The Original Wanderer

by Ernie Maresca

Overview

Although this compilation is billed to Ernie Maresca, and does include his hit "Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)," he in fact is the artist on just seven of the 30 tracks. This CD is not so much an Ernie Maresca anthology as an overview of his work as a writer, assembling Maresca compositions or co-compositions, mostly though not exclusively from 1961-1966, as recorded by numerous acts, including the Regents, Dion, the Chiffons, the Delrons, Bernadette Carroll, the Belmonts, Maresca himself, and a host of no-names. Other than "Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)," the Regents' "Runaround," and the pair of Dion hits licensed for inclusion (one of which, "The Wanderer," is presented in an alternate take), this is pretty samey-sounding and mediocre, though not terrible, period early-1960s New York pop/rock. Maresca milked the riffs that anchored the Dion hits to death, and they never sounded nearly as good in those variations. Be mindful, too, that a couple of songs that were hits are not presented in the versions that were the hits: "Whenever a Teenager Cries" is sung here by the Jeans, not Reparata & the Delrons, while "Child of Clay" is done by the 1929 Depression, not Jimmie Rodgers (though collectors might find that an incentive as this 1929 Depression version is actually the original one). Any standouts worth noting? Not really, though Bernadette Carroll's small innocuous girl group-style hit "Party Girl" is here; the mid-1960s singles by the Hubcaps and Sal Corrente show him trying to tailor his writing to the Jan & Dean hot-rod sound; and the original fuzzy late-1950s demo of "The Wanderer," sung by Maresca himself, is a historically valuable find. That could not be said of the really bizarre 1977 version of "The Wanderer" by the Foreign Intrigue, an unfunny comic parody by a singer using a deep-spoken foreign accent. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	08/15/2000
Label:	Ace
UPC:	0029667176224
Rank:	109818

Tracks

1. The Wanderer  -  Dion  - Ernie Maresca
2. Please Be Fair  - Ernie Maresca  -  Maresca
3. Lonesome Boy  - Ernie Maresca  -  Regents
4. The Story of Love  -  Desires  - Ernie Maresca
5. Unbelievable  - Ernie Maresca  -  Runarounds
6. Child of the Clay  - Ernie Maresca
7. I Ask You  -  Desires  - Ernie Maresca
8. A Fool in Love  - Ernie Maresca  -  Regents
9. Happy Guy  - Ernie Maresca  -  Nino & the Ebb Tides
10. Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)  - Thomas Bogdany  - Ernie Maresca
11. Remember Last Summer  - Rusty Lane  - Ernie Maresca
12. Donna the Prima Donna  - Ernie Maresca
13. Runaround Sue  - Dion DiMucci  -  Dion  - Ernie Maresca
14. The Wanderer  - Ernie Maresca
15. Come on Little Angel  -  Belmonts  - Ernie Maresca
16. Rockin' Boulevard Street  - Ernie Maresca  -  Maresca
17. Mi-A-Sur Talk  - Ernie Maresca  - Mike Taylor
18. Lorelei  - Ernie Maresca
19. Runaround  - Ernie Maresca  -  Regents
20. When Will We Know  - Ernie Maresca
21. Dream, Dream, Dream  -  Chiffons  - Ernie Maresca
22. Party Girl  - Bernadette Carroll  - Ernie Maresca
23. Your Big Mistake  - Ernie Maresca
24. Whenever a Teenager Cries  - Ernie Maresca
25. Down on the Beach  - Ernie Maresca
26. Lovers Who Wander  - Dion DiMucci  - Ernie Maresca
27. Run Run Run  - Ernie Maresca
28. Hot Rod City  - Ernie Maresca
29. You're the Only Girl for Me  - Ernie Maresca
30. The Wanderer  - Ernie Maresca

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ernie Maresca   Primary Artist
The Belmonts   Primary Artist
Ernie Maresca & the Del Satins   Primary Artist
Ernie Maresca & the Belmonts   Primary Artist
Mike Taylor   Primary Artist
The Desires   Primary Artist
The Runarounds   Primary Artist
The Regents   Primary Artist
Nino & the Ebb Tides   Primary Artist
Dion   Primary Artist
The Chiffons   Primary Artist
Bernadette Carroll   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

The Desires   Performer
Thomas Bogdany   Composer
Dion   Performer
Trevor Churchill   Coordination
Jools   Package Design
Dion DiMucci   Composer
Duncan Cowell   Mastering
Rusty Lane   Composer
Bernadette Carroll   Performer
Ernie Maresca   Composer