Best Of The [Best of]

I absolutely adore this group and their unique vocal blend. They not only recorded many fine cover versions ("Wonderful! Wonderful", "Hello Young Lovers", "Goodnight My Love", "And That Reminds Me", "Chances Are") but the Jackson/Straigis songwriting team came up with some great originals such as "One Little Kiss", "Come With Me To The Sea", "View From My Window" and of course "So Much In Love" (co-written with the group's lead singer who had a voice to melt your heart - George Williams). Of special note as well, is the lovely Jimmy Wisner/Norma Mendoza penned "Somewhere". All are contained on this collection.

I would like to make a correction to a comment made by a reviewer who believes they first heard this group and "So Much In Love" in 1962. 1963 is correct for the group's start as the Tymes. They were around as the Latineers for many years but officially became the Tymes in April 1963 when they recorded "So Much In Love" (the group's 1st single for Parkway) at the Cameo Parkway and Reco-Art studios in Philadelphia. The single entered the Billboard pop chart in June of 1963 and went to #1. Recordings that appeared on the So Much In Love LP were made subsequently.

As for the 1962 copyright date on the original Tymes record label, Cameo Parkway had incorrect copyright dates on many of their singles and LPs (mostly on the singles). For instance, the Cameo single of Question Mark & The Mysterians' "96 Tears" (C428) lists the copyright as 1962 which is clearly wrong since the recording was not made until early 1966 and charted in September of that year. I'm not quite sure why the company did that but maybe it had something to do with the copyright of the design of the label.

Further the recordings on this disc were made in a two year period of 1963 to 1964. Not any earlier or later. The research from original session tape boxes, session contracts and chart dates along with the memory of those involved always holds the key to the history.

This is a wonderful collection; I have the original vinyl albums The Sound of the Wonderful Tymes, and Tymes Biggest Hits. My only problem is an historical one. It says, 1963-1964, and the booklet says the group was signed in 1963. I distinctly remembered that I'd bought this - my first album ever - in 1962. I went back to the original, and there is no date on the outside, but, clear as day, on the record label itself, it says, "1962 Cameo-Parkway Records Inc.".

After twenty years of pop music being reissued on CD, the owners at ABKCO Music FINALLY have gotten with the program with the recordings of the artists of the Cameo-Parkway family of labels. In the early 60's, the output of this independent label in Philadelphia was a major force in the pop music of the day and included, among others, the likes of Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp, Bobby Rydell and the Tymes. Up to this point, the only available source for these C-P recordings on CD were imports of dubious legitimacy and varying quality, some decent some not so. Unfortunately, due to the unavailability of the original recordings, much of what is available are re-recordings and oftentimes these "details" are not made evident on the product leading to a lot of disappointed buyers. Here, finally, are the ORIGINAL recordings in quality reproduction.

This CD gathers up 22 tracks of original Tymes Parkway-label recordings including all of their top-100 charting singles headed up by their signature song, "So Much in Love". Unlike their label-mates, the Tymes did achieve some further success after leaving C-P (on Columbia in '68 with a remake of "People" and in the 70's on RCA with "You Little Trustmaker" and others) but this collection is limited to their early 60's stint at C-P. Although the Tymes were not as repeatedly successful as Chubby Checker or Bobby Rydell, their follow-up to "So Much in Love", "Wonderful, Wonderful", became a top-10 hit outselling Johnny Mathis' original from 1957. While many groups lose their footing after a big success and a decent follow-up, the Tymes continued their chart success with their third outing, the sublime "Somewhere", a song epitomizing their elegant harmony and minimalist instrumental-backing style. Unfortunately, subsequent singles fared much less well. Had they issued "Wonderland of Love", a tune with all the qualities of their signature "So Much in Love", as the a-side of their fourth single, their run on the charts may have been sustained somewhat longer. The move of Dick Clark's American Bandstand - a vehicle for many of the C-P artists - to Los Angeles, the change in music brought about by the British Invasion, the sale of their label, a lack of suitable material all contributed to the end of the Tymes' era on C-P by the end of 1964.

The remaining tracks include album cuts and single b-sides. The version of "So Much in Love" included here has the spoken introduction that was edited out for the single version, a decision that should have been made here as well. As the output of the Cameo-Parkway artists was aimed primarily at the teen market, the technology of stereo intended for lp's was not a priority at C-P and consequently, all the tracks here appear in mono. Either the stereo mixes were noticeably different from the mono ones - or were never made - and making new stereo mixes from the original multi-tracks was also not an option here so much of what is coming out on these C-P reissues is lacking the improvement in sound afforded by the stereo soundstage. This is one factor in the less than five-star rating given here. On the positive side is the 12-page liner notes booklet that offers a history of the group as well as some statistics for each of the included tracks.

Shortcomings aside - the lack of stereo, mostly - this new Tymes collection finally fills a long-standing gap in the availability of significant music from the golden era of American rock and roll and outshines any of the previously available product available.

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