By rights, this CD shouldn't get as high of a rating as it does; its 15 songs scarcely take up 35 minutes and there is zero annotation, the interior of the insert given over instead to promoting other parts of this series. But the sound is good, and the quality of the music coupled with the relatively low price make this a handy and enjoyable collection of R&B harmony vocal recordings. Included among the highlights are "Always" by the Distants, the precursors to
the Temptations, which Warwick Records licensed from their Detroit company; the Genies' rocking and exquisitely danceable "Crazy Love," "Little Young Girl," and "Twistin' Pneumonia" from their final year together on Warwick and the alluring, ethereal ballad "No Greater Miracle"; "Hep Teenager," a hot dance track by
the Harptones; and the early Tokens single "Tonight I Fell in Love." Dean Barlow, whose "Friendly People" is also included, calls to mind a young Tommy Hunt. And it's hard to quibble with a CD that ends on so gloriously upbeat a number as "Today" by the Eternals, which leaves a radiant glow in the room long after the disc has ended. More information on Warwick would've been nice, but this is still one cool collection. ~ Bruce Eder