Be My Baby: The Very Best of The Ronettes

The Ronettes were Phil Spector's big group between the Crystals and the Righteous Brothers. Like most of the early sixties girl groups they were from New York and first came to anyone's attention in a talent show, this time at the Apollo. Unlike the Shirelles and the Crystals who were barely out of high school and had no real show business experience, the Ronettes had already been dancers in Murray the K's shows and had signed with Colpix Records as Ronnie & the Relatives, though without any chart success. After auditioning for Spector, at his advice they told Colpix they were getting out of show business to get out of their contract and immediately signed with his Philles label. Spector shelved their first proposed single, why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love, which is generously included here for fans who are interested in hearing these kinds of lost tracks. He was basically right in this case. It's a nice song, but not the kind of knock it out of the park single that starts a career. That was their first released single, Be My Baby which was not only a #2 charting single in the Fall of '63 but one of the great classics of the rock era. Phil Spector had his faults but he had a great ear for hits and skill in every step of making them. Of course they got the full Spector treatment with ample enough echo to make them sound like they were recorded in a cathedral, multiple backup singers that sometimes included the always dependable Darlene Love and sometimes Sonny Bono and his girlfriend Cher. Add to that the usual piano, drums including timpani, clapping and castanets, and and a backup band that sometimes included strings and you got a single that was practically an event. It was not for nothing that Spector's name was usually included with the Brill building composers he used; his production was part of the song writing process in which the original melody and words were just the basic material he built on. The overall sound of the Ronettes was dyamic, positive and upbeat. Even in a wishful song like Be My Baby, you know they'll get their guy. The Ronettes look was unique, with their hair teased impossibly high and a generally exotic air. They came in toward the end of the Girl Group Era, which was cut short by the British Invasion. The girl groups from 1964 on were new ones like the Shangri-Las and Dixie Cups. Only two of the earlier girl groups had hits after 1963: the Chiffons had Sweet Talkin' Guy in 1966 and the Ronettes had Walking In the Rain in the fall of '64. That song not only features the sound of thunder and rain but also an advanced stage in the development of the sound that Spector would find great success with the Righteous Brothers. many of the Ronettes 1965 and '66 tracks are here, and they're all beautifully produced with great care. yet nothing happened for them after Walking In the Rain. Things were moving so fast and changing rapidly that by 1965 the early sixties girl group sound seemed old. it wasn't just the Ronettes, but every girl group who weren't having hits; the whole early sixties pop edifice vanished overnight with few survivors. The other part of the story comes from interviews with Ronnie and others who claim that Spector withheld many songs from release to keep the Ronettes dependent on him. Considering that Ronnie was practically being held captive in Spector's mansion, it's believable. No matter what, these are all great songs and the disc is a winner all the way through. The EMI Legacy series has done a beautiful job with the sound, something that can't be overestimated in importance. These sound just like they should, with all the complex parts in their original balance. It makes all earlier Ronettes compilations obsolete. Be sure to check out their equally excellent Crystals disc.

nice new great sound

Great cd

In the reviews here there is disagreement on the sound quality. I am still working it out. The ones with less of the Wall of Sound seem clear enough. The first ones, like Be My Baby, unfortunately are pretty muddy. I will try it on several of my many devices. It may be that there is more clarity on higher quality players and a certain amount of equalizing is required. At least some of these songs are not of the sound quality of many other remastered girl group cds from this era. It says this came out 2011. Not sure if any were originally recorded in stereo or if these are mono or stereo. I have some of the same songs I dowloaded ten years ago and they don't sound great either. There seem to be two dueling compilations, remastered by different engineers. Some seem to like one better than the other and some say none of them are that great.. The greater complexity of the production probably makes it more difficult to get better fidelity, I am not sure.

Although I only bought BE MY BABY: THE VERY BEST OF THE RONETTES CD as an afterthought while buying the re-issues of The Sound of Love: The Very Best of Darlene Love and Da Doo Ron Ron: The Very Best of The Crystals for Darlene Love, I have to say that this CD has really grown on me. I was only familiar with the song "Be My Baby," so I'm by no means a Ronettes expert or die hard fan, but their unique sound consisting of lead singer Veronica (Ronnie) Bennett (soon-to-be Spector), her sister Estelle and their cousin Nedra Talley singing backup, has won me over. That Ronette sound is so different than say the Supremes that you can't help but take notice. Some of the lyrics are very teenage-oriented with phrases like "too young to go steady" and "too young, can't marry no one" -- of course the Ronettes were just teenagers themselves when they recorded these songs -- but that doesn't interfere with listening pleasure. There's an edge to Ronnie Spector's voice that belies the youthful sound and innocent lyrics, so you don't get bubble-gum pop overload. The songs collected here were recorded from 1963-1969 and I can't find a weak one in the bunch. Even though they were recorded at different times and have different themes like longing for love, being in love, and then breaking up, and appeared on different albums, the entire CD has consistency so none of the tracks seem out of place. A CD booklet is included and contains color and black & white pictures, liner notes by Lenny Kaye written in 2007, and information on each track (chart position, record date, album title, etc.). Each song has been remastered and sounds great! I have to admit that it took me a little while to get used to the Phil Spector "Wall Of Sound" technique of recording because at first it sounds like each track was recorded in a cavern with lots of spatial echoing and sounds muffled. But on repeated listening, I've discovered that the echo is more on the music and the vocals are centered and quite clear. The music sort of envelops the vocals, more so than the Motown sound, and so I guess it takes a while for the brain to recognize that there is separation. Again I've have no experience with the vinyl or other editions of the Ronettes releases with the exception of The Phil Spector Collection , so I can't really say if the sound on this CD is at its best, I know that one reviewer doesn't seem to think so, but it sounds OK to me. Anyway, I highly recommend picking up the Ronettes' BE MY BABY: THE VERY BEST OF THE RONETTES if you like 60s music. And check out their performances on youtube.

The Ronettes were essentially a family singing group that arose when sisters Estelle and Veronica "Ronnie" Bennett and cousin Nedra Talley began singing with various other family members at family gatherings. In time they began to play small time gigs and after a while began to work as club dancers--a fact that contributed to their wildly over-the-top visual style of impossibly high beehive hairdos and ultra slinky attire. After significant struggles and at least one record deal that didn't work out, they came to the attention of Phil Spector, creator of "the wall of sound" and a producer noted for his talent at working with girl groups. After that it was pretty much straight up all the way: The Ronettes eclipsed Martha and the Vandellas, The Marvelettes, The Crystal, and even The Supremes. Believe it or not, at one time The Rolling Stones was their opening act, and they were the only girl group to share the stage with The Beatles. Unfortunately, Spector's romantic interest in Ronnie led him to make unexpected decisions about the group's career. The Ronettes did several early recordings that Spector attributed to The Crystals; later, when the group toured as the opening act for The Beatles, Spector sent Estelle and Nedra out with their cousin Elaine and kept Ronnie in California, where she recorded vocal tracks with such singers as a very young Cher Bono acting as back up. Spector continued to make records with The Ronettes, but often as not he refused to release the tracks--most notable the first recording of "Chapel of Love"--and it became apparent that his extreme jealousy over Ronnie had motivated him to wreck the trio's career, the better to keep Ronnie at home. In later years, Ronnie wrote that Spector kept a virtual prisoner in their home, and that she literally had to break out in order to get away from him. Because of the way Spector handled The Ronettes, it isn't always easy to tell what the full trio recorded, but this much seems certain: anything released under the name "The Ronettes" at least featured Ronnie Spector on lead vocal. And it's all damn good stuff. The Ronettes came across as exotic, multi-racial, sexy, sweet, and yet street-smart. And while BE MY BABY: THE VERY BEST OF THE RONETTES does not include everything they recorded, it at least contains the big hits. It just doesn't get better than "Be My Little Baby," "Baby I Love You," and "Walking In The Rain"--and although their other recordings might be less well know, they are no less memorable. And there there is absolutely mistaking Ronnie Spector's voice. No one else ever sounded quite like her; she was a genuine original, and as such she had a tremendous impact on later girl singers, most recently Amy Winehouse, who borrowed Ronnie Spector's look and a few of her vocal licks as well. There have been a good many complaints about the sound quality on BE MY BABY. I personally think it should be given a better remaster than it has here, but in truth it's not bad--certainly not as bad as many of the earlier releases. If you're a Ronettes fan, you'll probably want to hunt down other releases in the hope of something more pristine, but I think this will do the trick for most listeners. And after all: it's Ronnie Spector. It just doesn't get better than that. GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Yes thank yiu Ronettes it helps my sweet heart.

I have an original pressing of *I Can Hear Music* on vinyl. It's so rare and so pristine, I ration myself to playing it once a year. I let the Music flow through me via my $800 cartridge -- bought back in The Day, when an $800 cartridge was really *something.* But now, there's finally a CD remaster of I Can Hear Music! I bought this CD for one song and one song only: I Can Hear Music. Ronnie Spector's husky voice is absolute perfection against the magnificent Wall of Sound. It's not the best Ronette's record and it's certainly not the most well-known; but it's everything I feel when the Words are flowing through me and onto paper. It's the delight in my Service Dog laughter. It's my *best* memories of my beloved Tabor Opera House and Leadville, Colorado. The chorus reminds me of church back home -- when we said the Bigger the Hair, the Closer to Jesus. Oh, yes! So today, I played this CD just loudly enough to fill my house with Sound. And I scooped my wee Service Dog up into my arms and gently rocked him to the chorus. If one judges a remaster by the *joy* it brings, then Be My Baby: The Very Best of The Ronettes is fabulous. Musically? Well, it's acceptable. In this case, acceptable will do. "It'll do, dogloo," I whisper to my Service Dog, Joey. "It'll do." I Can Hear Music...Again. Grin.