So Much Love

It’s incredible to think that, in 2008, the unique and wonderful Darlene Love is celebrating her 50th anniversary as a recording artist. Since 1958, the extraordinarily talented Ms Love has provided the voice behind some of the most enduring songs ever to grace the AM radio band, and has been the featured vocalist on more than a few of rock’n’roll’s defining moments – most notably, as far as many would be concerned, ‘Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)’ and her other seminal selections on Phil Spector’s “A Christmas Gift For You” album. Sadly, and although she’s also been a Crystal, a Blossom, a Rebelette, a Wildcat, a Young Cougar, a Pelican, a Blue Jean, a K-C-Ette and many other things to varying degrees of success, Darlene has never scored the kind of solo hit that an artist of her magnitude always deserves. But here at Ace we ‘Love’ Darlene to pieces, and we feel that it would be wrong to let half a century’s worth of contributions to the annals of rock’n’roll go by without a justified and deserved salute to such an important contributor.

“So Much Love” virtually spans Darlene’s entire recording career, from her first solo lead vocal on the Blossoms’ ‘No Other Love’ to a fairly recent rendition of ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’. In between, you’ll hear examples of her sessioneering in many of the previously mentioned ‘groups’, choice cuts from her lengthy career as, first, one fourth and then one third of the Blossoms, several of the many selections that she has recorded for soundtracks to hit films like Home Alone and Dick Tracy and – most excitingly for long time devotees – a previously unissued and, until very recently, virtually unheard example of her work as a demo singer, via her stunning performance of Jack Nitzsche and Jackie DeShannon’s ‘Let Him Walk Away’ – one of three tracks featured that have never been released until now, another being the drop dead gorgeous rendition of Goffin & King’s title track from the Blossoms’ Bill Medley produced sessions of the late 1960s.

01 That's When The Tears Start - The Blossoms
02 Too Late To Say You're Sorry - Darlene Love
03 So Much Love - The Blossoms
04 The Gospel Truth - The Blossoms
05 King Of The Surf Guitar - Dick Dale & the Del Tones
06 No Other Love - The Blossoms with Eddie Beal's Orchestra
07 The Drummer Plays For Me - Hal Blaine & the Young Cougars
08 Good, Good Lovin' - The Blossoms
09 Boss Guitar - Duane Eddy & the Rebelettes
10 The Search Is Over - The Blossoms
11 3625 Groovy Street - The Wildcats
12 Ooh-Wee Baby - Darlene Love
13 He's A Rebel - Moose & the Pelicans
14 What Are We Gonna Do In '64? - Al Casey & the K-C-ettes
15 Lover Boy - The Blossoms
16 TV Commercials - Barney Kessel
17 Let Him Walk Away - Darlene Love
18 I Gotta Tell It - The Blossoms
19 Something So Wrong - The Blossoms
20 Touchdown - The Blossoms
21 Mr Fix-It - Darlene Love
22 Cherish What Is Dear To You (While It's Near to You) - The Blossoms
23 All Alone On Christmas - Darlene Love
24 A Change Is Gonna Come - Darlene Love