Shirelles - Very Best of (16 tracks) +Album Reviews

Worth 10 Stars

Kim K. | Bayonne, New Jersey | 01/10/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Shirelles were one of popdom's premiere girl groups, and deserve to be ranked up there with the Ronettes, the Shangri-Las, etc. Every song here is a true classic in every sense of the word. The girls sang of boys, true love, teen angst & everything in between. This music is of an era when times were a bit simpler & also when they weren't, as in the Viet Nam war, demonstrations & riots, etc. It was always a pleasure to hear the Shirelles songs among the Top 10 of the day. If you're really into girl group music, this collection is an absolute must-have. Highly recommended."

The class of the girl groups.

Eclectic Revisited | 07/04/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Shirelles were a great group, and the hits tell the story. "Tomight's the Night" is one of the sexier records I have ever heard. (but not in a raunchy way) "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" is certainly one of the classics of the genre. "Baby It's You" is both sexy and atmospheric and underrated in my view. Kids of today would do themselves a favor to hear this record-it shows a lot of great craftsmanship in both the singing and the arrangements. Plus it is just great fun, and it is one of the best Shirelles collections around."

The Best Are Right Here

Eclectic Revisited | Arizona | 10/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Unless you want to hear the Shirelles on and on and on (or write three reviews about them as one person did), these are the hits and then some but not a lot of stuff you never heard of. There have been some good later renditions of some of these songs but none match the throaty voice of the lady born Shirley Alston. The Shirelles' topping the charts essentially ended before the war in Vietnam and the civil rights movement heated up; you can look back with nostalgia to a less cynical, simpler time on all of these great songs. Of all the options, I believe this is the one to buy. My favorite? "Foolish Little Girl", 1963."

You can do better

Redgecko | USA | 09/17/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you like the Shirelles then spend $2 extra and get "25 All-Time Greatest Hits" instead. The 9 extra songs (about 20 minutes more) are worth it and the entire collection is remastered.

"

They Are In Very Select Company

Redgecko | 09/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Within the world of music collectors, there is a well-known off-shoot involving those who zero in on the "girl-group" sound, that largely American phenomenon which has its roots in names like The Boswell, King, and Andrews Sisters dating back to the early 1930's.

In 1950 The Fontane Sisters, who had backed Perry Como on many of his hits, began a solo career that would take them well into the start of the R&R era, soon inspiring others such as the Bell and Davis Sisters in 1952/53, The DeCastro, DeJohn, and McGuire Sisters, along with The Chordettes in 1954.

But for all intents and purposes within the R&R genre, the "girl group" sound took its first tentative steps in 1954/55 with Shirley Gunter & "The Queens" and The Hearts. Literally hundreds would follow, but to name just a few of the most prominent there were The Cookies in 1956 (eventually to evolve into Ray Charles back-up group The Raeletts), The Shepherd Sisters in 1957, The Chantels and Shirelles in 1958, The Marvelettes, Crystals, Angels, and The Paris Sisters in 1961, The Supremes in 1962, Martha & The Vandellas, The Ronettes and Chiffons in 1963, and The Shangri-Las, Dixie Cups and Velvelettes in 1964.

And out of all those, just four have been inducted into the R&R Hall Of Fame: The Supremes in 1988; Martha & The Vabdellas in 1995; The Ronettes in 2007 - and this foursome from Passaic, New Jersey in 1996 who, from 1958 to 1967 put 26 songs into the Billboard Pop Top/Hot 100 and 20 into the R&B Top 100, including the # 1 hits Will You Love Me Tomorrow? (late 1960/early 1961) and Soldier Boy (spring 1962).

In this volume from Rhino you get their first 17 Top/Hot 100 hits, the first on Decca and the remainder on Scepter. One song charted twice, as Dedicated To The One I Love first reached # 83 Hot 100 in July 1959, then re-entered in early 1961 when it reached # 2 R&B/# 3 Hot 100. All this is detailed in the seven pages of background notes provided with the insert, and written by music writer/historian Alex Henderson, along with five more nice photos of the girls and a discography of the contents. As with all Rhino releases, the sound reproduction is excellent."

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