Da Doo Ron Ron - The Very Best of the Crystals

Producer Phil Spector formed Philles Records in 1961 and assembled a top-shelf backing band from the cream of Los Angeles’ session players. All he needed was a face and vocal to put on his “Wall of Sound.” The Crystals were already a quartet led by Barbara Alston and La La Brooks when Spector signed them and he often added Darlene Love, who had a solo career with Spector, to the Crystals’ recordings. And what great recordings they are! The controversial “He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)” and “He’s A Rebel” made these young women seem like demure ladies who lived in the shadow of dominant men, but there is a powerful joy in hits such as “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “Then He Kissed Me” and “He’s Sure The Boy I Love.” Spector saw his work as creating “little symphonies for the kids,” but he also produced an alternate reality where the aches and pains of the world could be eased by the joy of handclaps and an ensemble of young voices that made everything feel just fine.