The Ace (USA) Story, Vol. 2

• Artist: Various Artists
• Release Date: 2010
• Type: Collection (various artists), Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Rhythm & Blues

Review

To clear up a couple possible points of confusion about this 2010 release: although it came out on the British Ace label, it's actually a compilation of material that came out on the American Ace label between the mid-'50s and mid-'60s (with the exception of a couple cuts that didn't appear until the early '70s). Also, it's not identical to the 12-track LP titled The Ace Story, Vol. 2 that came out in the '70s. This edition adds 12 bonus tracks, making it a more comprehensive sampler of the label's rock and R&B. Note, however, that this is more a sampler than a best-of. It does include cuts by Ace's most popular artists (Jimmy Clanton, Frankie Ford, Huey "Piano" Smith, and Bobby Marchan), but with the exception of Clanton's "Go, Jimmy, Go," none of the company's biggest hits. So it's more something for the specialist enthusiast and collector of early rock & roll, especially early rock & roll with a New Orleans/swamp pop flavor, than more general rock & roll fans. If you're familiar with the aforementioned singers' hits, but not much else on the label, it gives you the opportunity to go deeper into their catalog, though not much of it's up to the level of those hits. Points of interest include the grinding "Bad Boogie" by Lightnin' Hopkins, Ace being one of many labels at which he made a pit stop; Frankie Ford's "Roberta," covered by the Animals in the mid-'60s; the mild novelty value of Marchan's "Rockin' Behind the Iron Curtain"; and the whirling organ instrumental "Teen Age Rock" by Little Booker, aka famed New Orleans keyboardist James Booker. Little Shelton's 1971 cover of the great Ford hit "Sea Cruise," replete with fake applause, is an abomination compared to the original, but anyone interested in the Ace label is likely to have the Ford version elsewhere already. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi

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