CD

 

"Honey & Wine marks Ace's second foray into the folio of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, one of the most lauded songwriting partnerships of all-time.

As a kid Goffin developed a taste for Broadway musicals and began creating songs in his head. With a vague ambition to one day write a musical of his own, he enrolled at college to study chemistry. It was there that he met 17-year-old Carole, a keen amateur rock’n’roll songwriter in search of a lyricist. They hit it off right away, penned a few songs together and dropped out of college to get married. In 1960 they joined Carole’s pal Neil Sedaka as staff songwriters at Aldon Music, a fledgling publishing house headed by Al Nevins and Don Kirshner. Within a couple of years they were the most successful songwriters in the country.

Ace like original versions and a few are included here. Bobby Vee recorded ‘Go Away Little Girl’ before Steve Lawrence got his mitts on the song for example, while the Rising Sons (Ry Cooder’s early band) cut ‘Take A Giant Step’ before the Monkees did and stylish jazz diva Nancy Wilson’s reading of ‘No Easy Way Down’ was taped before Carole’s own version was released.

If you’ve ever wondered how many Goffin and King compositions the Monkees recorded, the short answer is 18, the most successful of which was ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’, the couple’s restless ode to life in suburbia, included here. (The long answer is contained in the booklet.) While not all of Goffin’s lyrics are autobiographical, it is tempting to assume that ‘So Goes Love’, heard here by the Turtles, documents the breakdown of his and Carole’s personal relationship. Thankfully, they continued writing together after their divorce.

As with the earlier volume, this set includes familiar hits (the Monkees, Maxine Brown’s ‘Oh No Not My Baby’, the Drifters’ ‘Up On The Roof’, Gene McDaniels’ ‘Point Of No Return’, etc), overlooked gems (Chuck Jackson’s ‘I Need You’, Jan & Dean’s ‘The Best Friend I Ever Had’, Freddie Scott’s ‘Brand New World’, ‘I Happen To Love You’ by the Myddle Class, to name just four) and some new to CD rarities (‘Stage Door’ by Peter James, ‘They’re Jealous Of Me’ by Connie Stevens, ‘The Boy I Used To Know’ by Andrea Carroll, Jody Miller’s very non-PC ‘He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)’ and Carolyn Daye’s ‘A Long Way To Be Happy’)."

 

Tracklisting

 

 1  Every Breath I Take - GENE PITNEY

 

 2  Oh No. Not My Baby - MAXINE BROWN

 

 3  Up On The Roof - The DRIFTERS

 

 4  Not Just Tomorrow, But Always - BERTELL DACHE

 

 5  Tell Daddy - BEN E KING

 

 6  He Knows I Love Him Too Much - ARLENE SMITH

 

 7  Point Of No Return - GENE McDANIELS

 

 8  The Best Friend I Ever Had - JAN & DEAN

 

 9  Make The Night A Little Longer - TAMMY MONTGOMERY

 

10  Go Away Little Girl - BOBBY VEE

 

11  Brand New World - FREDDIE SCOTT

 

12  They're Jealous Of Me - CONNIE STEVENS

 

13  I need You - CHUCK JACKSON

 

14  That Boy I Used To Know - ANDREA CARROLL

 

15  Stage Door - PETER JAMES

 

16  He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss) - JODY MILLER

 

17  Don't Forget About Me - BARBARA LEWIS

 

18  Pleasant Valley Sunday - The MONKEES

 

19  A Long Way To Be Happy - CAROLYN DAYE

 

20  Honey & Wine - The HOLLIES

 

21  Take A Giant Step - The RISING SONS

 

22  Is This What I Get For Loving You - MARIANNE FAITHFULL

 

23  Child Of Mine - JACKIE DeSHANNON

 

24  I Happen To Love You - The MYDDLE CLASS

 

25  So Goes Love - The TURTLES

 

26  No Easy Way Down - NANCY WILSON