The Best Of The Crystals

The Crystals: Lala Brooks, Barbara Alston, Darlene Love, Pattie Wright (vocals).

Recorded at Mira Sound Studios, New York, New York and Gold Star Studios, Los Angeles, California.

Includes liner notes by David Hinckley.

The Crystals were a crucial cog in Phil Spector's mighty girl-group machine. To listen to "And Then He Kissed Me" is to hear the precise pop moment when coy innocence crumbled and gave way ever so slightly to the adult onrush of carnality. The sugary vocals of Darlene Love and company, backed by the full-scale Spector sound, are almost girlish enough to make you believe that the pattern of pop music hadn't just been irrevocably stirred up. However, the cumulative effect of the aforementioned song--along with the curiously sadomasochistic overtones of the Goffin/King smash "He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)" and the bad-boy adulation of "He's a Rebel"--should be more than enough to mark the musical history being made here.

Still the definitive Crystals retrospective nearly a decade after its release, ABKCO's The Best of the Crystals gathers their most beloved singles, including "Uptown," "He's a Rebel," "Da Doo Ron," and "Then He Kissed Me"; the infamous withdrawn single "He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)"; and relatively obscure songs such as "What a Nice Way to Turn 17," "Look in My Eyes," and "I Wonder." The way the collection presents the Crystals' work in more or less chronological order helps trace the group's development and also allows somewhat lesser-known songs like "Heartbreaker," "Girls Can Tell," and "Another Country -- Another World" more equal footing among the group's classic tracks. Though the He's a Rebel bootleg offers an even more complete collection of the group's output, The Best of the Crystals remains the best legitimate retrospective of their pioneering work. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

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