Golden Oldies Vol. 7: Greatest Rock N' Roll Hits 50'S & 60'S CD

Original Sounds' Golden Oldies series presents great hits from the '60s and '70s as performed by the original artists. Though the discs are extremely brief at only ten songs and are randomly sequenced, they are exciting reminders of just how good music could be during that "golden" era. Vol. 7 is culled from the '60s and takes a somewhat harder rocking approach than many of the other sets in the series, with the inclusion of tracks from the Music Machine ("Talk Talk"), the Standells ("Dirty Water"), and Shocking Blue ("Venus"). ~ Tim Sendra

Original Sound's Golden Oldies series boasts digital remastering, a claim often made by labels attempting to pass off shoddy sound with a few hi-fi buzzwords. Surprisingly, these tracks do sound better than in past recreations, though Original Sound could've done music fans an additional favor by stretching out the CD's to more than a bare half-hour running time. The seventh volume has a heavy tilt toward R&B, including genre classics like "Sixty Minute Man" by Billy Ward & His Dominoes, "Don't You Just Know It" by Huey "Piano" Smith & the Clowns, Little Willie John's aching version of "Fever," and Bill Doggett's instrumental hit "Honky Tonk." ~ John Bush

Performers include: Bill Doggett, Peppermint Harris, The El Dorados, Bobby Blue Band.

Personnel: Jimmy Reed Jr., Peppermint Harris (vocals, guitar); Clyde McPhatter, Jackie Wilson, Bobby Marchan (vocals).