The Volumes

The energetic Volumes were a doo wop group in a soul era. The Detroiters’ stark, uncluttered recordings have always been large among R&B/soul purists because their voices ring out loud and sweet. The 34 tracks include songs recorded on Chex, Jubilee, Old Town, American Arts, and Inferno Records. Only “The Trouble I’ve Seen” b/w “The Same Old Feeling,” an obscure single on Impact Records, is missing from this, the most comprehensive collection of Volumes’ tunes to date. Their signature clear-as-a-bell piercing falsetto lead and high-end backing fills will have your dog scratching at the door to get out of the house. But you’d be trying to doo wop and blow along with this always interesting group who spent as much time on background-vocal trappings as they did on the lead. Included here are “I Love You,” the Volumes’ first and biggest hit at number 22 pop; “Gotta Give Her Love,” one of their better non-hits, recorded on American Arts, a small label out of Pittsburgh, PA; and “Come Back Into My Heart,” on which Lamont Dozier plays drums.