Speak Easy: RPM Records Story-1954-57 2 / Various

(2-CD set) The second and final volume in Ace UK's overview of the Modern subsidiary label RPM picks up where the first one, No More Doggin', left off in December 1953. It continues through to the label's closure in early 1957 in order to make way for the new Kent subsidiary.

As with the first volume, the focus here is on quality blues, R&B and doo wop, with occasional forays into rockabilly and rock'n'roll representing the repertoire from the end of the label's life.

The vast majority of the tracks have been mastered from fresh transfers of the original master tapes. Where dubs have had to be used in absence of tape, those tracks have also been mastered from new sources.

In keeping with both the previous volume and our earlier 2-CD overview of Modern subsidiary Flair, we have tried to use alternate takes wherever possible of tracks already available on an Ace CD. Sixteen of the tracks and takes have not been issued before, while almost three dozen of the 54 tracks have never appeared on an Ace CD. All of the label's major artists of this period are represented. As always a generously annotated and illustrated booklet complements a fine audio experience.

STILL AVAILABLE: NO MORE DOGGIN' - THE RPM RECORDS STORY VOLUME 1 (CDTOP2 1406)