“Chapel Of Love & Other Girl Group Gems was
probably one of the best value CD releases of 2002… 60 original cuts in
pristine quality, for around £9. A lady name of Sam
Szczepanski put that compilation together
and she has done it again with 60 teen slanted songs from the early '60s,
naming the 3-CD package, Midnight Cryin' Time: Teen Angst Classics From
The Rock'n'Roll Era. She has drawn material from the Swan, Phillips International,
Red Bird and Vee Jay labels, among others. No, you won't find 'Sealed
With A Kiss' or 'Go Away Little Girl', as these are, for the most part,
very rare titles but all worth hearing.
The sleeve notes are by Sam and Roger Dopson and they do a great job essaying
(in Roger's deadpan style) as many of these songs and artists as they
can find information for. The titles list the composers, labels and release
dates for each song, so you're not left on your own (as you are with gray
area teen CDs). No more than half a dozen of the titles are available
on other legitimate CDs and there are some strong cuts, making the package
an excellent buy at £9, or less.
Favorites for girl-group collectors are Shelley Fabares' 'Lost Summer
Love', Jamie Horton's 'Robot Man' (covered by Connie Francis), Marcie
Blane's 'What Does A Girl Do' and (yet another) answer song to 'Runaround
Sue', Ginger & the Snaps' 'I'm No Runaround'. Other titles worth acquiring
this set for include: Link Wray's 'The Shadow Knows', Dee Clark's 'You're
Telling Our Secrets' (Bacharach-David), the Trains' 'Fourteen Getting
Older' (Pete Antell-John Linde), Mickey Lee Lane's 'She Cried To Me' (not
originally issued but a nice Shangri-Las' soundalike) and Charlie Rich's
'There's Another Place I Can't Go'.
Following on the heels of Chapel Of Love, Midnight Cryin' Time certainly
makes us impatient for Ms Szczepanski's next triple CD compilation set.”
Mike Edwards, www.spectropop.com
“Sam Szczepanski and Roger Dopson put the recordings in perspective in their
excellent notes and the whole package is a joy for those of you who have
experienced the emotions of youth.”
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