The five original volumes of “The Ace (MS) Story” were part of the backbone of our catalogue during our early days. They disappeared for a long while after our licensing agreement with Johnny Vincent expired, but we were delighted to restore three of the original five to catalogue in 2010 and 2011. Judging by their sales figures, we were not the only ones to be delighted.

This fourth volume more than matches the quality of the first three. Some of its inclusions are among the rarest singles on any of Vincent’s labels. The advent of eBay and GEMM might have made some of them a little more accessible than they used to be, but the tracks by Johnny Angel, Dicky Williams, Albert Scott and Jesse Allen still command high prices. Among the less rare (but no less good) sides are seldom reissued cuts by New Orleans mainstays Huey Smith, Alvin “Red” Tyler and Eddie Bo, as well as no less than three classic Joe Tex cuts in best-ever sound!

As with previous volumes in this series, the original 16 tracks of the vinyl edition have been augmented by eight other gems from Vincent’s vaults. These include Ace’s debut release (and the original of Little Richard’s ‘Slippin’ And Slidin’’), Al Collins’ ‘I Got The Blues For You’ and the label’s first-ever hit in Earl King’s ‘Those Lonely, Lonely Nights’. Collectors will also be thrilled to hear Huey Smith’s ‘Don’t You Know Yockomo’ at the same speed as the vinyl 45 for the first time on CD and the single master of Bobby Marchan’s ‘You Can’t Stop Her’ from a recently located tape source. In fact, all but three of these tracks are appearing here from transfers of the original tapes, some of which have only previously appeared from second or third-generation copy tapes. Great music in its greatest ever fidelity – what’s not to love?

The original vinyl series concluded with a fifth volume, the expanded version of which should be with you towards the end of this year. The good news is that the CD series will be extended to incorporate a sixth and final volume containing rarities and unissued material that was not available to the compilers of the original vinyl series. Betcha can’t wait for that!

By Tony Rounce (Ace Records)

1 TEEN-AGE WEDDING
Johnny Angel
2 TEE-NA-NA
Dicky Williams
3 WALK ON
Alvin "Red" Tyler
4 I WANNA KNOW WHY
Roland Cook
5 WHEREVER YOU MAY BE
Joe & Ann
6 FREE, SINGLE AND DISENGAGED
Huey Smith & His Clowns
7 GOODBYE BLUES
Jesse Allen
8 CHARLIE BROWN GOT EXPELLED
Joe Tex & His X Class Mates
9 SCALD-DOG
Huey Smith
10 HAPPY SAX AKA STINKY
Alvin "Red" Tyler
11 CAN I HAVE A WORD
Floyd Brown
12 CAN'T LET YOU GO I LOVE YOU SO
Albert Scott
13 YUM, YUM, YUM
Joe Tex
14 MOTHER'S ADVICE
Joe Tex
15 I'LL KEEP ON TRYING
Eddie Bo
16 WALKING WITH FRANKIE
Frankie Lee Sims
17 I GOT THE BLUES FOR YOU
Al Collins & Orchestra
18 YOU CAN'T STOP HER
Bobby Marchan & The Clowns
19 I THINK YOU JIVING ME
Huey & Jerry
20 THOSE LONELY, LONELY NIGHTS
Earl King featuring Fats on piano
21 MY LOVE IS HERE TO STAY
Sammy Myers with The King Mose Royal Rockers
22 AW! WHO?
Bat Carroll
23 WELL-O WELL-O WELL-O BABY
Earl King featuring Huey Smith on piano
24 DON'T YOU KNOW YOCKOMO
Huey "Piano" Smith & His Clowns

17.00 €