace
UPC:	0029667183222

Tracks

1. Good Lovin'  - Rudy Clark  - Arthur Resnick  -  Young Rascals
2. Spooky  - Buddy Buie  -  Classics Four  - James Cobb  - Harry Jr. Middlebrooks  - Mike Shapiro
3. Summer in the City  - Steve Boone  -  Lovin' Spoonful  - John Sebastian  - Mark Sebastian
4. Little Girl  - Don Baskin  - Bob Gonzales  -  Syndicate of Sound
5. Louie, Louie  - Richard Berry  -  Kingsmen
6. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'  - Barry Mann  -  Righteous Brothers  - Phil Spector  - Cynthia Weil
7. Harlem Shuffle  -  Bob & Earl  - Earl Nelson  - Bobby Relf
8. Dancing in the Street  - Marvin Gaye  - Ivy Jo Hunter  -  Martha & the Vandellas  - William "Mickey" Stevenson
9. Classical Gas  - Mason Williams
10. Mr. Bojangles  - Jerry Jeff Walker
11. Mr. Tambourine Man  -  Byrds  - Bob Dylan
12. Baby Don't Go  - Sonny Bono  -  Sonny & Cher
13. Liar, Liar  -  Castaways  - Jim Donna
14. Mission: Impossible  - Lalo Schifrin
15. Cara-Lin  - Bob Feldman  - Jerry Goldstein  - Richard Gottehrer  -  Strangeloves
16. Somebody to Love  -  Jefferson Airplane  - Darby Slick
17. Polk Salad Annie  - Tony Joe White
18. Magic Carpet Ride  - John Kay  - Rushton Moreve  -  Steppenwolf
19. I Can't Believe What You Say  - Ike Turner  -  Turner
20. Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)  - Andrew Bernard  - John Fred  -  Fred
21. Watermelon Man  - Herbie Hancock  - Mongo Santamaria
22. Love's Made a Fool of You  -  Fuller  - Buddy Holly  - Bobby Montgomery
23. Sunny  - Bobby Hebb
24. Batman Theme  - Neal Hefti  -  Hefti
25. Bread and Butter  -  Newbeats  - Larry Parks  - Jay Turnbow
26. The Little Old Lady from Pasadena  - Don Altfeld  - Roger Christian  -  Jan & Dean
27. Time of the Season  - Rod Argent  -  Zombies
28. Road Runner  -  Gants  - Ellas McDaniel
29. Elenore  - John Barbata  - Howard Kaylan  - Al Nichol  - Jim Pons  -  Turtles  - Mark Volman

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Zombies   Primary Artist
The Strangeloves   Primary Artist
The Byrds   Primary Artist
Steppenwolf   Primary Artist
Sonny & Cher   Primary Artist
The Turtles   Primary Artist
The Syndicate of Sound   Primary Artist
Tony Joe White   Primary Artist
The Castaways   Primary Artist
The Kingsmen   Primary Artist
Lalo Schifrin   Primary Artist
John Fred & His Playboy Band   Primary Artist
Jefferson Airplane   Primary Artist
Jerry Jeff Walker   Primary Artist
Neal Hefti & His Orchestra   Primary Artist
The Young Rascals   Primary Artist
Mason Williams   Primary Artist
Martha & the Vandellas   Primary Artist
Mongo Santamaria   Primary Artist
Bob & Earl   Primary Artist
The Lovin' Spoonful   Primary Artist
The Bobby Fuller Four   Primary Artist
The Gants   Primary Artist
Bobby Hebb   Primary Artist
Ike & Tina Turner   Primary Artist
Classics IV   Primary Artist
Jan & Dean   Primary Artist
The Newbeats   Primary Artist
The Righteous Brothers   Primary Artist
Neal Hefti Orchestra   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Mongo Santamaria   Performer
Arthur Resnick   Composer
Al Nichol   Composer
Phil Smee   Cover Design
The Byrds   Performer
Buddy Buie   Composer
Steppenwolf   Performer
Steve Boone   Composer
Sonny Bono   Composer
Sonny & Cher   Performer
Bob & Earl   Performer
Buddy Holly   Composer
Duncan Cowell   Mastering
The Turtles   Performer
Darby Slick   Composer
The Zombies   Performer
William "Mickey" Stevenson   Composer
Phil Spector   Composer
The Syndicate of Sound   Performer
Tony Joe White   Composer,Performer
The Castaways   Performer
The Kingsmen   Performer
Lalo Schifrin   Composer,Performer
Barry Mann   Composer
John Fred & His Playboy Band   Performer
John Sebastian   Composer
Jefferson Airplane   Performer
Jerry Jeff Walker   Composer,Performer
Richard Gottehrer   Composer
Mark Sebastian   Composer
The Young Rascals   Performer
Mason Williams   Composer,Performer
Herbie Hancock   Composer
Martha & the Vandellas   Performer
Bob Gonzales   Composer
Bobby Montgomery   Composer
Jim Donna   Composer
Chris Popham   CD Layout
Andrew Bernard   Composer
Jay Turnbow   Composer
Harry Middlebrooks, Jr.   Composer
Neal Hefti Orchestra   Performer
Larry Parks   Composer
Roger Christian   Composer
The Lovin' Spoonful   Performer
Bob Feldman   Composer
The Bobby Fuller Four   Performer
The Gants   Performer
Bob Dylan   Composer
Bobby Relf   Composer
Bobby Hebb   Composer,Performer
Ike Turner   Composer
Ivy Jo Hunter   Composer
Ike & Tina Turner   Performer
James Cobb   Composer
Classics IV   Performer
Cynthia Weil   Composer
Earl Nelson   Composer
Don Baskin   Composer
Don Altfeld   Composer
Ellas McDaniel   Composer
Rushton Moreve   Composer
Jan & Dean   Performer
John Barbata   Composer
John Fred   Composer
John Kay   Composer
Howard Kaylan   Composer
Rob Finnis   Research,Annotation
Rod Argent   Composer
Rudy Clark   Composer
Marvin Gaye   Composer
Neal Hefti   Composer
Jerry Goldstein   Composer
Mark Volman   Composer
Jim Pons   Composer
Richard Berry   Composer
The Newbeats   Performer
Mike Shapiro   Composer
The Righteous Brothers   Performer
The Strangeloves   Performer