The “5” Royales "Monkey Hips And Rice" The “5” Royales Anthology 1952-1962 King Records (Rhino 1994)

The 5 Royales are legendary, primarily in the sense that their legend grew over the years, as the status of what they achieved began to be realized…...Like many trailblazing groups, the 5 Royales made music that wasn't fully appreciated at the time and is pigeonholed into the influential but not heard category. This makes their list of accomplishments seem academic -- they pushed through gospel and doo wop, incorporating jump and urban blues and, eventually, rock & roll, paving the way toward the soul of the '60s. Led by guitarist/songwriter Lowman Pauling, the group was remarkably versatile, stretching the accepted limits of what a vocal group could do, particularly because Pauling's guitar and earthy, soulful songwriting ignored boundaries and let the group follow suit. Listen to "Think," their second best-known song ("Dedicated to the One I Love" ranks as their first, with covers by the Shirelles and the Mamas & the Papas). Later covered by James Brown in a rampaging, unhinged fashion, this has the basic stuttering, stop-start rhythm of that version, surrounded by gospel-influenced harmonies and great bluesy guitar - touching on nearly everything the group fused together to create their own sound, one that uncannily suggested the sound of soul in the '60s. This approach gelled a little later in their career, toward the end of the '50s, during the recordings chronicled on the second disc of Monkey Hips and Rice, Rhino's impeccable career-spanning 1994 collection. On the first disc, the group is still quite innovative, even if the seams show, as the group blends together harmony groups, gospel, blues and R&B in a lively fashion. They take off toward the end of the first disc, stretching through the second disc, with a stretch of invigorating music that is among the greatest R&B ever recorded. Perhaps two discs may seem like a lot for those that haven't heard the 5 Royales before, but this is not just the most comprehensive set of 5 Royales material yet assembled, it's also the best, illustrating not just their importance, but making that history lesson fun. (Stephen Thomas Erlewine , Allmusic) trax disc 1:
01 Let Nothing Separate Me (The Royal Sons Quintet) 02 Courage To Love 03 Baby Don't Do It 04 Help Me Somebody 05 Crazy, Crazy, Crazy 06 Laundromat Blues 07 Too Much Lovin' 08 All Righty! 09 I Do 10 I Like It Like That 11 Let Me Come Back Home 12 Monkey Hips And Rice 13 School Girl 14 Mohawk Squaw 15 When I Get Like This 16 Women About To Make Me Go Crazy 17 Someone Made You For Me 18 Right Around The Corner 19 When You Walked Through The Door 20 Come On And Save Me 21 Get Something Out Of It
trax disc 2:
01 Just As I Am 02 Thirty Second Lover 03 Tears Of Joy 04 Think 05 I'd Better Make A Move 06 Say It 07 Messin' Up 08 Don't Be Ashamed 09 Dedicated To The One I Love 10 Do The Cha Cha Cherry 11 Double Or Nothing 12 Tell The Truth 13 The Slummer The Slum 14 The Real Thing 15 I Know It's Hard But It's Fair 16 Miracle Of Love 17 Wonder Where Your Love Has Gone 18 Tell Me You Care 19 My Sugar Sugar 20 Help Me Somebody
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