As one of the first interracial vocal groups of the rock & roll era -- and the first to score a Top Ten million-selling record on their very first try -- the Del-Vikings seemed poised for very big things indeed. But when "Come Go With Me" became a national hit, the greed caused the Del-Vikings to split into two separate groups. Recording at various times with almost the same name, sometimes utilizing interchangeable group members as the two groups released follow-up singles on both Dot and Mercury simultaneously (with errant tracks showing up a couple of years later on a third label, Luniverse), this put the brakes on the group's success in a most confusing manner, raising the ire of disc jockeys and radio station programmers alike. This 16-track compilation from the Hip-O subsidiary is subtitled The Dot-ABC Recordings and does a better than average job of cherry picking through their sides for that label. Their big hit, "Come Go With Me," kicks things off, followed by the A- and B-sides of five early Fee-Bee, Dot, and ABC-Paramount singles. Filling out the compilation are the top sides of four more ABC singles. Oddly enough, the follow-up to "Come Go With Me," a two-sided rocker ("What Made Maggie Run" and "Little Billy Boy"), isn't here, making this collection somewhat incomplete. But as a basic hits primer, this tells the story of the "original Del-Vikings" in a thoroughly digestible way.
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