Just like there are busted sets in books, there are busted sets in albums and CD series. I recently found Atlantic Rhythm and Blues, 1947-1974, Volume 5: 1962-1966. I haven’t seen any of the other volumes in this series, but if you glance at the Track List, you’ll see why I think this CD is the pick of the litter.
You might remember when MTV showcased singers and groups in their “Unplugged” series. The gimmick was that the songs were performed acoustically. Some people liked this approach, others hated it. But MTV and Warner Brothers brought out a series of soundtrack CDs of these studio concerts. Some sold better than others. This CD, The Unplugged Collection, Volume One features many “Name” performers. Michael’s favorite group, R.E.M., concludes the CD. Whoever put this collection together decided not to include the “Big Hits” from the Unplugged series. Eric Clapton’s unplugged version of “Layla” is missing: “Unplugged is a 1992 live album by Eric Clapton, recorded at Bray Studios, England in front of an audience for the MTV Unplugged television series. It includes a version of the successful 1992 single “Tears in Heaven” and an acoustic version of “Layla“. The album itself won three Grammy awards at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in 1993 and became the bestselling live album of all time, and Clapton’s bestselling album, selling 26 million copies worldwide.” Instead, “Before You Accuse Me” is the Clapton selection here.
Are you a fan of these CDs? Do you have any favorite songs/artists presented here? GRADE: ATLANTIC RHYTHM AND BLUES, Volume 5: A; The Unplugged Collection, Volume One: B
TRACK LIST:
| The Drifters– | Up On The Roof | 2:33 | |
| La Vern Baker*– | See See Rider | 2:32 | |
| Ben E. King– | I (Who Have Nothing) | 2:31 | |
| Solomon Burke– | If You Need Me | 2:25 | |
| Otis Redding– | These Arms Of Mine | 2:30 | |
| Barbara Lewis– | Hello Stranger | 2:39 | |
| The Drifters– | On Broadway | 2:57 | |
| Doris Troy– | Just One Look | 2:28 | |
| Nat Kendrick & The Swans– | (Do The) Mashed Potatoes (Parts 1&2) | 2:57 | |
| Chris Kenner– | Land Of 1000 Dances | 2:26 | |
| Rufus Thomas– | Walkin’ The Dog | 2:30 | |
| Esther Phillips– | Release Me | 3:15 | |
| Don Covay– | Mercy Mercy | 2:21 | |
| The Drifters– | Under The Boardwalk | 2:37 | |
| Esther Phillips– | And I Love Him | 2:38 | |
| Joe Tex– | Hold What You’ve Got | 3:05 | |
| Otis Redding– | Mr. Pitiful | 2:35 | |
| Barbara Lewis– | Baby I’m Yours | 2:30 | |
| Willie Tee– | Teasin’ You | 2:42 | |
| Otis Redding– | I’ve Been Loving You Too Long | 3:09 | |
| Wilson Pickett– | In The Midnight Hour | 2:26 | |
| Don Covay– | See-Saw | 2:58 | |
| Otis Redding– | Respect | 2:05 | |
| Sam & Dave– | You Don’t Know Like I Know | 2:37 | |
| Percy Sledge– | When A Man Loves A Woman | 2:50 | |
| Sam & Dave– | Hold On, I’m Comin’ | 2:38 | |
| The Capitols– | Cool Jerk | 2:35 | |
| Jimmy Hughes– | Neighbor, Neighbor | 2:35 |
AA
| Stevie Ray Vaughan– | Pride And Joy | 3:49 | |
| Eric Clapton– | Before You Accuse Me | 3:45 | |
| Lenny Kravitz– | Are You Gonna Go My Way | 6:25 | |
| Soul Asylum (2)– | Somebody To Shove | 3:43 | |
| k.d. lang– | Barefoot | 3:54 | |
| Paul Simon– | Graceland | 5:11 | |
| Elton John– | Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me | 6:48 | |
| Neil Young– | Like A Hurricane | 4:44 | |
| Rod Stewart– | Gasoline Alley | 3:39 | |
| John Mellencamp*– | Pink Houses | 5:21 | |
| Paul McCartney– | We Can Work It Out | 2:57 | |
| Elvis Costello & The Rude 5– | Deep Dark Truthful Mirror | 4:51 | |
| Don Henley– | Come Rain Or Come Shine | 3:46 | |
| Annie Lennox– | Why | 4:59 | |
| 10,000 Maniacs– | Don’t Talk | 5:26 | |
| R.E.M.– | Half A World Away | 3:40 |
I like just about everything on the first Cd. Never heard of Neighbor, Neighbor. I like most of the MTV Cd although I don’t care for Soul Asylum .. I noticed three or four artists on the MTV CD use rather obscure songs.
I don’t own either of these.
I was never a big fan of these things, or of MTV in general. Believe it or not, I was unaware of the one with REM until now. My favorite of the ones I’ve seen is NIRVANA UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK.
Michael, I thought you might be interested in that REM disc. I think I have NIRVANA UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK around here somewhere…
The Rhythym and Blues one speaks to me. The other has a few good tracks but can’t hold a candle to the first.
Jerry, ATLANDTIC RHYTHM AND BLUES, Vol. 5 (1962-1966) includes plenty of great music you and I both love! If I stumble over the other CDs in this series I might pick them up, but I’m very satisfied this this disc!
I like most of the songs on the first record—who wouldn’t? My favorites are the two Barbara Lewis songs and all the Otis Redding. I used to enjoy the Unplugged concerts—although some of the choices on this CD seem deliberately obscure. One of my favorite Unplugged moments was when Nirvana did “The Man Who Sold the World” and, at the very end, Kurt Cobain announced, “David Bowie wrote that.” I always wondered if he was being facetious—perhaps because I assume everybody already knew David Bowie wrote that.
Deb, I’m with you on the MTV Unplugged concerts. Some were good–I liked Eric Clapton’s with the languid version of “Layla”–but others just fell flat. I have the Unplugged 10,000 MANIACS disc around here, but haven’t listened to it yet.
What Jerry said. I would definitely give the first one an A and skip the second one. You cna’t go wrong with Otis Redding (especially I’ve Been Loving You Too Long), the two Barbara Lewis songs, Sam & Dave, Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, or the Drifters (particularly Up on the Roof & Under the Boardwalk).
Did you ever see the early video of The Drifters doing Up on the Roof on a Brooklyn rooftop? It’s great.
The second one? Not for me, though I like a few of the songs.
Jeff, MTV’s UNPLUGGED concerts had mixed success. Some people loved them, others hated them. I’m in the middle. Yes, I’ve seen The Drifters on that Brooklyn rooftop singing “Up On the Roof.” Classic!
I remember these from my record store days. They were definitely sold individually at the time as well as in box sets.
The Clapton unplugged album is my favorite story of record company greed. The morning after the Grammies Clapton’s label raised the list price of the CD by $3.00. The very next morning. I had to go into work early to change the price stickers.
Little wonder people flocked to Napster and record stores like the one I worked at were out of business within a year.
Byron, a lot of the music industry was functioning on greed. We only have a couple of retro music stores left in Western NY. I remember the days when BEST BUY stores had aisles and aisles of music CDs!
Up on the Roof
Rudy Lewis sang the lead on Up on the Roof. One of the other Drifters of that incarnation was Charlie Thomas, who became the lead in later incarnations of The Drifters. Johnny Moore was lead after Lewis, and he did Under the Boardwalk.
Jeff, it might surprise you to learn that I actually like the James Taylor version of “Up On the Roof.”
I agree. It suited Taylor’s voice and style.
I’m with Jeff – I’d pass on Unplugged .
Lots of good stuff on the first, particularly the Barbara Lewis selections.
Beth, I agree: Barbar Lewis was great. I wish she had gotten more attention and record sales!
I picked up a couple-few of the Atlantic anthologies on vinyl in the ’80s. Including this one. Never made much effort to collect the UNPLUGGED recordings, though did tend to enjoy them well enough if I happened to catch one on video.
For a taste of the range of the series:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3tkzUsGpNfE_ZCCKOmRhP5tgkVIviGiX
Todd, thanks for the link!
Todd, Atlantic was a close competitor with Motown and I listened to artists and groups who recorded for both. I liked some of the UNPLUGGED concerts, but others didn’t thrill me.
I have a couple of the Atlantic CDS, but not sure about this one so will have to go digging in my basement. The second one you mnetioned doesn’t interest me. Do you have all your CDs and Vinyl in a data base so you know what you have? I have been keeping track for several years, but really have no idea about the older stuff. Much the same with my book collection.
Kent, I have organized some of the chaos surrounding my books and music CDs. I really need more shelving, but I have nowhere to put it. I need to “weed” my collections to free up some space. My books are more organized than my music CDs…which leads to some frustrating searches. I know I have a CD but trying to locate it can take time. I’d love to organize the CDs so they’re all in order.