Cameo Parkway: 1957 – 1967 CD Set (ABKCO)

 

Sound: B     Music: B-

 

 

Today, so many people are setting up their own record labels and able to even market their own titles that it seems like music is easier to produce and distribute than ever.  That seems like a natural reaction to the consolidation of the music business and advances in digital sound technology, for better or worse.  However, not that long ago, there were many full-fledged music labels without the existence of digital technology or the Internet.  Those many independent companies made music more exciting and fun.  Cameo and Parkway were two such record labels and ABKCO’s new 4 CD hits collection brings back some of their most key songs from their 1957 – 1967 reign as a record company.

 

The mostly blue box includes a nice booklet on the music and label’s history, followed by 4 CDs in black plastic made to look like old vinyl records.  After over twenty years, these songs are finally available on CD for the first time and in print for the first time for an even longer period of time.  This set is a mix of classics, novelty records, unusual cuts of note and some songs that have frankly not aged well.

 

For artists like Len Barry, whose solo Little White House is featured here before 1 – 2 – 3 gave him solo success after his years with The Dovells at Decca.  Three of the 5 Top 40s of The Dovells are also here like Bristol Stomp.  Frankie Beverly, Bob Seger, The Delfonics, Patti LaBelle & Her Bluebelles, The Kinks, The Temptations and even Clint Eastwood all cut records there before having great commercial success elsewhere.  The flight of talent obviously hurt the company in the long run, but Bobby Rydell hits and classics like Chubby Checkers’ The Twist, The Orlons’ Don’t Hang Up, and ? (Question Mark) & The Mysterians’ 96 Tears kept the company alive and viable.  However, the join labels eventually folded and so ended another chapter of American music history.  For the record, other imprints included Cotton, Lucky Seven, Fairmount, Favor, Heritage, Pageant, Moon Shot, Windy C, Calla and Vando.

 

The PCM 2.0 16Bit/44.1kHz sound is usually stereo and comes from a newly remastered DSD (Direct Stream Digital) source.  That is the format used for Super Audio CD, but these are only CDs, which begs the question:  Why are these discs not hybrid SACDs?  Though these songs sound good, they could have sounded remarkable and extraordinary in DSD.  Maybe ABKCO will do this later or for specific albums and acts down the line, as they have already produced exceptional discs in the format of the early catalog of The Rolling Stones, and retrospective greatest hits sets of The Animals and Herman’s Hermits, all reviewed elsewhere on this site.  Cameo Parkway: 1957 – 1967 is a welcome and long-overdue release that will introduce a whole new generation to music from a time when Pop music still mattered and was embraced widely.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo