The Flash Records Story (2011)

Tracklist
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CD1
01. Good Woman Blues - B Brown & His McVouts
02. Gone For Good - Haskell Sadler
03. Hurry, Hurry, Baby - Sidney Maiden & His Ramblers
04. Mambo For Dancers - B Brown & His McVouts
05. Everything Is Wrong - Sidney Maiden & His Ramblers
06. Do Right Mind - Haskell Sadler
07. Counting My Teardrops - The Jayhawks
08. Blues For Monday - The Emanon "4"
09. Oh! That Girl - The Emanon "4"
10. The Devil's Cousin - The Jayhawks
11. Just A Night Girl - Sheryl Crowley with James Curry & His Orchestra
12. Still Longing For You - James Curry
13. I'll Be Seeing You - Sheryl Crowley & James Curry
14. Walking Down Swing Street - Lorenzo Holden
15. Please Baby - James Curry
16. Don't Mind Dyin' - The Jayhawks
17. Stranded In The Jungle - The Jayhawks
18. My Promise - James Curry
19. My Devotion - Sheryl Crowley with Lorenzo Holden's Orchestra
20. My Only Darling - The Jayhawks
21. Love Train - The Jayhawks
22. It Ain't To Play With! - Sheryl Crowley with Lorenzo Holden's Orchestra
23. Flashy - Maurice Simons
24. Blue Light - Maurice Simons
25. You Told Me - Gus Jenkins
26. Gonna Hold On - Frank Patt
27. Don't Forsake Me (Bop To De Lao) - Buddy Cypress
28. I'm In Love With You - Buddy Cypress
29. You Going To Pay For It Baby - Frank Patt
30. Ooh-La Cha-Cha - The Fabulous Preston Combo
CD2
01. Mr Boogie - Judge Davis
02. Can't Sleep At Night - Judge Davis
03. Sawmill Section - Judge Davis
04. Hambone - Mamie Jenkins
05. Jump With Me Baby - Mamie Jenkins
06. Darling I Need You - Nip Roman
07. With These Words - Nip Roman
08. Crying Over You - The Hornets
09. Tango Moon - The Hornets
10. Dead - The Poets
11. Vowels Of Love - The Poets
12. Explain Yourself - Judge Davis
13. Ain't I Cried Enough - Paul Clifton
14. I'm Hurted - Mamie Perry with Gus Jenkins Orchestra
15. My Baby Waited Too Long - Mamie Perry with Gus Jenkins Orchestra
16. I'm Your Slave aka How Long Will I Be Your Slave (Take 2) - Frank Patt
17. You've Been Gone So Long - The Cubans
18. Indian Bop Hop - The Arrows with Paul Clifton's Band
19. Annie Mae - The Arrows with Paul Clifton's Band
20. Don't Go Baby - The Cubans
21. Just A Minute Baby - Frank Patt
22. Drift On - Gus Jenkins
23. Don't Have To Cry No More - Frank Patt
24. You've Been Gone So Long - The Cubans
25. Oh Miss Dolly - The Cubans
26. Can't You See - The Cubans
27. Tell Me (Will You Ever Be Mine) - The Cubans
28. Are You Alright? - Paul Clifton
29. I'm Your Slave aka How Long Will I Be Your Slave (Take 1) - Frank Patt
30. Slow Down - Gus Jenkins
Even by the standards of small indie labels that had just one or two hits in the early days of rock & roll, the Los Angeles-based Flash label was something of a flash in the pan. Its one hit was the Jayhawks' "Stranded in the Jungle" (which made the Top 20 in 1956), and even though that's one of the funniest doo wop smashes, its thunder was stolen when a better cover by the Cadets outpaced it on the charts. That didn't stop Flash from continuing to try, however, and it put out 30 other singles from 1955 to 1959. Many of them are on this two-CD, 60-track compilation, which also includes a few previously unreleased cuts, along with a few others that didn't see the light until decades later. Flash neither developed a consistent hitmaker nor stuck to any one or two styles in its short lifespan, churning out doo wop, raucous electric blues, basic '50s rock & roll, instrumentals, jump blues -- you name it, most forms of R&B-based Los Angeles 1950s music are here. Most of the tracks, it has to be said, are average exponents of these genres and no more, and challenging listening 60 songs at a time if you're not an avid devotee of those sounds. Nothing else stands out on the level of "Stranded in the Jungle," but there are things here and there that catch the ear more than most of the package. Judge Davis offers a credible emulation of early New Orleans Fats Domino school R&B/rock & roll crossover with "Can't Sleep at Night"; Mamie Perry plays effective downbeat minor-key blues on "I'm Hurted" (sic), even if the other side, "My Baby Waited Too Long," seems obviously derivative of Howlin' Wolf's "Who's Been Talking?"; and Gus Jenkins' "Drift On" is smoldering brassy urban blues, while his more upbeat "Slow Down" (not the same as the Larry Williams classic) is one of the few things on here that sounds like a genuine chart contender. The earliest 1955 sides the label cut are real raw and swampy blues for Los Angeles-cut sessions; the Jayhawks' sorrowful ballad "Counting My Teardrops" sounds like precisely the sort of doo wop the Mothers of Invention parodied/paid homage to on their early albums; and future jazz star Roy Ayers appears as part of the Poets on their otherwise unremarkable vocal group single. Yes, on one level this is collector fanaticism at its extreme, since an in-depth anthology of this nature will interest only a small niche audience. These are the kinds of niche comps in which Ace specializes, however, and as usual it pulls out all the stops, complete with a bountifully illustrated 40-page booklet with liner notes by early rock & roll historian Jim Dawson.
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