VA: Where the Girls Are, Vol. 3 - Chess Female Singers & Groups (1961-1969)

Based in Chicago, Chess had risen to the fore in the mid-'50s on the strength of its supreme inventory of post-war blues and r&b, not to mention the groundbreaking rock'n'roll of Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. However, by the mid-'60s times had changed a lot, and Marshall Chess was not slow to adapt the label to the social and cultural transformations which governed the shape and direction of mid-'60s soul and r&b. The company soon established its own distinctive brand of hard-edged but melodious r&b under the direction of Billy Davis, the young Detroiter who had helped Berry Gordy launch Motown and later ran the Chess-distributed Anna label with Gordy's sister Gwen. Headhunted by Chess in 1961, he relocated to Chicago and began assembling a select in-house team of songwriters and arrangers. Not content with creating hits for artists such as Fontella Bass, Jackie Ross, Mitty Collier, Etta James and Sugar Pie Desanto, Chess augmented their patented hometown sound with masters licensed from indie producers in New York, Washington, Philly and Detroit, adding a welcome touch of variety to Chess' already formidable roster of girls. So this set bears witness as much to the collective creativity of Chess' backroom maestros, as it does to the remarkable range of wonderful women featured therein. Geraldine Hunt's 1962 single 'I Let Myself Go' is an incredibly blatant yet enjoyable and accurate Mary Wells imitation; Timiko's 'Is It a Sin?,' which is just marginally less Wells-like, has some fetching hooks; while the Clickettes' 'I Just Can't Help It' is cool and catchy soul-tinged girl-group pop. Tawney Williams' 'Pretty Little Words' gives more than a passing nod to Please Mr Postman by the Marvelettes, who also seem to be the inspiration behind the Lovettes' 'A Love of Mine'. Everything else wilts, however, besides Etta James' compelling 'Pushover,' an actual 1963 Top 30 hit that was one of her poppiest, yet gutsiest, and best singles. Other tracks include Mitty Collier's 'Help Me', the Northern monsters 'My Mama Told Me', by Barbara Carr and Jan Bradley's 'Your Kind of Lovin''; 'I've Decided on a Whole New Plan', by Joann Garrett, 'He's My Guy', by Margaret & Carol, The Kolettes' 'Just How Much Can One Heart Take', 'I Let Myself Go', by Geraldine Hunt, and 'Safe and Sound', by Fontella Bass. http://www.acerecords.co.uk/, http://www.allmusic.com/

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