Sugar – NANCY SINATRA***

Sweet Georgia Brown/Vagabond Shoes/Oh You Beautiful Doll/Hard Hearted Hannah/All By Myself/Coastin’/ Mama Goes Where Papa Goes/Let’s Fall In Love/What’ll I Do/Limehouse Blues/Sugar Town/Button Up Your Overcoat/My Buddy

Sugar, the fourth album from Nancy Sinatra in little over a year, exploits her sex kitten image with its bikini clad cover, which contrasts with some of the old time standards within. Includes the top ten hit single Sugar Town. CD version benefits from the melodic chart topping duet with her father, Somethin' Stupid. (US:18)

"This album features Nancy Sinatra singing Dixieland jazz versions of standards, with the exception of two new songs done in a more modern style, written by producer Lee Hazlewood - Coastin', and the hit Sugar Town. Honestly, the Dixieland style is not the best showcase for Nancy's voice. She is more suited to the type of pop music that she had hits with. Not a bad album, but not one of her best, either."

"This album was something of a departure for the chanteuse. Unlike her previous efforts, which were a mix of songs by producer/Svengali Lee Hazlewood and covers of pop hits of the day, this one featured only three Hazlewood compositions, along with lots of old-timey pre-rock standards. These include a couple - All By Myself and What'll I Do - by Irving Berlin."

"The cover art is really all that recommends it. Pleasant, but pedestrian 'vocal standards' material."

"Irving Berlin is to Nancy as Harold Arlen was to Barbra Streisand. She covers two Berlin songs and one Arlen song and I think she updates them well."

"I didn't think I was going to like this album much, but I was wrong. Some of this was pretty entertaining. OK, her voice isn't all that special at covering the old standards. But she and the band have some silly lounge fun at times."

"Sugar really bucked the trend of her previous albums. Nancy Sinatra came up with a genre album, which, as the inner sleeve says, 'sweet, soulful serenades from the old timey years'. That includes 1930s swing and blues, which means lots and lots of brass."

Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland – THE SUPREMES****

You Keep Me Hangin’ On/You’re Gone/Love Is Here & Now You’re Gone/Mother You Smother You/I Guess I’ll Always Love You/I’ll Turn To Stone/It’s The Same Old Song/Going Down For The Third Time/Love Is In Our Hearts/Remove This Doubt/There’s No Stopping Us Now/Love Is Like A Heat Wave

All of the mid sixties hits by the Supremes were written by the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team. As well as some of their own hits, covers of other groups on the Motown roster are also included here, plus two tracks written by R. Dean Taylor. (US:6 UK:15)

"This is a classic album by The Supremes. It was a great idea to have them cover other Motown acts, who recorded songs by the writing and producing team, Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland. In addition to the two singles by the Supremes You Keep Me Hangin' On and Love Is Here & Now You're Gone, the Supremes shine on a cover of Martha Reeves and The Vandellas' Heat Wave. They cover two hits by The Four Tops. This album provides The Supremes with a chance to sing songs with more soul and grit that other artists had performed. Going Down For The Third Time could have been single material."

"The harmonies of The Supremes, and the song writing of Holland-Dozier-Holland on this album, are a great representation of the height of 1960s hits era Motown. Most of this album is so fun that you may find yourself dancing without even realizing it."

"Their cover of Heat Wave and other songs from other Motown acts are all pretty much just as good as the originals, which is not all surprising because they all have the same session players."

"Here are Diana, Mary and Flo at their best, with Holland-Dozier-Holland also in top form; this is the classic mid-1960s Motown sound. In addition to some classic hits, there are some killer B-side numbers many fans haven't heard."

"Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland is more sassy, more sophisticated and shows The Supremes developing a more mature approach to music. Gone are most of the girly numbers that they did when they first started their career, replaced with far more soulful tracks."

"Firmly stands as one of their ultimate albums. All in all another superb album."

More Than A New Discovery – LAURA NYRO****

Goodbye Joe/Billy’s Blues/And When I Die/Stoney End/Lazy Susan/Hands Off The Man/Wedding Bell Blues/Buy & Sell/He’s A Runner/Blowin’ Away/I Never Meant To Hurt You/California Shoeshine Boys

New York born Laura Nyro was a gifted songwriter who provided many hits for other artists. Three of her best known songs are on her debut album More Than A New Discovery, which is comprised entirely of her own compositions.

"Laura Nyro debut is by far the easiest, prettiest and radio-friendly music she ever recorded, but not because of the lady herself. Its the producers and arrangers who made it into finished product. They tailored her music and vocals into an album of rare beauty and somehow moulded the young genius into a pop format."

"The album displays Nyro's astounding talent, artistry, and singularly original style, which everyone tried to emulate, unsuccessfully. After a listen to any of her subsequent albums, one can hear how the people in charge held her back on this one, choosing not to recognize and honour her natural, albeit idiosyncratic, style and freshly unique artistic sensibility toward her own tunes, all of which she wrote. But even with that said, this is still one of the most outstanding debut albums ever to have surfaced by any singer/songwriter."

"It is sublime - some of the most timeless and gorgeous pieces of pure pop/soul craft you'll ever hear. The majority of the songs on this album have become part of the canon; they're standards. How many other debut albums written by teen songwriters have achieved this?"

"Many of the ingredients that combined to create the genius of Nyro's best work are to be found here on her debut album. Nyro's songs attracted a lot of attention and several were turned into hits by other artists, so the album certainly didn't go unnoticed. It's the ballads, though, that really stand out: Nyro delivers some of her most intimate and soulful vocal performances, straying only occasionally into her upper register, declamatory style. Her songwriting skills display a staggering maturity beyond her years."

"Laura Nyro is among the greats in terms of innovators, brilliantly mixing pop, gospel, Tin Pan Alley, and jazz to bring new flavour to contemporary music. Her superior vocal range, dazzling melodies, and the ability to write catchy, emotional, stirring, heart-breaking and/or hopeful lyrics made her one of the best."

More Of The Monkees – THE MONKEES****

She/When Love Comes Knockin’(At Your Door)/Mary Mary/Hold On Girl/Your Auntie Grizelda/(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone/(Look Out) Here Comes Tomorrow/The Kind Of Girl I Could Love/The Day We Fell In Love/ Sometime In The Morning/Laugh/I’m A Believer

Pop phenomenon The Monkees speedy follow up album More Of The Monkees topped the album charts in both the US and the UK. Contains the No. 1 single I'm A Believer plus the US No. 20 (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone. (US:1 UK:1)

"Who cares if they didn't play their instruments, were created as a TV vehicle, and were pretty sappy. These melodies are sing-able until the end of time. My very favourite childhood record and still a great pop moment."

"Extremely commercially oriented pop, featuring many catchy tunes and great song writing. This is what all pop albums strive to emulate. Some minor psych influences make their presence known on this one. Excellent period flavour as well."

"The best-selling album of 1967 in the United States. Who cares if they didn't play their own instruments for this album? Nesmith and Tork, the only guys in the band who actually could play an instrument, were not the reason that this album was great anyway."

"The second Monkees' album - you pretty well know what to expect. So while it doesn't really contain any surprises, it does contain a lot of good songs. In fact, some of these songs are pretty much 60s pop perfection."

"In More Of we hear a band that, while stylistically is in near-perfect alignment with the debut, comes off as a much more confident, even cocky, group of overnight superstars. While clearly not in control of their musical direction, they begin to spread their wings."

"Album suffers from too many cooks in the kitchen. The Boyce & Hart stuff, as well as that of Mike Nesmith, is great but the rest is just Brill Building dribble, especially The Day We Fall In Love with its sickening recitation."

"With the possible exception of Your Auntie Grizelda, none of the tracks are too bad. Good music was in fashion in 1966 and 1967."

Mellow Yellow – DONOVAN****

Mellow Yellow/Writer In The Sun/Sand & Foam/The Observation/Bleak City Woman/House Of Jansch/Young Girl Blues/Museum/Hampstead Incident/Sunny South Kensington

Mellow Yellow was a US only release from Donovan, which includes some earlier recordings. The title track hit single reached No. 2 in the US and No. 8 in the UK. (US:14)

"Mellow Yellow is a US only mishmash of singles, outtakes, and old album tracks featuring Donovan at his hippie-era peak. It blends fanciful psychedelia, like the title track - one of his finest singles - with earthier material like House Of Jansch, the witty Swinging London tribute Sunny South Kensington and the downright bleak Writer In The Sun. This is one of Donovan's most consistently entertaining albums, with very few weak songs and some excellent psych-pop arrangements."

"Mellow Yellow has its moments of deep introspection, bordering on guitar-voice folk, the chief highlights of these being the solo Young Girl Blues and the incredibly ethereal Sand & Foam with stream of consciousness lyrics. Beatnik jazz however is the driving force on the album."

"Very uneven folk with some psych and jazz influences. Some of them are very slow driven and sound pretentious just for the sake of it, while highlights like Mellow Yellow and Sunny South Kensington are down to earth and somewhat carefree." ,p> "I think what makes Mellow Yellow so successful is the many different styles that are found on it. The haunting acoustic ballads, jazzy romps and 60s psychedelic tunes work extremely well together. If you want to see what Donovan is all about, this might be a good album to get."

"Not as good as Sunshine Superman in my book but still boasts much that's worth checking out in terms of 60s folk/psych pop. The title track is just a brilliant arrangement and will bring a smile to your face. Sand & Foam and House Of Jansch are haunting acid folk which see Donovan at his most melodically convincing. Elsewhere he experiments with baroque stylings and tries some beat poetry jazz on The Observation, but the record feels a little weak in places."

"Donovan was definitely into jazz at this point. His perfect voice, combined with his knack for a great tune and awesome lyrics is hard to resist."

Hall Of Fame – GEORGIE FAME****

Yeh Yeh/Sunny/Point Of No Return/Like We Used To Be/Get On The Right Track Baby/Outrage/Let The Sunshine In/Getaway/Sitting In The Park/In The Meantime/Something/Do Re Mi/Sweet Thing/Lil’ Darlin’

Hall Of Fame is a compilation album that includes all Georgie Fame's hit singles from 1964-66. More comprehensive CD collections are available which include his later hits. (UK:12)

"Georgie Fame is simply one of the best R & B/pop vocalists and organists around anywhere. This is a superb collection of Georgie in action. I strongly recommend this LP to all lovers of great music. A strong 60s feel with a powerful driving organ. Grab this one quick."

"An obvious title for an album of Georgie Fame hits and this is the account up to 1967. Fame is the only artist in the world who made the top ten on three occasions, each time making No 1. This set kicks off with the first one, Yeh Yeh, which also gave him a US hit. Its followed by his cover of Bobby Hebb's Sunny. Fame was virtually a covers man, taking little known American songs and making them his own. But he also came up with a few songs of his own like his second No.1 Getaway. In The Meantime the follow up to the first hit is, to my mind, his finest hour."

"Georgie Fame could do little wrong from the moment he burst into the public consciousness with the No.1 hit, Yeh Yeh. Not surprisingly, this collection of mid-1960s recordings opens with this and includes his follow-up chart-topper, Getaway. These are among the poppier tracks, along with Bobby Hebb's Sunny and Sitting In The Park, a languid, summery hit. All of the music contained here though is jazz-inflected R & B, led by Fame's organ, husky vocals and complemented by brass. Most of the tracks are uptempo and reflect a buoyant and exciting musical era. The album is a capsule of swinging Britain as we like to imagine it."

"Love this album - even though it spans different genres. I love all the tracks and am fast becoming something of a Georgie Fame fan. There's a jazz feel, a whole lotta soul, a touch of mod and some beat too. It was well worth taking a punt on."

"It goes deeper into the earlier catalogue of Georgie's career, and does evoke memories of sweaty Soho 60s clubs. Georgie's impressive keyboard work and funky, down-home vocal approach is more than adequately showcased here."

With The Gosdin Brothers – GENE CLARK****

Echoes/Think I’m Gonna Feel Better/Tried So Hard/Is Yours Is Mine/Keep On Pushin’/I Found You/So You Say You Lost Your Baby/Elevator Operator/The Same One/Couldn’t Believe Her/Needing Someone

The first album release from Gene Clark after leaving The Byrds sees him teaming up with The Gosdin Brothers. Despite good reviews it appears to have sunk without trace.

“To all intents and purposes this is Gene Clark’s solo debut, a record of tremendous scope, with flashes of country, bluegrass, baroque pop and psychedelia. It’s the kind of record only a singer and songwriter as talented as Clark could pull off without coming over as pretentious, boring or unfocused. A lost classic.”

“After being the principle tunesmith for the groundbreaking folk rock The Byrds, Clark left the high flying group, bowing to the pressures of rock and roll success. Now out on his own, he would prove he was one of the best writers and performers of his day. The collection of work on this album was a blend of Clark's patented pop craftsmanship with a look towards country rock which would become the new, musical trend over the next few years.”

“Clark's solo career was disappointingly faltering, despite the high quality of his output, quality which oozes from this debut: a collection of wonderful Clark-penned compositions brought to life by a who's who of folk rock musicians and the soaring harmonies of The Gosdin Brothers.”

“This album has hit written all over it and it's difficult to believe that due to a series of unfortunate circumstances it was overlooked at the time. On reflection it's a classic example of sixties folk-rock-country-beat-baroque-pop.”

“This is one of the best, least known LP's of the 1960s. If you like Gene Clark's other work, this LP is different but I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed. When Gene left The Byrds he recorded this LP with the help of The Gosdin Bros and Michael Clarke and Chris Hillman. It's somewhere between his earlier work with The Byrds and later solo LPs, more pop plus a little Dylan.”

“This album sounds great, The Gosdin Brothers provide good support and the album is a gem for those who love good voice and well performed country/folk-rock. It is a superb recording and it is a perfect intro for Gene Clark solo career.”