More fabulous 60s femmes from the stable of producer Gary S Paxton.
“Boy Trouble: Garpax Girls”, issued in 2004, celebrated the productions Gary Paxton concocted for female artists during the mid-1960s. This second instalment mainly focuses on the 1960-1964 era, with a decidedly bluesier slant.
Several artists featured on “Boy Trouble” return for this sequel. There’s teenaged thrushes Doris Webb and Beverly Williams, hip Latina trio the Rev-Lons (a rare demo recording is included), the Fashionettes with the ebullient ‘Only Love’ and three tracks by Beatrice Lee, a pint-sized powerhouse with an attitude that jumps right out of the speakers. Also present with several items apiece are Bakersfield’s smoky-voiced Linda Mackey and cover starlet Dorothy Berry, “the fine little girl [who] waits for me” referred to in her husband Richard’s rock standard ‘Louie Louie’. Young Canadian Mary Saxton tears down the house with her ‘Losing Control’ and there’s a rare two-sider from the enigmatic Josephine Sunday.
Modern fans of popcorn and new breed R&B will no doubt find several entries to their taste, but for any girl group aficionado there’s much to enjoy, with a large proportion of the tracks being previously unissued.
Alec Palao
