Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles: Dreamer (1967) ... plus

Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles' stint with Atlantic in the '60s was not a great commercial success, yielding only a couple minor R&B hits, but that wasn't due to any shortcomings on the records themselves, either in performance or material. Patti and the group recorded fine sides in pop-soul, Motown, Aretha Franklin, and early Philly soul styles, making full use of their powerful gospel-derived lead vocals and harmonies. They were also fortunate to have the talents of some of the top songwriters of the day; in addition to Oldham and Penn, the Bluebelles performed material written by Carole Bayer, Pam Sawyer, Lori Burton, Bert Berns, Jeff Barry, Bacharach-David, Lorraine Ellison, and Curtis Mayfield, as well as songs written by both Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash. Nevertheless, the group preferred more aggressive and assertive material and were never quite comfortable with most of these songs. Halfway through their Atlantic Records period (1965 to 1969), Cindy Birdsong left to join the Supremes (replacing Florence Ballard). The remaining trio toured the so-called "chitlin circuit" for the remainder of the decade before signing on with British manager Vicki Wickham in 1970. Wickham renamed the trio Labelle and began working to help the women reconfigure their sound for the '70s, pushing them in sexy, sweaty, gospel-drenched soul direction. But that is another story. One of Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles' best efforts before the quartet downsized into LaBelle is this heartfelt collection of soulful girl group singing titled Dreamer. The quality songs and singing, along with the slick arrangements and orchestrations, put this album over the top. Legendary Southern soul writers Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn wrote the title track, ‘Dreamer’; Curtis Mayfield composed the wet-eyed ‘I'm Still Waiting’; Trade Martin chipped in on ‘Take Me for a Little While’; and Hall-of-Famers Burt Bacharach and Hal David put together ‘Always Something There to Remind Me.’ Not a dog on the disc. Originally released in 1967, Dreamer also features unforgettable live versions of ‘That's How Heartaches Are Made,’ ‘One More Phone Call,’ and the forgotten wedding song ‘Down the Aisle.’ I added as bonus tracks two cuts from her previous LP for Atlantic, released a year before: the original version of 'Groovy Kind of Love' (a big hit for the Mindbenders) and their stirring rendition of 'Over the Rainbow', which is also the album's title. http://www.allmusic.com/
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The girls on a live performance of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow':