Sequal Records

Album Review by Stephen Islip

Here we have an album of white DooWop music and it doesn’t feature a single track by our star performers - but it’s almost dedicated to them, by tracking some of the artists who followed in their footsteps.

On many of the tracks there are echoes of the D&BM style - a clear sign of their stature when so many groups tried to emulate their sound.

The record starts off with a track from one of their contemporaries - The Elegents - but it has a clear Dion connection - The original recording of Little Star a track that was still haunting him 30 years later.

There are 2 excellent numbers by The Dell Satins destined to later become his un-credited backing group, on most of his solo work.

It should not be forgotten that the Bronx sound would also be re-interpreted in California and the connection can be demonstrated here by the inclusion of The Regents Barbara Ann (similar to Can’t Go On Rosalee ?) which was faithfully reproduced by Jan and Dean and The Beech Boys on The Beech boys party LP. The Regents also tackle a Maresca song called Run-around - but outside the title , it has no similarities to that other song.

The album also contains tracks by the Chaperones ,The Locomotives and Darrel and the Oxfords all clearly sounding better than most of the tracks on the recent Belmonts CD’s. Many of these groups like the Belmonts could reproduce the sound, but probably couldn’t add much originality outside their 30 seconds of fame.

The Final track is the DooWop standard Sunday Kind of Love, covered by both Dion and the other up and coming Group on this CD - The 4 Seasons . The difference between the Seasons and the Other groups is that they may have been inspired by D&BM but they were even in 1961 going for their own sound, even if it wasn’t fully perfected at that stage, by giving Vallie a prominent role in the group.

Most of these groups probably found themselves in a dead end. Dimucci managed to perfect and extend the sound until he grew tired of it in 1963. It took exceptional talents like the Crewe/Gaudio team or Brian Wilson to find a way out of this culdesac.

To my mind this CD is a better tribute to the sound that D&BM created, than either of the recently released Belmonts CD’s . Buy this before it’s deleted - you won’t be disappointed.