LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

The mid-sixties were the era of the girl group: the Supremes, the Ronettes, the Marvelettes, the Shirelles, the Shangri-Las...the girls ruled the charts like never before, but while the Supremes, dressed in shimmering evening gowns, breathlessly wooed listeners to the tune of "Baby Love", the Shangri-Las stormed stages across the USA in tight pants and leather biker boots, singing about motorcycles and runaways. They were the voice of teens living on the margins of society...the original bad girls, and according to legend, they lived up to their status off stage as well as on. Rumours of the Shangs potty mouths, extreme pranks, drinking, drug use and gun toting, not surprisingly, soon ruffled the feathers of finger-wagging moralists on both sides of the Atlantic (who, as usual, tried to end all the fun by calling them "depraved" and getting them banned), but most teens - present and future - could not get enough! In fact, punk rockers for decades to come would cite them as a major source of inspiration.""

But it was not only their bad girl image that turned these four teenagers from the wrong side of town (Cambria Heights, Queens) into major pop icons overnight, their lyrics and lyrical delivery were a work of pure genius. Their songs, produced by the legendary Shadow Morton (who, a decade later, was producing the New York Dolls), were melodramatic teen epics of love lost, social alienation, and death, a bit heavy for the pop charts, perhaps, but for two short years - from 1964 to 1966 - they were THE "Sophisticated Boom Boom" on your dial. Lines like, "When I say I'm in Love, you best believe I'm in love L-U-V!" and "He's good bad, but he's not evil" are now remembered as classic moments in pop history, and the Shangri-Las as one of the greatest girl groups of all time. This extensive retrospective brings back the essential work of these proto-riot grrrls, including all their superb hits: tunes like, "Leader Of The Pack", "Give Him A Great Big Kiss", "Right Now And Not Later", "Out In The Streets", and more!"

Tracklist" - Side A: 1. Leader Of The Pack 2. What Is Love? 3. Remember (Walking In The Sand) 4. Wishing Well 5. Hate To Say I Told You So 6. It's Easier To Cry 7. Simon Says 8. Simon Speaks 9. So Much In Love 10. Goodnight My Love, Pleasant Dreams Side B: 1. Right Now And Not Later 2. Never Again 3. Give Us Your Blessings 4. Sophisticated Boom Boom 5. I'm Blue 6. Heaven Only Knows 7. I Can Never Go Home Anymore 8. Give Him A Great Big Kiss Side C: 1.The Train From Kansas City 2. Out In The Streets 3. What's A Girl Supposed To Do 4.The Dum Dum Ditty 5. You Cheated, You Lied 6. The Boy 7. Twist And Shout 8. Shout Side D:"" 1. You Can't Sit Down (Live) 2. Maybe 3. Bull Dog 4. Past, Present And Future 5. Long Live Our Love 6. He Cried 7. Dressed In Black 8. Paradise"""