Rating: NNN
While teen pop fanatics have included a comprehensive collection of Cameo-Parkway label singles on their wish lists since the dawn of the digital era, the compact four-CD Cameo-Parkway box isn’t quite the dream come true that might’ve been anticipated. The independently run early 60s powerhouse concentrated on pop novelties, dance craze cash-ins and sockhop R&B, and the Cameo-Parkway 1957-1967 set leans toward chart hits, so you get a lot of overly familiar stuff by Bobby Rydell, Chubby Checker, the Orlons and the Dovells and relatively few of the cool obscurities you expect for your $100. But amidst the cornball radio fodder, there are a few forgotten gems by Frankie Beverly, ? and the Mysterians, Bobby Marchan and Chris Bartley along with Evie Sands’s definitive version of Angel Of The Morning and Bob Seger’s kickass original Sock It To Me Santa – which has long been one of Bruce Springsteen’s holiday-season faves. No artist bios, and the thumbnail photos on the package cover are about all you’ll see, but at least it sounds good.
