Various Artists - Second Helpings: Sequels To The Son

Facts 2015 collection. Can you have too much of a good thing? Not if it's a platter of tasty sequels cherry-picked from Pop's golden era. And if many of these recordings sound familiar then maybe it's because the originals which inspired them were massive hits: eight topped the US charts, a further eight made the Hot 100 Top 5, and six were Top 30 entries. Carefully mined from a wide cross-section of US labels, this sizzling 24-track set serves up a second helping of hit songs by the artists who made them famous the first time around. An eclectic smorgasbord, Second Helpings runs the gamut of pop, R&B and country and features a peppering of album tracks by story song supremo Marty Robbins, a teen idol-era Johnny Burnette, rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson and country hero George Jones. Surf's golden boys Jan & Dean and doo wop doyens Shep & The Limelites provide the seasoning, while chart-toppers the Angels, Booker T & The MGs and Jimmy Dean add some bite. Recorded between 1958 and 1966, featured here are lesser-heard gems by Lenny Miles, Jennell Hawkins, Robin Ward, the Crests, Jay & The Americans and, by way of a bonus, a later waxing by the Safaris featuring Jimmy Stephens. While not all were granted a second bite of the chart cherry, hit-makers the Marvelettes, Tex Mex turbanites Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs and the prolific Paul Anka certainly were.