DARLENE LOVE - A BEGINNER'S GUIDE

When I heard that Darlene Love was being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I thought, "Little Steven does it again!" Steven Van Zandt has a history of campaigning for legendary artists who haven't gotten their due, including The Rascals, The Dave Clark 5 and The Hollies. I think Steven had a lot to do with Darlene's being voted in, and good for him (and her).

One of the problems with Darlene Love is that she's recorded for a number of groups, as well as under her own name. The Hall of Fame generally inducts someone for the work they've done under the name they are being inducted for. In other words, Rod Stewart is a Hall of Famer for his solo career, not for The Faces (who are not in the Hall of Fame for some reason).

In Darlene's case, she's been a member of The Blossoms, The Crystals, Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans, and has also recorded as a solo artist. So I think that has sort of held her back.  This induction feels like a lifetime achievement award more than an induction strictly for her solo career, but no matter.

The other thing I thought when I heard that Darlene was going to be inducted was that it's kind of hard to find her greatest hits these days.  A lot of the songs are on the Phil Spector box set, Back To Mono, but I think that's out of print now.  Happily, the folks at Sony Legacy have just released The Sound Of Love: The Very Best Of Darlene Love. Full disclosure: I got this for free from the press department of Legacy. But I think it's actually a very timely and important collection. People will no doubt want to check out Darlene's career after they see her perform at her induction (which will air on Fuse Sunday March 20, the event takes place March 14), and this gives a really easy way to do that. However, it doesn't include any of her Christmas songs ("Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is probably one of her biggest hits, she does a great "Winter Wonderland" and "Christmastime For The Jews," which she recorded for Saturday Night Live a few years back is still not available anywhere that I know of).

If you first discover Darlene Love from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony (or you just know her as Danny Glover's character's wife from the Lethal Weapon films), you're in for a treat, this CD is one of the best ways to spend $10 that you can find.