VA – A Good Thing Goin’! Girl Group Sounds USA 1962-1967 – Ace UK LP

Ace Records has been the go-to source of 1960s US girl group compilations since the release of our “Where The Girls Are”, “Girls About Town” and “Stop, Look & Listen” vinyl albums back in the 1980s. The 10-volume “Where The Girls Are” CD series followed over the next few decades, along with a batch of standalone CD collections. These days, however, the vinyl long-player is back in favour as the format of choice for discerning collectors.

“A Good Thing Goin’!”, the latest in our current series of gorgeously packaged 12-inchers, drops this month. The album opens in fine style with ‘What About You’ by the great sounding Mousie & the Traps. Darlene Love kicks off the second side with ‘Let Him Walk Away’, a song written by Jackie DeShannon with noted arranger Jack Nitzsche, no less. Darlene Love, one of the most beloved vocalists of the classic girl group era, also sings lead on the Blossoms’ terrific previously unissued ‘You Had A Good Thing Goin’’, while Jack Nitzsche produced the Satisfactions’ lush ‘Baby I’m So Glad It’s Raining’ and Karen Verros’ castanets-driven version of the Crystals’ ‘Little Boy’.

Other highlights include Brenda Holloway’s silky pre-Motown gem ‘Constant Love’, the Puffs’ hip dancer ‘I Only Cry Once A Day Now’, the Fran-cettes’ latin-flavoured ‘Late In The Evening’ and Linda & the Vistas’ Shrine Records rarity ‘Bad Apple’. As usual in the series, the swanky inner sleeve features a picture-packed 3,000-word track commentary by long-serving compiler Mick Patrick.

tracklist

A01 How About You – Mousie & The Traps
A02 Little Boy – Karen Verros
A03 Your Kind Ain’t No Good – The Mirettes
A04 I Only Cry Once A Day Now – The Puffs
A05 Young Girl – Charmaine
A06 You Had A Good Thing Goin’ – The Blossoms
A07 Baby I’m So Glad It’s Raining – The Satisfactions
B01 Let Him Walk Away – Darlene Love
B02 Do It – Pat Powdrill
B03 West Side Party – The Pets
B04 Bad Apple – Linda & The Vistas
B05 Late In The Evening – The Fran-cettes
B06 Constant Love – Brenda Holloway
B07 I Know About Her – The D.C. Blossoms