VA - The Phil Spector Collection (Remastered) (2010)

Phil Spector’s studio pyrotechnics and teenage mini-symphonies revealed how he'd mastered the science of sound as well as songwriting and arranging. To hear the genius of Spector, simply listen to his productions. This 59-song wall-of-sound collection wraps up the absolute best work Spector did for the Philles label in the early '60s. It opens with The Crystals’ rocking, string-scorched single “Oh Yeah, Maybe Baby” and its flipside, “There’s No Other Like My Baby.” Then the set just motors, from timeless ear-benders such as Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans R&B tilt of the Disney classic “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” to Veronica’s love letter to confusing teen crushes “Why Don’t They Let Us Fall in Love” to The Modern Folk Quartet’s Beach Boy doppelganger (a Spector tune cowritten with Harry Nilsson) “This Could Be the Night.” Darlene Love’s masterpiece about bad boyfriends (“Strange Love”) closes the collection on a fittingly melancholic note. With mastering that reveals long-lost clarity, the ubiquitous hits are also here, such as The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” and “Baby I Love You.” Yet they don’t really stick out; the other songs are that good.