Although she generally gets stylistically thrown in with the girl groups of her 1960s era,
Lesley Gore, in the best of her sides like "It's My Party," "Judy's Turn to Cry," "She's a Fool," "You Don't Own Me," "That's the Way Boys Are," and "Maybe I Know," managed to prefigure the “I’m me whether you like it or not” Girl Power acts that emerged two decades later in the '80s. It didn’t hurt that she was produced by
Quincy Jones, either, who cleverly double-tracked her vocals and got the maximum out of both singer and song. This 18-track set features rare stereo mixes, mono single mixes and other odds and ends that
Gore recorded with
Jones between 1964 and 1969. It doesn’t include any of her big hits, save for the single mix of “Look of Love,” which complete with studio chatter at the end, and Italian-sung versions of "You Don't Own Me" and "Judy's Turn to Cry,” so this won’t make the best introduction to
Gore's commercial career. It will, though, be prized by collectors and ardent fans, who will love the sound on this wonderfully remastered release.
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Steve Leggett, Rovi