Wild Honey
Artist: The Beach Boys
Community Score: 6.00

After the Smile sessions shut down, the Beach Boys became much more of a band than they had been in the mid-'60s. They began playing most of their own instruments on record for the first time since 1963, and Brian Wilson was no longer nearly as dominant a production mastermind. The problem was, as Wilson increasingly withdrew from a... Read More

The Very Best of B.J. Thomas - VARESE
Artist: B.J. Thomas

The "very best" in the title of this 17-track collection is somewhat debatable on a number of accounts. There are still more hits that could been crammed into this package, as six of the entries are non-chart (usually) album tracks. The non-inclusion of "Billy and Sue," "Mama" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" seems almost criminal, even though... Read More

Best of BB
Artist: Brigitte Bardot
Community Score: 10.00

After scaling the heights of international fame as a '50s movie pinup, Brigitte Bardot marked the shifting terrain of the '60s with a plunge into the music world. Like many French singers of the time, she updated the jazz-inspired chanson tradition of Trenet and Piaf with a healthy dose of pop and rock & roll. This 20-track sampler covers the... Read More

Roger Nichols & the Small Circle of Friends
Artist: Roger Nichols & the Small Circle Of Friends

A true sleeper in the context of California pop. As a songwriter, Nichols wrote with such luminaries as Paul Williams and Tony Asher (fresh from his collaboration with Brian Wilson on Pet Sounds, who co-wrote several of the selections here.) The album is a lot of things at once. Soft pop, a smattering of rock, and a heavy dose of easy listening.... Read More

Collection
Artist: Sandie Shaw

Collection is an effective overview of Sandie Shaw's entire career, from her early hits to her '80s collaborations with The Smiths. It covers more ground than the double-disc Complete but it doesn't have quite as much prime material. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Read More

The Clique
Artist: The Clique

The sole album by the Clique is in reality the last full album cult hero Gary Zekley would produce. (Though the Austin-based band, also renowned in garage-psych circles for the first known cover of a Roky Erickson song, had recorded several previous singles, they did not play on the album; only singer Randy Shaw appears, with backing vocalists... Read More

The Ronettes: The Early Years
Artist: The Ronettes

The early Ronettes songs weren't as immaculately produced or as evocative as Phil Spector's productions. Their sound was more generic and resembled other girl groups like The Shirelles or Chiffons. They recorded for Colpix and Dimension during 1961 and 1962, with Ronnie Bennett doing most of the leads, while her sister Estelle and cousin Nedra... Read More

Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
Artist: The Righteous Brothers
Superhits
Artist: The Box Tops
The Best of Al Martino - CAPITOL
Artist: Al Martino
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' - PHILLES
Artist: The Righteous Brothers
The Best of the Righteous Brothers - MOONGLOW
Artist: The Righteous Brothers

Skimpy, only 10 selections, but each a soulful essential including early rockers - "Little Latin Lupe Lu," "My Babe," and their five greatest recordings: "You Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," "(You're My) Soul And Inspiration," and stirring renditions of "Unchained Melody," "Ebb Tide," and "Georgia On My Mind." Bobby Hatfield's high tenor is the... Read More