Billy J. Kramer With The Dakotas - Do You Want To Know A Secret? The EMI Years 1963-1983 (2009) [4CD-Set]

Billy J. Kramer was one of the weaker yet more enduringly popular of the early acts to emerge from Liverpool, following in the wake of the Beatles. But even with a career on the pop charts that extended a year past the thickest part of the Merseybeat boom, the idea of a 121-song four-CD compilation of Kramer’s work is still overkill in almost any context. One is constantly reminded of this fact in the course of listening to this set — there’s perfectly good, and occasionally very good music here, almost all of which has long been available on CD. There aren’t any revelations to be found in terms of repertory or range — Kramer was a pop/rock balladeer on the soft side of the latter (though his occasional soul covers, including “Dance with Me” and, more notably, “I’ll Be Doggone,” show that he had potential in other directions, if he’d wanted to pursue them), and that was the nature of his recording career. On the rarities side, however, the previously unheard, complete Long Beach and Oakland, CA shows are well worth hearing, just to verify how well Kramer and his backing band, the Dakotas, acquitted themselves on-stage. Ironically enough, though Kramer’s preference was for ballads, that material comes off the least well in the live recordings, whereas the renditions of “Little Children,” “Bad to Me,” “When You Walk in the Room,” “From a Window,” etc. do rock reasonably well. Those live tracks, and the material cut by the Dakotas, are the unique highlights of this set, and greatly enhance its value — it might have been a smarter move a decade or so earlier, however, if EMI had assembled all of the Dakotas material in one place. The only other real surprise is how poor the stereo mixes on disc three come off — Kramer had a limited vocal range, and it took all of George Martin’s mastery of the studio to generate first-class records; but with the exception of “Trains and Boats and Planes,” this expertise did not extend to the mixing of the stereo masters. The other complaint about this set is the same as we’ve heard about most of the rest of this series — it’s perfectly fine for EMI to have assembled all of this material in one place, but it would have been nice to have listed session and recording (or even just release) dates? As it is, this is more a Billy J. Kramer/Dakotas stew than a comprehensive recording survey. In any event, one comes away from the five hours of music here with the impression of Kramer as a slightly more than middling talent, lofted to world-class exposure by the management of Brian Epstein, the production acumen of George Martin, and the songs of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Burt Bacharach. And that’s precisely what he was. ― Allmusic

CD 1 (Mono)
01. Do You Want To Know A Secret? – 02:05
02. I’ll Be On My Way – 01:43
03. I Call Your Name – 02:02
04. Bad To Me – 02:20
05. The Twelfth Of Never – 02:50
06. Dance With Me – 02:18
07. Pride – 02:22
08. Sugar Babe – 02:46
09. Da Doo Ron Ron – 01:56
10. It’s Up To You – 02:50
11. I Know – 02:07
12. Still Waters Run Deep – 02:24
13. Yes – 02:20
14. Beautiful Dreamer – 02:28
15. Great Balls Of Fire – 01:46
16. Anything That’s Part Of You – 03:18
17. Tell Me Girl – 02:52
18. I’m In Love – 02:28
19. I’ll Keep You Satisfied – 02:07
20. Little Children – 02:48
21. They Remind Me Of You – 02:22
22. Second To None – 02:22
23. From A Window – 01:59
24. Tennessee Waltz – 03:21
25. Every Time You Walk In The Room – 02:49
26. It’s A Mad, Mad World – 02:10
27. Twilight Time – 03:08
28. To Take Her Place – 01:57
29. Under The Boardwalk – 02:51
30. It’s Gotta Last Forever – 02:29
31. Don’t Do It No More – 02:29

CD 2 (Mono)
01. Sugar Babe – Live – 02:38
02. Twilight Time – Live – 03:30
03. Tennessee Waltz – Live – 03:07
04. Irresistable You – Live – 02:37
05. Sneakin’ Around – 02:44
06. When You Ask About Love – 02:09
07. Looking Around – 02:05
08. Bet No One Ever Hurt This Bad – 01:59
09. That’s The Way I Feel – 02:47
10. Trains And Boats And Planes – 02:50
11. I Live To Love You – 02:21
12. Neon City – 02:53
13. That Ain’t Good For Me – 02:42
14. I’ll Be Doggone – 02:58
15. Upstairs – 02:12
16. Down In The Boondocks – 02:38
17. We’re Doing Fine – 02:38
18. Forgive Me – 02:17
19. Listen – 02:17
20. I’ll Take Charge – 02:27
21. Take My Hand – 02:50
22. You Make Me Feel Like Someone – 02:40
23. Going Going Gone – 02:37
24. Kinky Chinese Girl – 02:44
25. Sorry – 02:27
26. Cruel Sea – 02:16
27. The Millionaire – 02:43
28. Magic Carpet – 01:55
29. Humdinger – 01:47
30. Oyeh – 02:15
31. My Girl Josephine – 01:58

CD 3 (Stereo Versions & Live Recordings) Listen LP
01. Dance With Me – 02:20
02. Pride – 02:24
03. I Know – 02:09
04. Yes – 02:28
05. The Twelfth Of Never – 02:51
06. Sugar Babe – 02:29
07. Da Doo Ron Ron – 01:56
08. It’s Up To You – 02:54
09. Great Balls Of Fire – 01:48
10. Tell Me Girl – 02:54
11. Anything That’s Part Of You – 03:19
12. Beautiful Dreamer – 02:29
13. Still Waters Run Deep – 02:25
14. I Call Your Name – 02:02
15. Long Beach Intro (live in Long Beach 1965) – 00:23
16. I’ll Keep You Satisfied (live in Long Beach 1965) – 01:55
17. Pride (live in Long Beach 1965) – 02:07
18. Bad To Me (live in Oakland 1965) – 02:09
19. Sugar Babe (live in Oakland 1965) – 02:27
20. Twilight Time (live in Oakland 1965) – 02:57
21. I Call Your Name (live in Oakland 1965) – 02:05
22. Little Children (live in Oakland 1965) – 02:29
23. Tennessee Waltz (live in Oakland 1965) – 03:11
24. Every Time You Walk In The Room (live in Oakland 1965) – 02:30
25. Irresistable You (live in Oakland 1965) – 02:27
26. From A Window (live in Oakland 1965) – 02:03
27. I’ll Keep You Satisfied – 02:08
28. Tennessee Waltz – 03:20
29. It’s A Mad, Mad World – 02:10
30. Twilight Time – 03:08
31. To Take Her Place – 01:53
32. Under The Boardwalk – 02:49

CD 4 (Mono & Stereo)
01. It’s Gotta Last Forever (stereo) – 02:29
02. Sneakin’ Around (stereo) – 02:44
03. When You Ask About Love (stereo) – 02:09
04. That’s The Way I Feel (stereo) – 02:47
05. Trains And Boats And Planes (stereo) – 02:31
06. I Live To Love You (stereo) – 02:19
07. Neon City (stereo) – 02:54
08. That ain’t Good For Me (stereo) – 02:43
09. I’ll Be Doggone (stereo) – 02:58
10. Upstairs (stereo) – 02:11
11. Down In The Boondocks (stereo) – 02:38
12. Forgive Me (stereo) – 02:20
13. You Make Me Feel Like Someone (stereo) – 02:52
14. Kinky Chinese Girl (stereo) – 02:44
15. On The Rebound (mono) – 01:43
16. I Count The Tears (mono) – 02:06
17. Ludwig (mono) – 02:08
18. Taboo (mono) – 02:33
19. My Girl Josephine (stereo) – 02:00
20. Peter Gunn (stereo) – 02:10
21. Tibet (Magic Carpet) (stereo) – 01:58
22. Oyeh (stereo) – 02:14
23. San Diego (stereo) – 02:51
24. Warm Summer Rain (mono) – 03:24
25. Ships That Pass Through The Night (mono) – 03:16
26. Is There Any More At Home Like You (stereo) – 02:47
27. Blueberry Hill (stereo) – 03:03
28. Stood Up (stereo) – 02:45
29. You Can’t Live On Memories (stereo) – 03:23

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