Hands Off!: Modern Studio Recordings (1950-1956)

What to do with the output of several women singers who recorded for one of the foremost R&B labels of the early to mid-'50s, but didn't really record enough to merit a single-artist album of their work for the company? The logical solution is this Hands Off! compilation, which groups them all together on a 27-track set. Of earliest vintage are the cuts by Helen Humes, who stopped off at Modern in 1951 for one session. Among the five sides she cut for the label are versions of ‘The Laziest Gal in Town’ and ‘I Ain’t in the Mood’ (an answer-song to John Lee Hooker’s I’m in the Mood). Helen wrote the other three songs herself, including ‘Take My Love’. Donna Hightower also wrote much of her own material and, like Humes, possessed a vocal style younger than her age. She released four singles for Modern’s RPM subsidiary, starting with ‘Dog Gone It’ and ‘Bob-O-Link’, both in thrall of LaVern Baker. Donna’s third and final session for the label yielded 'He’s My Baby' and 'Cool Daddy Cool', two top notch examples of female rock’n’roll. The story goes that Linda Peters and Dolly Cooper are the same person. Her first Modern session, as Linda Peters, begat two excellent Little Esther-influenced singles plus ‘You Won’t Trouble Me No More’, a previously unissued track. Reverting to her previous moniker, her next single – ‘My Man’ b/w ‘Ay La Bah’ – was another corker, but then came a cover version of Gloria Mann’s ‘Teenage Prayer’, delivered by Dolly in a rather mannered voice. ‘Make Love to Me’ and ‘Oh, My Dear’, by Zola Taylor, might not be exactly in tune, but they have a lot of charm and heaps of historical value. She'd be the singer from this group to experience the greatest commercial success when she joined the Platters shortly afterward. Hardcore R&B collectors might be familiar with some of the tracks on Hands Off!, but there are plenty of cuts here making their digital debut, and numerous others that are hitherto unheard alternate takes, so completists are well catered for. Enjoy! http://www.acerecords.co.uk/, http://www.allmusic.com/

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