THE LEIBER & STOLLER STORY, vol.3 / SHAKE 'EM UP & LET 'EM ROLL, 1962 - 1969
(Ace, CDCHD 1156; 64 min.) 2007
Solomon Burke: You Can't Love 'Em All / Richie Barrett: Tricky Dicky / Betty Harris: His Kiss / Irene Reid: My Heart Said (The Bossa Nova) / Dion: Drip Drop / The Drifters: Rat Race / Roy Hamilton: Midnight Town, Daybreak City / The Exciters: It's So Exciting / Alvin Robinson: Down Home Girl / Jay & The Americans: Only In America / The Soul Brothers: Keep It Up / The Honeyman: Brother Bill (The Last Clean Shirt) / Johnny Cash & June Carter: Jackson / The Shangri-Las: Bull Dog / Tommy Roe: The Gunfighter / The Walker Brothers: Take It Like A Man / Willie Bobo: Juicy / Dee Dee Warwick: I (Who Have Nothing) / Freddie Scott: You'll Never Leave Him / Ben E. King: Where's The Girl / Carmen McRae: Flying / Jerry Leiber & The Coasters: Shake 'Em Up & Let 'Em Roll / Jimmy Scott: On Broadway / Peggy Lee: Is That All There Is?
The final part of this series includes twenty-four samples of the songs that came from the ninth
floor of the Brill Building in the 60s. There were releases on such labels as Atlantic, Red Bird,
UA, Columbia and Verve, and they were not only written but also for the most part produced by
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, although they used such masters as Bert Berns,
too. Some of the arrangers were Garry Sherman, Phil Medley, Arif Mardin and Randy Newman.
Coming out of New York, the sound was mostly uptown (the Drifters, Roy Hamilton),
but Leiber & Stoller knew how to create catchy, all-round pop songs, too (Dion, Jay & the Americans,
the Shangri-Las); even country tunes (Tommy Roe, Johnny Cash & June Carter).
Besides novelties (The Honeyman) and jazzy items (Irene Reid, Carmen McRae, Jimmy Scott),
there's also a healthy dose of soul music presented by Betty Harris, Dee Dee Warwick, Freddie Scott
and Ben E. King. Not every song was a hit - far from it - but it makes this many-sided
compilation all the more interesting.
Heikki Suosalo
