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Various Artists - Phil Spector - Back To Mono (1958-1969) (1969)

Track listing:
  1. To Know Him Is To Love Him Teddy Bears 2:24
  2. Corrine, Corrina Ray Peterson 2:41
  3. Spanish Harlem Ben E. King 2:53
  4. Pretty Little Angel Eyes Curtis Lee 2:47
  5. Every Breath I Take Gene Pitney 2:45
  6. I Love How You Love Me Paris Sisters 2:07
  7. Under The Moon Of Love Curtis Lee 2:52
  8. There's No Other Like My Baby Crystals 2:31
  9. Uptown Crystals 2:21
  10. He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss) Crystals 2:34
  11. He's A Rebel Crystals 2:27
  12. zip-a-dee-doo-dah Bob B. Soxx And The Blue Jeans 2:50
  13. Puddin' N' Tain Alley Cats 2:48
  14. He's Sure The Boy I Love Crystals 2:45
  15. Why Do Lovers Break Each Oth Bob B. Soxx And The Blue Jeans 2:49
  16. (Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry Darlene Love 2:49
  17. Da Doo Ron Ron Crystals 2:18
  18. Heartbreaker The Crystals 2:35
  19. Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love Veronica 2:40
  20. Chapel Of Love Darlene Love 2:25
  21. Not Too Young To Get Married Bob B. Soxx And The Blue Jeans 2:28
  22. Wait 'til My Bobby Gets Home Darlene Love 2:23
  23. All Grown Up The Crystals 2:49
  24. Be My Baby The Ronettes 2:41
  25. Then He Kissed Me Crystals 2:37
  26. A Fine, Fine Boy Darlene Love 2:48
  27. Baby, I Love You The Ronettes 2:51
  28. I Wonder The Ronettes 2:46
  29. Girls Can Tell Crystals 2:37
  30. Little Boy Crystals 3:00
  31. Hold Me Tight Treasures 2:54
  32. (The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up The Ronettes 3:03
  33. Soldier Baby Of Mine The Ronettes 2:54
  34. Strange Love Darlene Love 3:02
  35. Stumble And Fall Darlene Love 2:24
  36. When I Saw You The Ronettes 2:45
  37. So Young Veronica 2:37
  38. Do I Love You The Ronettes 2:52
  39. Keep On Dancing The Ronettes 2:33
  40. You, Baby The Ronettes 2:57
  41. Woman In Love (With You) The Ronettes 2:57
  42. Walking In The Rain The Ronettes 3:16
  43. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' The Righteous Brothers 3:47
  44. Born To Be Together The Ronettes 2:59
  45. Just Once In My Life The Righteous Brothers 3:55
  46. Unchained Melody The Righteous Brothers 3:38
  47. Is This What I Get For Loving You The Ronettes 3:24
  48. Long Way To Be Happy Darlene Love 2:48
  49. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons The Righteous Brothers 2:48
  50. Ebb Tide The Righteous Brothers 2:50
  51. This Could Be The Night The Modern Folk Quartet 2:41
  52. Paradise The Ronettes 3:38
  53. River Deep, Mountain High Ike & Tina Turner 3:38
  54. I'll Never Need More Than This Ike & Tina Turner 3:27
  55. A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking' Ike & Tina Turner 2:58
  56. Save The Last Dance For Me Ike & Tina Turner 2:47
  57. I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine Ike & Tina Turner 3:49
  58. You Came, You Saw, You Conquered The Ronettes 2:50
  59. Black Pearl Sonny Charles And The Checkmates 3:19
  60. Love Is All I Have To Give The Checkmates 4:09

Notes

At the time Back to Mono was released in 1991, Phil Spector's reputation as one of pop's great visionaries was intact, but there was no way to hear his genius. It wasn't just that there were no collections spotlighting his productions, there weren't collections of artists he produced. It wasn't until Back to Mono that there was a thorough overview of Spector's greatest work, and while it's not without flaws, it still stands as one of the great box sets. Some may complain that there are no selections from his superstar '70s productions for John Lennon, George Harrison, Leonard Cohen, and the Ramones, but that's for the best, since their presence would have been incongruous, taking attention away from the music that forms the heart of Spector's legacy. All of that music is here, not just on the first three discs, all devoted to singles, but also on the fourth disc, his seminal 1963 holiday album, A Christmas Gift for You, which isn't just the greatest rock Christmas album, but a crystallization of his skills. It could be argued that the song selection overlooks some obscure fan favorites, such as "Do the Screw," but that's simply nitpicking, because what's here are all the great Spector records, which were hardly just great productions, they were great songs as well. As the set plays, it's hard not to be stunned by the depth of the material and clarity of Spector's vision for his famed Wall of Sound, whether you've heard these songs hundreds of times or not at all -- especially because they gain power when grouped together. Many producers have been credited as the true creative force behind many rock records, but usually that's hyperbole. In Spector's case, it wasn't, as this set gloriously proves.