Chiffons - One Fine Day

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Music reviews of One Fine Day

Music Review: Stop, Look & Listen
Rating: 3 Stars

Yet girl groups were no mere footnote to rock 'n' roll history and the Chiffons in particular deserve more credit than they received, for they were longer lasting and more reliable than most in that genre, beginning with a small breakthrough covering the Shirelles "Tonight's The Night" in 1960 (not included since it was cut for another label) and then really breaking through in 1963 at the height of the girl group craze and remaining a force until late '66, long after the expiration date on that style supposedly ran out. While they, like their contemporaries in the field, were aided immensely by top notch producers and songwriters, the Chiffons brought a unique blend of toughness ("Nobody Knows What's Goin' On In My Mind But Me" - a real overlooked gem) and sweetness ("When The Boy's Happy The Girls' Happy Too") that separated them from one-note competitors. In addition their R&B roots were much more evident than most girl groups of the day who were weighed down with ornate strings and pop stylings.

So here's the good news - this CD has all their hits for the Laurie and Rust labels, including two released as the Four Pennies, plus a few B-sides (including the great Ashford-Simpson penned rocker "The Real Thing"), all sounding fine with basic discographical information. But the buyer must still beware, for there are numerous similiarly titled collections on the market, but as of this writing none surpass this for sheer number of songs, which is obviously the first consideration when buying a greatest hits collection.

Now for the bad news, and the reason for getting just 3 stars (which come to think of it should be the average, but anything less than 5 is generally thought to be a slap in the face). The producer of this release, other than licensing the requisite songs, put absolutely no effort whatsoever in issuing this CD. The packaging is cheap looking, with song titles floating next to the lone photo of the girls on the cover, the writing credits on the back cover are incomplete and often say "Unknown", the six page booklet included has nothing but advertisements for other albums in this series and the one page of liner notes on the back of that booklet are possibly the worst, most degrading and cluelessly written I've ever seen, managing to inadvertently disparage the group, the era and the music all while awkwardly trying to praise it. Truthfully it looks as if this was slapped together five minutes before lunch and never thought of before or after.

That disgraceful lack of effort shouldn't prevent somebody who is seeking the most Chiffons songs on one disc from getting this. The songs are great, the girls can sing and you'll get a full hour of listening enjoyment out of it each time you put in the CD player. So if the music itself is the biggest requirement (as it usually is) then this collection is the way to go since it is the most thorough overview of their career currently available. Hopefully though in the near future someone will come along with class and issue a truly comprehensive and intelligent set for this group, with insightful notes, interviews with the surviving members, writers and producers, lots of pictures, along with all the B-sides, unissued material from the vaults, and songs from other labels (it'd take up a double-CD but there'd be enough buyers to make it worthwhile) and in the process push this, along with the other bargain basement CD's looking to exploit the lingering interest in the Chiffons to the trash.

Musically this set will suffice, but the Chiffons still deserve better.

Description of One Fine Day

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• Music > Styles
• R&B
• Rock