[.ca] Whenever a Teenager Cries

One Of The Better Also-Rans:
During the height of the "Girl Groups" from 1962 to 1965, when they seemed to be coming out of the woodwork, four teenagers attending St. Brendan's Catholic School in Brooklyn, N.Y. decided to join the fun. They were Nanette Licars, Kathy Romeo, Carol Drobnicki, and their leader Mary Aliese who decided to adopt the unusual name Reparata Aliese, after one of the teaching nuns, Sister Mary Reparata. Signed to a contract with Laurie Records they started their career as a trio after Romeo dropped out, cutting Your Big Mistake. When it went absolutely nowhere they moved over to World Artists, and there cut their biggest hit, Whenever A Teenager Cries, which peaked at # 60 pop in February. However the follow-up Tommy couldn't repeat that success, levelling off at # 92 pop in May. Their quite limited success at World Artists certainly isn't attributable to an indifferent sound. They were quite good, in fact, in covering everyone from Manfred Mann, to The Chiffons, Shirelles, and even The Beatles as you will see from cuts like Do Wah Diddy Diddy, and went so far as to try Phil Spector's Wall of Sound on a few. Rather it was a combination of the plethora of girl groups, not to mention the British Invasion just picking up steam at that time. When they next moved to RCA Drobnicki pulled out, replaced by Lorraine Mazzola, and in spite of some more fine cuts like I'm Nobody's Baby Now in 1968, the charts eluded them. After leaving the group to Mazzola, Reparata Aliese re-emerged in 1975 as simply Reparata to take Shoes to # 92 pop and, a year later, formed part of Barry Manilow's back-up group Lady Flash. That same year the group had a # 27 pop hit, Street Singin'. In a mix of hundreds of "girl groups" in the mid-Sixties, they definitely had a better sound than is indicated by the performances of their singles. Give them a try, you won't be disappointed.

Intriguing footnote from the history of girlgroups:
As numerous compilation albums and CDs have documented, the girlgroup phenomenon was substantially deeper than the well-known hits. Much like the Beatles, the advent of girlgroup stars spawned innumerable imitators. Reparata & The Delrons were a Brooklyn-based group whose recording career came at the tail-end of the girlgroup phenomenon, and despite a lack of chart success, they gained substantial notoriety for their appearances as part of Dick Clark's tour packages. Additionally, having released a full album (on the World Artists label), as well as singles for several follow-up labels, their work remained visible in used record and cut-out bins for many years afterwards. Collected on this disc are sides primarily from their World Artists' years. Included is the group's one marginally successful U.S. single ("Whenever a Teenager Cries"), other singles ("Tommy"), album tracks, and covers ("Do Wah Diddy Diddy" "If I Fell" "Dedicated to the One I Love"). This is fine Angels-esque girlgroup music, though generally not as memorable as the brighter lights of the genre. The exception is the group's breathtaking cover of The Chiffons "I Have a Boyfriend." This one track gets the full Brill Building treatment: romantic strings, Wall of Sound atmosphere, and a melody as fine as any recorded in the era. What's presented here is fine, but what's missing is disappointing. Collectables effort on this disc is several notches below what one would expect from premier reissue labels like Rhino or Varese. Mark Marymount's liner notes provide a good summary of the band's personnel and label changes, but, frustratingly, many of the key tracks he discusses are missing from this collection. Also disappointing is his failure to discuss or place several of the tracks that are included. No songwriter or discographical information is provided, and the liner notes contain some rather obvious typos. Missing tracks include the group's first single for Laurie ("Your Big Mistake"/"Leave Us Alone"), failed singles for World Artists ("The Boy I Love"/"I Found a Place") and RCA ("I Can Tell" and the Jeff Barry penned "I'm Nobody's Baby Now"), and their UK hit on Mala ("Captain of Your Ship"). Also MIA are their later sides for Kapp. The Laurie, RCA, Mala, and Kapp sides may have fallen prey to licensing considerations (or perhaps just a lack of licensing effort), but the missing World Artists side is a mystery. The lack of chronological sequencing is also surprising. The mid-60s single "Tommy" is placed at the end of the disc, after Mary "Reparata" Aliese's 1975 comeback, "Shoes." And the flip to the comeback, "A Song For All" is placed five songs after its A-side. "Love For You and Me" appears to be a later side, but is left without description as to its release. A little more effort could have made this disc a great deal more satisfying. It's gratifying to have a good portion of Reparata & The Delrons' catalog on CD, and this is currently the best you can get. Still, the bare-bones nature of this release (the cover photo is the only one included!) is very disappointing. 3-1/2 stars -- four stars for the music, three stars for Collectables' effort.

Great 60's Harmonies:
This little-known group really could put out great songs. Their covers of "Who Do You Love" and "I Have a Boyfriend" are right on target with fresh teen harmony and big music backgrounds. The cover is worth the price of the CD - the best bouffant flips ever seen outside the Ronettes! Great addition to your 60's teen queen collection.

Collectables' Always Messes Up A Good Thing:
I ordered this CD because of my love for girl-groups and of Reparata and the Delrons singles "Panic," "Captain of Your Ship," "Nobody's Baby Now," "I Have A Boyfriends," and "Tommy". Surpirise! Out of all the ONLY songs I like by them only two made it on to this disc! Lucky me! At least I could find "Panic" and "Captain of Your Ship" on KaZaa.

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