Various Artists - Girl Zone! [LP] (180G)

Tracklist:

1. Panic - Reparata & The Delrons
2. Louie, Louie - The Angels
3. Here She Comes - The Darlettes
4. Here Comes Loneliness - The Teardrops
5. It's All in the Way (You Look at It Baby) - Mousie & The Traps
6. Smoke from Your Cigarette - The Drake Sisters
7. Losin' Control - The Fashionettes
8. I Idolize You - The Charmaines
9. Backfield in Motion - The Angelos
10. Together Forever - Pat Powdrill & The Powerdrills
11. I've Got a Story to Tell You - Kavetts
12. Camel Walk - The Ikettes

Don't think "girl zone", think "killer female tracks from the 60s" – because this whole collection has a lot more bite than the usual sort of records that are often pushed under a girl-titled heading! Some numbers are raw garage tracks from the 60s, with female singers in the lead, and an all-gal lineup in the backing – and others are soul-styled numbers that definitely stay on the grittier side of the spectrum, and which aren't the sort of weepy or sappy tunes you might normally associate with 60s girl pop.

The collection kicks of with Reparata & the Delrons’ storming ‘Panic’ – too “out there” for mass consumption in 1968, it seems – and closes with ‘Camel Walk’ by Tina Turner’s foxy back-up girls the Ikettes, a dancefloor fave on London’s alt-cabaret circuit. Other highlights include first-time reissues of the Angels’ unlikely stab at frat rock staple ‘Louie Louie’, a lush Gold Star-cut rendition of the Mellows’ doo wop classic ‘Smoke From Your Cigarette’ by identical triplets the Drake Sisters and ‘It’s All In The Way (You Look At It Baby)’ by Mousie & the Traps, a trio of Eva Longoria lookalikes from Chicago.

In other words, it’s not just great to listen to but a good read and gorgeous to look at too.