THE LAST OF THE VOCAL GROUPS…The Vogues: At Co & Ce-The Complete Singles and More

Before the Beatles made a paradigm shift in popular music, the airwaves were filled with male vocal groups, such as The Happenings or Jay and The Americans. The Vogues, haillng from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvanian, consisted of Bill Burkette, Don  Miller, Hugh Geyer and Chuck Blasko, boasting of rich harmonies and Burkette’s lead baritone producing what became known as “blue-eyed soul”. This disc features their singles, both A and B sides, and gives a hint of what teens listened to before The British Invasion and drugs changed the direction of American music.
Included is one of the greatest anthems to the working stiff, namely “Five O’ Clock World” which was a big hit for the band, and features clever backing vocals by the team, particularly Geyer, with the infectious “Hey” sounding like something from a Chain Gang. Also popular was the doe-eyed pop tune “ You’re The One” and a take of “You Baby” that became popular with The Turtles. Other tunes that hit the top 30 included here are “Magic Town” and “True Lovers”, but for some reason there isn’t even a hint of their other all time fav, “My Special Angel”. What could have been a essential disc is reduced to a good one.

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