Teardrops: The Very Best of Lee Andrews & the Hearts

Performer: Lee Andrews & the Hearts
Distributor: Gotham Distributing Corp.

Notes: Includes liner notes by Marv Goldberg. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Lee Andrews & the Hearts scored only three hits, "Long Lonely Nights," "Tear Drops," and "Try the Impossible," in 1957-1958, so this collection contains plenty of the group's (and solo act Andrews') also-rans along with the successes. Liner notes author Marv Goldberg contributes an affectionate biography that traces the group's career, but doesn't help the consumer determine the sources of the actual recordings contained on the album, which is notable since Andrews & the Hearts re-recorded many of their songs. The sequencing, which jumbles up the chronology, doesn't help an understanding of the group's legacy, either. They recorded in standard doo wop style for the most part, for example, but when Andrews made solo recordings like "Can't Do Without You" in 1968, long after the doo wop era was over, he performed in a style that slavishly copied the Motown sound. Such a track can be jarring when it is preceded and followed by doo wop group recordings. Collectables is to be commended for gathering together nearly an hour's worth of Andrews solo and Andrews & the Hearts recordings, many of which are fine examples of the doo wop style. But the release could have been better assembled and annotated. ~ William Ruhlmann

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