Various Artists - Speak Easy - The Rpm Records Story Vol. 2 1954-57 (2014)

Tracklist

CD1
01. Real Pretty Mamma (Take 3) - The Meadowlarks
02. Feel My Broom (Take 1) - Quinn Kimble
03. Love Me Pretty Baby (Take 1) - Connie Mack Booker
04. One Whole Year Baby - Earl Curry & His Orchestra
05. Pass the Gin - The Meadowlarks
06. The Way You Used to Treat Me (Take 1) - Lover Boy
07. I Ain't Drunk - Lonnie the Cat
08. Don't You Want a Man Like Me (Take 3) - B.B. King
09. Whoopin' and a Hollerin' (Take 1) - Preacher Stephens & His Orchestra
10. She Wants to Mambo - The Chanters
11. You Upset Me Baby - B.B. King
12. O O Wah - Buddy Milton
13. The Dream (Pts. 1 & 2) - The Fox
14. Every Day I Have the Blues (Take 3) - B.B. King
15. Hot Little Mama (Take 6) - Johnny "Guitar" Watson & His Orchestra
16. Truly - Arthur Lee Maye
17. Shtiggy Boom (Take 5) - Joe Houston
18. Why Don't You Write Me? - The Jacks
19. Blues in the Dark - Little George Smith
20. Too Tired (Take 3) - Johnny "Guitar" Watson & His Orchestra
21. Dog Gone It - Donna Hightower
22. Suffocate - Johnny Wright
23. Hands Off - Donna Hightower
24. Those Lonely, Lonely Nights (Take 2) - Johnny Guitar Watson
25. Oopin' Doopin' Doopin' (Take 1) - Little George Smith
26. Crying Won't Help You (Take 2, False Start + Take 3) - B.B. King

CD2
01. 16 Tons (Take 10 Breakdown + Take 11 Master) - B.B. King
02. Eddie My Love - The Teen Queens
03. Ruben (Take 5) - Johnny "Guitar" Watson & His Orchestra
04. Cross-Eyed Suzzie Lee - George Smith
05. Did You Ever Love a Woman - B.B. King
06. Sugar Baby - The Jacks
07. Do Me No Wrong - Pat Cupp
08. A Casual Look - Little Clydie
09. Billy Boy (Take 2) - The Teen Queens
10. Yama Yama Pretty Mama (Composite of Takes 6 & 7) - Richard Berry
11. I'm All Alone - Eddy Lang
12. Sweet Little Angel (Version 2, Take 1) - B.B. King
13. She Moves Me (Take 4) - Johnny Guitar Watson
14. Blau-Wile-Deveest-Fontaine (Take 3) - Paul Anka
15. Long Gone Daddy - Pat Cupp
16. She's a Flirt - The Jewels
17. You Got to Crawl Before You Walk - Eddy Lang
18. Down in New Orleans - George Smith
19. Rock Everybody (Take 2) - The Teen Queens
20. He's My Baby (Take 2) - Donna Hightower
21. Cool Diggin' (Take 4) - Maxwell Davis & His Orchestra
22. Bippin' and Boppin' (Over You) - Jack Lewis "The Singing Airline Pilot"
23. Bim Bam (Take 4) - B.B. King
24. Memories of You - Prentice Moreland
25. Speak Easy - Vido Musso
26. Hello Baby (Glad to Have You Home) - Darrell Glenn
27. Snake Eyed Mama - Don Cole
28. I Wonder - B.B. King

The second and final volume in Ace's overview of the Modern subsidiary label RPM picks up where the first one, No More Doggin, left off in December 1953. It continues through to the label's closure in early 1957 in order to make way for the new Kent subsidiary. As with the first volume, the focus here is on quality blues, R&B and doo wop, with occasional forays into rockabilly and rock n roll representing the repertoire from the end of the label's life. The vast majority of the tracks have been mastered from fresh transfers of the original master tapes. Where dubs have had to be used in absence of tape, those tracks have also been mastered from new sources. In keeping with both the previous volume and our earlier 2CD overview of Modern subsidiary, Flair, Ace have tried to use alternate takes wherever possible, of tracks already available on an Ace CD. Sixteen of the tracks and takes have not been issued before, while almost three dozen of the 54 tracks have never appeared on an Ace CD. All of the label's major artists of this period are represented. As always a generously annotated and illustrated booklet complements a fine audio experience.

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