The Sound of Love: The Very Best of Darlene Love

had written, played guitar, and sung backup vocals on 1958's (which hit the top of the pop charts that year) as part of , and he worked for a time as part of the production team for , co-writing for and playing guitar on ' and he produced minor sides for and , among others, but there was really little to distinguish him from any number of other hopefuls clustered around the pop music scene in 1961 when he formed his own label, . But was driven, single-minded, and stubborn, and he had a sound in his head. Now with his own label in place, he set out to record a series of singles he termed "little symphonies for the kids" that are now regarded among the most distinctive and influential recordings in the history of pop music. Combining massed pianos, guitars, string arrangements by , tons of layered percussion, and huge washes of echo, working with the West Coast's best session players (including , , and -- the so-called ), and leaning heavily on his engineer to catch all of this in the small confines of in Los Angeles, developed his "Wall of Sound" production approach, controlling every aspect of the recordings until, even though he wasn't singing or even playing an instrument, they became -- in essence -- records. This is not to diminish the singers he used -- , in the case here. This 17-track set collects several of his releases with (under her own name, as well as featuring lead vocals by ), including the classic which did as much as any song or recording in the decade to establish a template for girl groups. 's powerfully precise productions only work because there was a singer out front, though, and -- even if in 's eyes her voice was simply another instrument in his little symphony -- brought everything to sassy life with her singing. This collection features 14 tracks with , along with a pre- track by 's first group, ( produced by ), two post- tracks by and " both produced by ), and her 1977 reunion single It's a small legacy that recorded with , but it's an important one. ~ Steve Leggett