VA - The Forgotten 45s: 1960-1962 (2013)

The Forgotten 45s 1960-1962 follows hot on the heels of The Forgotten 45s 1957-1959, Fantastic Voyage s previous survey of The Ones That Got Away, which has already proved a bigger-seller and been the subject of an enthusiastic review in The Daily Mirror. Not every record that s released can be a hit. Not every record that s released deserves to be a hit, but frequently records that do aren t and that s what this set is all about. Three CDs, packed full of great records that should have been hits, but weren t. Reflecting the musical preferences of the era, the featured styles run the gamut of R&B, doo wop, soul, rock & roll, country, and mainstream pop. Some of the tracks will never have been on legitimately released CDs before; all will give listening pleasure to collectors and pop music fans alike. Artists, labels and other pundits could reasonably have expected these recording to be UK hit singles, but they were denied that success. The reason may be apparent with hindsight: the timely release of a rival version, or the listening public starting to fall out of love with the artist, or their style of music. But other misses are harder to fathom, and of course it is this unpredictability that goes a long way to explain our fascination with hit records. Some of the featured tracks have become favourite oldies despite never making our charts ( Sticks And Stones , Last Night , Hello Walls , Pledging My Love ), some are wannabe hits by name artists whose chart pedigree is not in doubt (Pat Boone, Alma Cogan, Jackie Wilson, Bobby Darin, Craig Douglas, the Platters) and some were new kids on the block from both sides of the Atlantic, whose releases should have done so much better. A fascinating parallel narrative when considered alongside hits-of-the-year compilations, like Fantastic Voyage s exhaustive British Hit Parade series, The Forgotten 45s 1960-1962, and its companion set The Forgotten 45s 1957-1959, give collectors the chance to fill those holes in their archives which they ve always meant to fill, but haven t, and will give impulse CD buyers a thrilling reminder of records that passed consumers by in the heyday of pop music.
Tracklist
Disc: 1
1 Down By The Station (The Four Preps) - The Four Preps
2 The Big Triangle (The Galaxies) - The Galaxies
3 Mister Lonely (The Videls) - The Videls
4 Teenage Sonata (Sam Cooke) - Sam Cooke
5 Sandy (Larry Hall) - Larry Hall
6 Son-Of-A-Gun (Sanford Clark) - Sanford Clark
7 Here Today And Gone Tomorrow Love (Janis Martin) - Janis Martin
8 Get Your Daddie s Car Tonight (Lorrae Desmond) - Lorrae Desmond
9 Mamma Wouldn t Like It (Maureen Evans) - Maureen Evans
10 Banjo Boy (The Raindrops) - The Raindrops
11 Dear John (Pat Boone) - Pat Boone
12 Somebody To Love (Bobby Darin) - Bobby Darin
13 Carole (Billy Scott) - Billy Scott
14 Red Sails In The Sunset (The Platters) - The Platters
15 Think (James Brown and The Famous Flames) - James Brown & The Famous Flames
16 I m Gettin Better (Jim Reeves) - Jim Reeves
17 Movin Away (Ricky Valance) - Ricky Valence
18 Happy-Go-Lucky Me (Frank Ifield) - Frank Ifield
19 Parade Of Pretty Girls (The Playmates) - The Playmates
20 Ramona (The Blue Diamonds) - Blue Diamonds
21 What Am I Living For (Conway Twitty) - Conway Twitty
22 Now, Now, Now (Jerry Keller) - Jerry Keller
23 Apollo (Connie Stevens) - Connie Stevens
24 The Skirl (The Harry Robinson String Sound) - The Harry Robinson String Sound
25 Yogi (The Ivy Three) - The Ivy Three
26 Let s Go See Grandma (Joy and Dave) - Joy & Dave
27 Sticks And Stones (Ray Charles and His Orchestra) - Ray Charles and His Orchestra
28 No Time For Tears (Sam Hawkins) - Sam Hawkins
29 Is It Me (Tracy Pendarvis) - Tracy Pendarvis
30 The Twelfth Of Never (Johnny Mathis) - Johnny Mathis

Disc: 2
1 Under The Moon Of Love (Curtis Lee) - Curtis Lee
2 Tossin And Turnin (Bobby Lewis) - Bobby Lewis
3 Nag (The Halos) - The Halos
4 Some Kind Of Wonderful (The Drifters) - The Drifters
5 Pledging My Love (Johnny Ace) - Johnny Ace
6 I Don t Know Why (Linda Scott) - Linda Scott
7 Three Hearts In A Tangle (Roy Drusky) - Roy Drusky
8 Hello Walls (Faron Young) - Faron Young
9 Sacred (The Castells) - The Castells
10 Model Girl (Davy Jones) - Davy Jones
11 Make Me An Angel (Glen Stuart) - Glen Stuart
12 No Greater Love (Craig Douglas) - Davy Jones
13 Let Me Belong To You (Brian Hyland) - Brian Hyland
14 Every Breath I Take (Gene Pitney) - Gene Pitney
15 Don t Cha Know (The Crickets) - The Crickets
16 Like Long Hair (Paul Revere and The Raiders) - Paul Revere and The Raiders
17 I Remember (Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs) - Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
18 Buzz Buzz A-Diddle-It (Freddy Cannon) - Freddy Cannon
19 Little Egypt (The Coasters) - The Coasters
20 Last Night (The Mar-Keys) - The Mar-Keys
21 Just Out of Each (Of My Two Open Arms) (Solomon Burke) - Solomon Burke
22 Dedicated To The One I Love (The 5 Royales) - 5 Royales
23 God, Country And My Baby (Johnny Burnette) - Johnny Burnette
24 I m Hurtin (Roy Orbison) - Roy Orbison
25 Today s Teardrops (Laurie London) - Laurie London
26 Dance On Little Girl (Paul Anka) - Paul Anka
27 Happy Times (Are Here To Stay) (Tony Orlando) - Tony Orlando
28 A Tear (Gene McDaniels) - Gene McDaniels
29 Please Don t Go (Ral Donner) - Ral Donner
30 I m Comin On Back To You (Jackie Wilson) - Jackie Wilson

Disc: 3
1 Let Me In (The Sensations) - The Sensations
2 Love Came To Me (Dion) - Dion
3 I Cried My Last Tear (Ernie K. Doe) - Ernie K Doe
4 Did You Ever See A Dream Walking (Fats Domino) - Fats Domino
5 Ecstasy (Ben E. King) - Ben E. King
6 What s So Good About Good Bye (The Miracles) - The Miracles
7 Meet Me At The Twistin Place (Johnnie Morisette) - Johnny Morisette
8 Mama s Doin The Twist (Linda Hopkins) - Linda Hopkins
9 I ve Got Bonnie (Bobby Rydell) - Bobby Rydell
10 I Sat Back And Let It Happen (Leroy Van Dyke) - Leroy Van Dyke
11 Release Me (Esther Phillips) - Esther Phillips
12 She Cried (Jay and The Americans) - Jay and The Americans
13 Stop The Wedding (Etta James) - Etta James
14 Poor Little Puppet (Cathy Carroll) - Cathy Carroll
15 Cast Your Fate To The Wind (The Vince Guaraldi Trio) - Vince Guaraldi Trio
16 She s Got You (Alma Cogan) - Alma Cogan
17 Somebody Tell Him (Julie Grant) - Julie Grant
18 Stand Up (Michael Cox) - Michael Cox
19 Your Nose Is Gonna Grow (Christine Quaite) - Christine Quaite
20 Hit Record (Tommy Steele) - Tommy Steele
21 (Ooh Looka There) Ain t She Pretty (Billy Duke) - Billy Duke
22 Ahab, The Arab (Ray Stevens) - Ray Stevens
23 Norman (Sue Thompson) - Sue Thompson
24 I Can Mend Your Broken Heart (Don Gibson) - Don Gibson
25 Hey Joe (Bob Luman) - Bob Luman
26 Island In The Sky (Troy Shondell) - Troy Shondell
27 Bad Boy (The Donays) - The Donays
28 Any Day Now (My Wild Beautiful Bird) (Chuck Jackson) - Chuck Jackson
29 Don t Cry On My Shoulder (Connie Francis) - Connie Francis
30 Seven Day Weekend (Gary US Bonds) - Gary U.S. Bonds