Hank Ballard – Nothing But Good
Bear Family recently released “Hank Ballard – Nothing But Good”. It’s a 5 CD box set that includes an 84-page album size book. As usual, The Bear really outdid themselves in terms of quality & quantity. I transferred & mixed some of the original 2 & 3-track tapes for this release. Classic R&B and funk never sounded so good! My album credit on this project is printed in huge letters on the back, gotta love that.
Hank Ballard and The Midnighters were the first professional vocal group young James Brown ever witnessed in person. He vowed one day soon he’d be onstage doing the very same thing. Our retrospective contains everything the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer and his vocal group cut for the Federal and King labels from 1954 to 1962! Five jam-packed discs include unissued gems, alternate takes, unreissued rarities, and a demo version of ‘The Twist’ as well as the classic hit! It’s also featuring all the original hit versions, and comes with comprehensive liner notes from Bill Dahl! – Long before The Temptations, Four Tops, and Spinners made Detroit ground zero for soulful male vocal groups, the city spawned Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, the Motor City’s first nationally successful R&B group. Though Hank could belt the blues with livewire intensity (and does here), Ballard’s group was primarily concerned with rocking the house. They were one of the first vocal groups to record with their own band, initially led by blistering Houston guitarist Cal Green, whose solos are frequently mind-boggling. – Never has the recorded legacy of the late Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer been treated with such loving care and respect, and never have he and his group sounded better!
