This volume of Sequel Records'
Drifters reissues series is adapted from the 1963 compilation Up on the Roof (The Best of the Drifters), expanded to 20 songs and partly reprogrammed. The result is a volume devoted entirely to the singing of
Rudy Lewis, whose voice was the focal point of
the Drifters' success from 1960 through 1964, the longest tenure of any lead singer in the group's recording history. There are major hits here, including "Some Kind of Wonderful," "Up on the Roof," and "On Broadway," which sound superb in these fresh remasterings. However, the real attractions are the lesser hits, B-sides, and album tracks. Opening with the achingly beautiful "Please Stay," the disc encompasses songs, from three years' worth of recording sessions, that were originally spread among almost a dozen singles and several albums. The collection includes everything from slow ballads like "Loneliness or Happiness" (a
Burt Bacharach/
Hal David song done as a soul number) and "Mexican Divorce" to bracing Pomus/Shuman-authored dance numbers like "Somebody New Dancing With You" and "She Never Talked to Me That Way" to blues and R&B showcases like "Jackpot" and "What to Do." All of these songs reflect the post-1959
Drifters approach, with gentle orchestrations (utterly unobtrusive on the harder R&B numbers here) and, in some instances, female vocal accompaniment (courtesy of
Dionne Warwick,
Dee Dee Warwick, and
Doris Troy).
Lewis' voice is the dominant instrument, however, and the CD is virtually a memorial album to this lost star of 1960s soul. Also included are a handful of tracks that were only discovered in the vaults years or decades later, among them "Only in America" and "Beautiful Music," all of which were every bit as worthwhile as the work that was released. ~ Bruce Eder