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The second LP by the Drifters was, almost as much as its predecessor Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters, a catch-up effort comprised of three years of recordings by a group whose membership was in a constant state of flux. The lead singers were Johnny Moore, Bobby Hendricks, Gerhart Thrasher, or David Baughn, McPhatter's successors from 1955 through 1958. This collection lacks the mystique of the first album, partly because none of these singers approached McPhatter's name recognition, and also because the records themselves simply weren't as good. (This isn't meant to put them down -- it's difficult to imagine a body of 20-plus songs that could match the Drifters' output from 1953-1954.) Additionally, these were all very different vocalists. Johnny Moore was as close as any of them to his predecessor's style and he lacked McPhatter's sheer power, although he had excellent intonation and on occasion sounded remarkably like Jackie Wilson (nowhere more than on "It Was a Tear"). However, his ballads lacked the almost otherworldly quality that imbued McPhatter's work, and his tenure with the group, as represented here, was a far more conventional period without much commercial success.
"On Moonlight Bay" is the album's nadir, an abortive attempt to turn the pop standard into a doo wop style number. By contrast, "Adorable," dating from 1955, anticipated Sam Cooke's attempt to meld soul balladry with mainstream pop by a good three years -- indeed, it even calls to mind Cooke's "I Love You for Sentimental Reasons" in its opening and chorus. There are also signs of an attempt to transform the Drifters into an outfit similar to their Atco labelmates the Coasters, doing highly animated novelty songs like "Yodee Yakee." There is one classic rock & roll number here, "Ruby Baby," which didn't sell much at the time but, along with another track off this record, "Drip Drop," became a huge hit for Dion early in the following decade. There's also a gorgeous ballad in "I Know" and a trio of killer R&B dance numbers in "Fools Fall in Love," "Hypnotized," and "I Got to Get Myself a Woman" (the latter featuring Bill Pinkney), but a lot of the rest is good but relatively unexceptional R&B. The LP is worth hearing just for Sam "The Man" Taylor's sax solo on "Drip Drop." As reflected by this album, the Drifters were in a constant state of commercial and artistic turmoil during the years represented by these recordings, which ultimately led to their breakup in 1959.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo
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Jerry Leiber, Producer - Mike Stoller, Producer - The Drifters, MainArtist - Ray Ellis, Arranger - Gerhart Thrasher, Tenor Vocals - Jimmy Oliver, Guitar - Tommy Evans, Bass Vocals - Percy Wenrich, Writer - Edward Madden, Writer - Bobby Hendricks, Lead Vocals - Jimmy Millinder, Baritone Vocals
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1958 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Jerry Wexler, Producer - Jerry Leiber, Composer, Writer - Mike Stoller, Composer, Writer - The Drifters, MainArtist - AHMET ERTEGUN, Producer - Plas Johnson, Tenor Saxophone
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1956 Atlantic Recording Corporation
Jerry Leiber, Producer, Writer - Mike Stoller, Producer, Writer - The Drifters, MainArtist - Ray Ellis, Arranger - Gerhart Thrasher, Tenor Vocals - Jimmy Oliver, Guitar - Tommy Evans, Bass Vocals - Bobby Hendricks, Lead Vocals - Jimmy Millinder, Baritone Vocals
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1964 Atlantic Recording Corporation
Jerry Wexler, Producer - The Drifters, MainArtist - AHMET ERTEGUN, Producer - Jesse Stone, Writer - Andrew Thrasher, Baritone Vocals - Gerhart Thrasher, Tenor Vocals - JOHNNY MOORE, Lead Vocals - Bill Pinkney, Bass Vocals
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1958 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Jerry Wexler, Producer - Jerry Leiber, Composer, Writer - Mike Stoller, Composer, Writer - The Drifters, Vocals, MainArtist - AHMET ERTEGUN, Producer - JESSE POWELL, Saxophone
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1956 Atlantic Recording Corporation
Jerry Wexler, Producer - Norman Petty, Writer - The Drifters, MainArtist - AHMET ERTEGUN, Producer - Gerhart Thrasher, Tenor Vocals - Jimmy Oliver, Guitar - Tommy Evans, Bass Vocals - JOHNNY MOORE, Lead Vocals - Terry Noland, Writer - Charlie Hughes, Baritone Vocals
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1958 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Jerry Wexler, Producer - The Drifters, MainArtist - AHMET ERTEGUN, Producer, Writer - Gerhart Thrasher, Tenor Vocals - Jimmy Oliver, Guitar - Tommy Evans, Bass Vocals - JOHNNY MOORE, Lead Vocals - Wilbert Smith, Writer - Charlie Hughes, Baritone Vocals
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1958 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
John Jennings, Writer - Jerry Wexler, Producer - The Drifters, MainArtist - AHMET ERTEGUN, Producer - Gerhart Thrasher, Tenor Vocals - Jimmy Oliver, Guitar - Tommy Evans, Vocals - JOHNNY MOORE, Lead Vocals - Ted Brooks, Writer - Charles Hughes, Baritone Vocals
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1958 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Jerry Wexler, Producer - The Drifters, MainArtist - AHMET ERTEGUN, Producer - Andrew Thrasher, Baritone Vocals - Gerhart Thrasher, Tenor Vocals - JOHNNY MOORE, Lead Vocals - Bill Pinkney, Bass Vocals - Kadish Millet, Writer
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1958 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Jerry Wexler, Producer - The Drifters, MainArtist - Andrew Thrasher, Vocals - Gerhart Thrasher, Vocals - Jimmy Oliver, Vocals, Writer - JOHNNY MOORE, Vocals - Nesuhi Ertegun, Producer - Bobby Hendricks, Vocals - Bill Pinkney, Vocals
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1955 Atlantic Recording Corporation
The Drifters, MainArtist - Andrew Thrasher, Vocals - Gerhart Thrasher, Vocals - Jimmy Oliver, Guitar, Writer - JOHNNY MOORE, Vocals - Nesuhi Ertegun, Producer - Bill Pinkney, Vocals
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1955 Atlantic Recording Corporation
Jerry Wexler, Producer - The Drifters, MainArtist - AHMET ERTEGUN, Producer - Gerhart Thrasher, Tenor Vocals - Jimmy Oliver, Guitar, Writer - Tommy Evans, Bass Vocals - JOHNNY MOORE, Lead Vocals - Charlie Hughes, Baritone Vocals
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1958 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Jerry Wexler, Producer - The Drifters, MainArtist - AHMET ERTEGUN, Producer - Plas Johnson, Tenor Saxophone - Andrew Thrasher, Baritone Vocals - Jimmy Oliver, Guitar - JOHNNY MOORE, Lead Vocals - Buck Ram, Writer - Bobby Hendricks, Tenor Vocals - Bill Pinkney, Bass Guitar
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1955 Atlantic Recording Corporation
The Drifters, MainArtist - AHMET ERTEGUN, Producer - Ray Ellis, Arranger - Buddy Lucas, Writer - Andrew Thrasher, Baritone Vocals - Gerhart Thrasher, Tenor Vocals - Jimmy Oliver, Guitar - David Baughn, Lead Vocals - Bill Pinkney, Bass Vocals
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1955 Atlantic Recording Corporation
Album review
The second LP by the Drifters was, almost as much as its predecessor Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters, a catch-up effort comprised of three years of recordings by a group whose membership was in a constant state of flux. The lead singers were Johnny Moore, Bobby Hendricks, Gerhart Thrasher, or David Baughn, McPhatter's successors from 1955 through 1958. This collection lacks the mystique of the first album, partly because none of these singers approached McPhatter's name recognition, and also because the records themselves simply weren't as good. (This isn't meant to put them down -- it's difficult to imagine a body of 20-plus songs that could match the Drifters' output from 1953-1954.) Additionally, these were all very different vocalists. Johnny Moore was as close as any of them to his predecessor's style and he lacked McPhatter's sheer power, although he had excellent intonation and on occasion sounded remarkably like Jackie Wilson (nowhere more than on "It Was a Tear"). However, his ballads lacked the almost otherworldly quality that imbued McPhatter's work, and his tenure with the group, as represented here, was a far more conventional period without much commercial success.
"On Moonlight Bay" is the album's nadir, an abortive attempt to turn the pop standard into a doo wop style number. By contrast, "Adorable," dating from 1955, anticipated Sam Cooke's attempt to meld soul balladry with mainstream pop by a good three years -- indeed, it even calls to mind Cooke's "I Love You for Sentimental Reasons" in its opening and chorus. There are also signs of an attempt to transform the Drifters into an outfit similar to their Atco labelmates the Coasters, doing highly animated novelty songs like "Yodee Yakee." There is one classic rock & roll number here, "Ruby Baby," which didn't sell much at the time but, along with another track off this record, "Drip Drop," became a huge hit for Dion early in the following decade. There's also a gorgeous ballad in "I Know" and a trio of killer R&B dance numbers in "Fools Fall in Love," "Hypnotized," and "I Got to Get Myself a Woman" (the latter featuring Bill Pinkney), but a lot of the rest is good but relatively unexceptional R&B. The LP is worth hearing just for Sam "The Man" Taylor's sax solo on "Drip Drop." As reflected by this album, the Drifters were in a constant state of commercial and artistic turmoil during the years represented by these recordings, which ultimately led to their breakup in 1959.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 00:33:41
- Main artists: The Drifters
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Rhino Atlantic
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 2004 Atlantic Recording Corp. Manufactured & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing
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