The Lana Sisters - Chantelly Lace 1958-1960 (@320)

 

Chantilly Lace: Complete Singles Review by Richie Unterberger.

 

The Lana Sisters are known, if at all, for being the first act with which Dusty Springfield recorded, preceding even her work with the Springfields. This exquisitely packaged CD contains both sides of all seven of the trio's singles, recorded between 1958-1960. It also has a full dozen bonus tracks by the Chantelles, the girl group-styled act that evolved out of the Lana Sisters in the mid-'60s, though the Chantelles featured just one of the Lana Sisters (Iris Chantelle) who'd performed on the singles. The Lana Sisters singles make for rather odd listening on a couple of counts. First, it's strange to hear Springfield as just one singer in a harmonizing trio, with no leads and little hint of the soul-pop for which she'd become famed as a star solo vocalist. In addition, the 14 tracks find the Lana Sisters caught between the sound of the harmonizing pre-rock sister acts that were their obvious inspirations (particularly the McGuire Sisters) and the newly emerging rock & roll. They, or perhaps more accurately their producers/arrangers/songwriters, don't sound entirely comfortable with rock, even though some of their recordings were covers of American rock & roll hits, like Travis & Bob's "Tell Him No" and Marv Johnson's "You've Got What It Takes." But though (in common with much pre-Beatles British pop of the time) the approximation of rock & roll can sound stiff, the Lana Sisters undeniably bring some spunk to the cuts. While you'd hardly put them on the level of Brenda Lee or the early Shirelles, they nonetheless make for more entertaining listening than you might guess, and carry some value beyond their interest to Springfield completists, who've found these rare sides hard to acquire on reissues. Chantelle herself co-wrote a couple of the better songs, "Cry, Cry Baby" and "Down South."

The dozen Chantelles tracks (all from 1965-1966 singles except two from a 1973 45) might be connected to the Lana Sisters by the presence of Iris Chantelle, but are musically a different matter altogether. Heavily influenced by the U.S. girl group sound of the early to mid-'60s, they're mostly among the more respectable outings of the erratic British girl group scene, and probably of much more interest to rock listeners than the Lana Sisters singles. Granted, the best Chantelles single, "I Want That Boy," was a cover of one of the finest obscure American girl group classics (done in its original version by Sadina). But some of the other tracks are quite decent girl group tunes with exuberant, boisterous harmonies, especially the propulsive "Gonna Get Burned" (with its hint of "Sally Goes Round the Roses") and "Gonna Give Him Some Love" (whose raunchy guitar solo certainly sounds like the work of a young Jimmy Page in his sessionman days). The 1966 single "There's Something About You"/"Just Another Fool" promises some artistic growth, with the upbeat soul-pop of the A-side and moody, orchestrated B-side ballad indicating, ironically, that these productions might have been influenced by those of Dusty Springfield. Even the 1973 single (recorded with a yet different lineup, though Chantelle was still aboard) is highly respectable in a dignified updated girl group sort of way. Note that although the 62-minute CD could have accommodated a few more tracks, it doesn't include some late-'60s recordings (released and unreleased) by the Chantelles, a few of which show up on various-artists compilations in RPM's Dream Babes series. It's unfortunate that it's not quite complete, but as compensation it has an excellent 16-page booklet, with liner notes including material from an interview with Iris Chantelle.

 

Tracklist:

 

1. Ring-a-my-phone

2. Chimes of Arcady

3. Buzzin'

4. Cry, cry baby

5. Mister Dee-Jay

6. Tell him no

7. (Seven little girls) Sitting on the back seat

8. Sitting on the sidewalk

9. My mother's eyes

10. You've got what it takes

11. Someone loves you, Joe

12. Tintarella di Luna (Magic colour of the moonlight)

13. Two-some

14. Down South

15. London my home town

16. I want that boy

17. Sticks and stones

18. The secret of my success

19. Gonna get burned

20. Gonna give him some love

21. I think of you

22. Please don't kiss me

23. There's something about you

24. Just another fool

25. Another time another world

26. 'Cos I love you

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