Coasters - The Coasters

  by Lisa Torem

published: 24 / 3 / 2013

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Article

What a pairing – The Coasters, one of the most talented male vocal groups to come out of 1950's America and the stellar songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who wrote many of their comical and danceable hits. This two-disc set, 'The Definitive Coasters: A Sides and B Sides', includes the whole entertaining spectrum from the widely covered ‘Riot in Cell Block #9’, ‘Young Blood’, ‘Yakety Yak’, ’Charlie Brown’, ‘Little Egypt’, ‘Poison Ivy’ and ‘Searchin’’ to American pop standards like ‘I Love Paris’, ‘Zing! Went the Strings o My Heart’ and ‘Besame Mucho’, a standout on which the sultry sax and dynamite bass elongate the Latin theme. ‘Yakety Yak,’ which featured King Curtis on the tenor saxophone, became their sole national #1 single, followed by ‘Charlie Brown,’ the trouble maker “who called the English teacher, Daddy-o,” which reached #2. ‘Poison Ivy’ also enjoyed the #1 spot. In 1987 they became the first group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their cadre of catchy tunes made up most of the 1994 Smokey Joe’s Café Broadway musical, which garnered one Grammy and seven Tony nominations in 1995. The group's current line-up of J.W. Lance, Primotivo Candelera, Eddie Whitfield and Dennis Anderson continue to perform their hits. The quintet, who originally debuted as the Robins, not only had a superb range of voices, but their renditions are bright, often ironic or downright funny and consistently contagious. The popular instrument of the time, the saxophone, enhanced the spirit of fun with short spurts of response to the nuanced calls. The first CD is divided into two section. The first disc presents the “Hits,” which could be further subdivided into the most commonly known: ‘Poison Ivy’, on which the listener is warned: “You’re going to need an ocean of calamine lotion/You’ll be scratching like a hound/The minute you start to mess around,” and then some lesser known such as ‘Shoppin’ for Clothes’ and ‘Teach Me How to Shimmy’. The style of music heard here is seldom heard at the present time. ‘Along Came Jones’ was based on a witty tale, which the lads worked out with a great ease and timing. ‘I’m a Hog for You’ is tongue and cheek at its finest. ‘Three Cools Cats’ later became standard fodder for British Invasion groups. The rolling rhythms of the guitar chords and street-smart pulse are retro nirvana. The second disc, 'B Sides and Bonus Tracks', contains thirty songs – some which were a little more obscure, or even traditional, like ‘Stewball’ about a unique racehorse. The mix includes ballads and novelty songs, Latin rhythms and symphonic timbres. Love is a popular theme, although it is often discussed in an exaggerated form. 'Those Hoodlum Friends' features the Coasters in stereo and focuses on 'Outtakes' and 'Alternate Takes'. The first disc is an unusual mix on this album because the latter half features standard American fare done rather traditionally, with the vocals alternated between the group members. It is a little disconcerting to hear the tone shift to such a serious one after the many animated tracks that preceded them, yet at the same time the dramatic shift does speak to the unarguable versatility of the members. The “studio chatter” on the second disc, which appears on those “alternate takes” shows a great deal about the personalities involved. These revealing takes would certainly appeal to the serious R & B buff, but not necessarily to the casual music lover combing through his grandparent’s attic. A photo booklet of liner notes is also included which details the various lineups of the band. I found myself laughing out loud at the bold lyrics and raw interpretations of the songs on the CD, as well as the rampant enthusiasm of the band members, but as hinted at earlier the numerous takes and repeated bonus tracks got to be laborious at a certain point. Still the Coasters deserve to be honoured with a comprehensive package like this, and what is here was put together exceedingly well and with undeniable care.

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