Various Artists - The Jerry Ragovoy Story; Time Is on My Side 1953-2003 (@320)

 

Various Artists - The Jerry Ragovoy Story; Time Is on My Side 1953-2003

The Jerry Ragovoy Story: Time Is on My Side 1953-2003 Review by Richie Unterberger.

He might not be as well as known as Burt Bacharach, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, or even other such behind-the-scenes figures as Bert Berns. But Jerry Ragovoy produced and/or arranged and/or wrote many fine soul-pop records -- too many, in fact, to fit into one 24-track anthology. But this disc does have a lot of them, and gives a good idea of the breadth of his multifaceted talents, heavily emphasizing (despite the half-century span indicated by the CD title) his most famous work of the 1960s and early '70s. It's not quite Ragovoy's most celebrated material, as there's also an emphasis on rarities and original versions that will please collectors, including the Olympics' "Good Lovin'" and, more notably, the elusive rare original of "Time Is on My Side" by jazz trombonist Kai Winding, covered (with the addition of many lyrics) by Irma Thomas and then the Rolling Stones. A lot of fine songs are here, often with memorably classy orchestration, including Lorraine Ellison's "Stay with Me," Garnet Mimms' big 1963 hit "Cry Baby," Miriam Makeba's 1967 hit "Pata Pata," and the Majors' early-'60s doo wopper "A Wonderful Dream." Also on board are solid tracks by noted performers that weren't hits, like Dusty Springfield's "What's It Gonna Be," Irma Thomas' "The Hurt's All Gone," and Howard Tate's "You're Lookin' Good." To gain a full appreciation of Ragovoy's achievements, you really need to hear more material by artists he worked with extensively who are only represented by a tune or two or three on this compilation, especially Mimms, Ellison, Tate, and Thomas. This is a pretty good survey, however, bolstered by Ace's usual detailed liner notes, which include many comments supplied specifically for this package by Ragovoy himself. Like some other entries in Ace's series of compilations devoted to producer/arranger/songwriters, it also whets the appetite for further volumes, as many other well-known and rare tracks that Ragovoy had a major hand in certainly deserve to be anthologized.

 

Tracklist:

 

1. Lorraine Ellison - Stay With Me

2. Garnet Mimms - As Long As I Have You

3. The Olympics - Good Lovin'

4. Kai Winding - Time Is On My Side

5. The Majors - A Wonderful Dream

6. The Castelles - My Girl Awaits Me

7. Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters - Cry Baby

8. The Fabulous Four - I'm Comin' Home

9. Claudine Clark - Disappointed

10. Estelle Brown - You Got Just What You Asked For

11. The Enchanters - I Wanna Thank You

12. Pat Thomas - I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face

13. Howard Tate - You're Looking Good

14. Irma Thomas - The Hurt's All Gone

15. Garnet Mimms - Thinkin'

16. Miriam Makeba - Pata Pata

17. Dusty Springfield - What's It Gonna Be (Remix)

18. Carl Hall - You Don't Know Nothing About Love

19. Lou Courtney - What Do You Want Me To Do?

20. Howard Tate - Ain't Got Nobody To Give It To

21. Carl Hall - What About You

22. Dionne Warwick - Move Me No Mountain

23. Major Harris - Pretty Red Lips (Kiss My Blues Away)

24. Howard Tate - Get It While You Can

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