The Ikettes really should stand beside such as the Supremes, the Ronettes and the Shirelles as one of the greatest of girl groups in the ‘60s. That they have been largely overlooked could be due to a number of factors. Because they are best known as the glamorous backing singers and dancers for Ike and Tina Turner, their role as artists in their own right probably had less impact. Also, they lacked the focus of an identifiable lead singer, as their line-ups were in a state of constant flux as Ike Turner hired and fired them, or they chose to leave because of low wages or other reasons, and indeed it is hard to know who sang what on which record. Lead singers over the years included Robbie Montgomery, Jessie Smith, Venetta Fields, Dee Dee Johnson (aka Flora Williams), PP Arnold and Joshie Armstead. As well as the singles, the Ikettes had one album to their name, The Ikettes Soul the Hits, originally released in 1966 on Modern Records, which included a number of popular hits of the day as well as their own hits and some original material mostly written by Ike Turner. At that time The Ikettes were Robbie Montgomery, Jessie Smith and Venetta Fields. It only takes one listen to this album to realize how much better this trio was than many of the other girl groups around, working with a depth and tightness that's way more than simple girl pop. The voices of all three singers are wonderful, and many of the tunes have the same sort of energy as the best grooves of the time from Ike & Tina: upbeat and snapping, and almost with a trace of Northern Soul at times, but a grittier undercurrent at others. Tracks include the super ‘Peaches 'N Cream’, ‘Sally Go Round the Roses’, ‘I'm So Thankful’, ‘Lonely for You’, and ‘Not That I Recall’. This Japanese reissue expands the original 1965 album tremendously, from 12 tracks to 29, with the addition of lots more singles and material issued by some group members as solo artists. Bonus tracks include ‘How Come’, ‘Your Love Is Mine’, ‘Sha La La’, ‘You're Trying to Make Me Lose My Mind’, and ‘Fine Fine Fine’ by The Ikettes, plus ‘I'm Leaving You’, ‘You're Still My Baby’, ‘Give Me a Chance’, and ‘Through with You’ by Venetta Fields; ‘Blue With a Broken Heart’ by Flora Williams; and ‘Easy Living’ by Dee Dee Johnson. http://infoman16.tripod.com/, http://www.dustygroove.com/
trax:
01 I'm So Thankful 02 Da Doo Ron Ron 03 Camel Walk 04 Can't Sit Down 'Cos I Feel So Good 05 (Never More) Lonely For You 06 Not That I Recall 07 Peaches 'N' Cream 08 Sally Go Round The Roses 09 Don't Feel Sorry For Me 10 Fine, Fine, Fine 11 Nobody Loves Me 12 It's Been So Long 13 Camel Walk (Bonus) 14 The Biggest Players (Bonus) 15 How Come (Bonus) 16 Blu With A Broken Heart (Flora Williams) (Bonus) 17 You're Still My Baby (Venetta Fields) (Bonus) 18 I'm Leaving You (Venetta Fields) (Bonus) 19 Through With You (Venetta Fields) (Bonus) 20 Give Me A Chance (Venetta Fields) (Bonus) 21 Cheater (Venetta Fields) (Bonus) 22 You're Trying To Make Me Lose My Mind (Bonus) 23 Your Love Is Mine (Bonus) 24 You Can't Have Your Cake And Eat It Too (Bonus) 25 The Loco-Motion (Bonus) 26 Sha La La (Bonus) 27 Camel Walk (Take 1) (Bonus) 28 (Never More) Lonely For You (Take 11) (Bonus) 29 Easy Living (Dee Dee Johnson) (Bonus)
...Many Thanks To LoFi Larry For The Ikettes Share! served by Gyro1966...
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14 comments:
The Ikettes "Soul The Hits"
...Many Thanks To LoFi Larry For The Ikettes Share! served by Gyro1966...
gitit! no pw
http://www22.zippyshare.com/v/REwIGR7Y/file.html
AMERICAN BLUES
The Moving Sidewalks get a lot of attention as Billy Gibbons’ first band (a One-Album Wonder in fact, shared here some time ago) but the other two-thirds of ZZ Top have some great forgotten material from their earlier days as well. Dusty Hill & Frank Beard were American Blues along with Dusty’s brother Rocky on guitar. They played a slightly garage version of bluesy popsike and Texas R&B, and really toyed with the blues/psych recipe in different ways than a lot of people were doing in ‘68. They released two quick albums in one year before linking up with Billy in the newly emerging ZZ Top, both albums similar with a little more fuzzy blues on the first and a little more soul-psych (well, soul-ish) on the second.
American Blues “American Blues Is Here” (1968) 320
http://www67.zippyshare.com/v/vXQbxEMc/file.html
American Blues “Do Their Thing” (1968) 320
http://www67.zippyshare.com/v/y1YhRq6B/file.html
THE CORPORATION
There’s lotsa bands out there sporting this name, this is the heavy psych band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Members had all come from strings of local bands, including The Black Knights, The Tigers, John Kondos & The Galaxies/Eastmen Blues Band, The Brehmen Caste, The Apollos, and more. They met each other through random club pick-up bands and hit a winning formula almost immediately with hard fuzz renditions of popular blues-psych covers, and their originals were bluesy heavy acid fuzz rock. Thinking big, they were able to secure partial ownership of a local club as homebase and built themselves the gnarliest stage lighting set-up in town, securing instant buzz among the spectacle-hungry youth. They grew quickly, playing festivals, TV’s shows, opening for international touring acts, and getting the royal treatment from Capitol when they starting hitting problems: fights with the label, drugs, big egos and other common pitfalls compounded and they imploded like a supernova after just 18 months – their second & third album were even released after they’d already split. All of this is always a real shame, and even more in this case because these guys were so damn good. In retrospect, they’ve also proven to be one of the lost early pioneers in heavy psych and hard blues fuzz, blazing trails that would get fully explored by others over the next several years.
The Corporation, Self-Titled (1969)
http://www67.zippyshare.com/v/ZEC8e80v/file.html
The Corporation “Get On Our Swing” (1970) 320
http://www67.zippyshare.com/v/cVV2MSdq/file.html
The Corporation, “Hassels In My Mind” (1970) 320
http://www67.zippyshare.com/v/cplnSTbd/file.html
THE ROCKIN’ BERRIES
Popular original beat pop rock & roll from Birmingham, they were part of Beat’s first wave, even cutting their teeth in the German clubs alongside The Beatles and everyone else. I have a feeling most TZ’ers are familiar with both of their albums, these are the expanded CD remasters if anyone needs an upgrade.
The Rockin’ Berries “In Town” (1964/1990) 320
-Expanded with 4 off-album b-sides
http://www67.zippyshare.com/v/cl7w8jiN/file.html
The Rockin’ Berries “Life Is Just A Bowl Of Berries” (1965/1991) 320
-Expanded with 19 extra non-album singles, b-sides, and demos
http://www67.zippyshare.com/v/4HappFX7/file.html
Thanks Gyro and RYP for The Ikettes!
LoFi --
Thank you for the Berries. I really love the Beat sound of the early sixties but although some of the bands may have had a great song or two, most were rather formulaic, in my opinion. Not so the Rockin' Berries. Yes I'm a TZ'er, but I'm awfully happy for the share. As my kindergarten teacher once said, "You do good work." Keep it up.
And may I add that I got the Ikettes share when LoFi Larry originally posted it and I recommend it highly.
Thanks to LoFi Larry for all of the shares in this post. I had heard American Blues but was unaware of the ZZ Top connection.
Thanks Larry
Guys, big thanks for the Ikettes.
cheers,ELtel
Thanks Larry. I've heard of the Berries for years but never actually listed to them.
Was the Moving Sidewalks album shared in amongst the one-album-wonders? I must have missed it.
Mose
Whilst we reminisce about bands like The Corporation, I wonder if any of you TZers have anything by a band called "The Gallery"? I saw them open for the Strawberry Alarm Clock in the spring of '68 (my first rock concert; I was 16) and never heard anything from or about them again.
More tanx to LFL for more great tunz!
Thanks Ryp
Did not know the Ikettes morphed into the Mirettes
Nice share
Regards
Rhod
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