An occasional series of articles, reviewing Jackie’s work as a songwriter, and looking at the many hundreds of recordings that have been made of her songs.
1. Hellions - Daydreaming of You
2. Authentics - Without You
3. Irma Thomas - Breakaway
4. Liverpool Five - Too Far Out
5. Striders - When You Walk In the Room
6. Raga & The Talas - My Group and Me
7. Ashes - Is There Anything I Can Do
8. Byrds - Don’t Doubt Yourself Babe
9. Joe & Eddie - Depend On Yourself
10. The Cake - Baby That’s Me
11. Mike Sheridan’s Lot - Don’t Turn Your Back
12. Olivia Newton-John - Til You Say You’ll Be Mine
13. Doug Gibbons - I’ve Got My Tears To Remind Me
14. Evie Sands - I Was Moved
15. Delaney Bramlett - You Have No Choice
16. Epics - There’s Just No Pleasing You
17. Peter & Gordon - Colour Blue
18. Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans - I Shook the World
19. Raga & The Talas - For Old Times Sake
20. The Critters - Children and Flowers
21. Susan Maughan - Don’t You Love Him Too Much
22. Paramounts - Blue Ribbons
23. Joe & Eddie - With You In Mind
24. Ronettes - He Did It
25. The Crickets - Right Or Wrong
26. Rick Nelson - Thank You Darlin’
27. Eddie Hodges - Would You Come Back
28. Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans - Jimmy Baby
29. Dave Clark Five - Put A Little Love In Your Heart
30. 31st February - The Greener Side
31. Peter & Gordon - A Boy With Nothing
WG: A peppy, British-Invasion style opener. Nice arrangement and production. 7 points.
PL: What a lively, jangly start to the CD. I always think of this as a girls' song, but this is classy. Did you know that this Birmingham (UK) band featured Dave Mason and Jim Capaldi, later in Traffic? I agree, 7 points.
WG:
PL: This is a rare track indeed. The song sounds as if it was written for the Searchers - what a great riff. Goodness knows why it was never released. 7 points from me.
WG:
PL: Irma's got a super soul voice but this is very pop - a bouncy, handclapping dancer, 20 years ahead of Tracey Ullman! 8 points.
WG:
PL: They sound British but they aren't. This steams along like a train and puts me in mind of the Yardbirds. Love it! Is there a Liverpool in the USA? 8 points.
WG:
PL: Yes I like it too, but they do lose the plot a bit in the middle and they take the song very fast. And what's the drummer on? 6 points.
WG:
PL: Were you at Woodstock, Bill? This sounds very west coast to me, and would have fitted in well on an early Love album. You don't often hear Jackie songs like this. 8 high in the sky points.
WG:
PL: Oh yes. Close to perfection - just wish I could hear Jackie's demo. More west coast sounds, full of those DeShannon guitar tricks and key modulations. 9 points from me. Play it again!
WG:
PL: The Byrds on top form - wish they'd done some other of Jackie's songs. Is this the first time I've noticed the Bo Diddley beat on the fadeout? 8 points.
WG:
PL: I see Joe and Eddie in the same folk club or Hootenanny where pre-hitmaking Simon and Garfunkel sang last week. Innocent days. Great guitar riff again (did Jackie think of the riffs first and then compose the songs?) 7 points.
WG:
PL: I love the sound and the mood. I'm just a little unconvinced by the lead singer's voice. Just imagine LaLa Brooks of the Crystals singing this...... 9 points nevertheless.
WG:
PL: A thumping British beat. This didn't stand a chance, hit-wise, with Jackie's version also on the market, but hey it's not at all bad. 6 points from this Brit.
WG:
PL: No, I'm not as keen on this as you are. Tinny sound and ONJ's voice struggles against the backing. Major rarity, however, so 6 points for finding it.
WG:
PL: Yup, Doug is familiar with the works of M.Jagger, and menacing is the word. Brilliant arrangement; a storm building, and breaking during the last few bars. Fab, as we used to say. 7 points.
WG:
PL: Back to a Spector sound, with Evie's soul shining through. Great song, great melody, great performance. The backing is a bit muddy but 8 great points.
WG:
PL: Jackie's work with Delaney needs more attention. He has a wonderful pop voice, and this is another lost treasure. Brilliant 60s pop. 9 points.
WG:
PL: This is one of the most in-demand DeShannon covers. It's very well done. I guess there were just too many good records around at the time, because I don't even remember this getting radio play over here. The middle 8 is very Beatle influenced, as you say. 8 points from me.
WG:
PL: I have this image of P&G as perennial wimps. This is something of a mess, but a nice mess which brings a smile to your face. 6 points for effort, and there's certainly a lot of that.
WG:
PL: Whew. What a performance from Darlene. You're right Bill, this does stay close to Jackie's demo, and Spector the producer is restrained, apart from the trademark handclapping. A Darlene sings Jackie album would be a treat. 9 points from me.
WG:
PL: Definitely the B side, and methinks in need of a tad more rehearsal time. Nice to hear big sister on the backing vocals. A generous 6 points.
WG:
PL: We used to call this sort of sound soft rock. Nice listenable version of a much-covered (but not my own favourite) DeShannon song. 6 pleasant points.
WG:
PL: This is a hard to find 45. Susan did the UK hit of Bobby's Girl then struggled to keep a place in the charts. This is fun; she sings well, nice arrangement. 7 points.
WG:
PL: Very commercial, must have been a UK nearly-hit. Good, good, good. 7 points.
WG:
PL: Gospel-folk I'd call this. A real toe-tapper with nicely textured vocals. Yep, another solid 7 points.
WG: 8 points.
PL:
WG:
PL:8 points.
WG:
PL: Rick was coming to the end of his Imperial contract when he recorded this and he rushes at it like he can't wait to leave. Slower would have been better. 6 points.
WG:
PL: Eddie always struck me as a nauseating little chap with a too-high voice. This doesn't change my view of him, but it's an OK production of an OK song, which Jackie probably knocked off before breakfast. (Doesn't knock off mean something else in the States? I wasn't suggesting that Jackie and Eddie…) 5 points.
WG:
PL: This song is deep and powerful, almost like a traditional folk ballad. Darlene doesn't get inside it like Jackie does on her demo, which must be one of the greatest unreleased tracks ever, anywhere. But this is OK to be going on with. 7 points.
WG:
PL: I never liked the DC5 very much, coming from northern England myself, they seemed like a bunch of southern jessies. But this is well produced, not as thumpy as they were wont, and the 60 second fadeout would have been admirable had the Beatles not thought of something similar first. All you need is… 7 points.
WG:
PL: Another real rarity. It doesn't quite get there for me, perhaps the song isn't strong enough, but it's a pleasant listen. 6 points.
WG:
PL: I take back what I said about P&G. This is well arranged and inspirationally sung. Had it been put on a 45 instead of lost on an album, it could well have been a hit and revived the lads' flagging career. Like it! Great conclusion to a first rate CD, Bill. 8 points for the song, and 10 points for the compilation!