This excellent Charly disc offers up 22 sides from Jerry Butler's time at the Vee-Jay label during 1960-1967. Butler would go on to score more smashes on Mercury during the late '60s and early '70s, but his prime material may well be found here with cuts like "He Will Break Your Heart," "Find Another Girl," and "I Stand Accused." Less soul-symphonic than his Philly/Mercury work for Gamble & Huff, Butler's Vee-Jay tracks feature more of the romantic, late-'50s sound of his early Impressions sides (Butler's big hit with the Impressions, "For Your Precious Love," is included here). The MOR sophistication is particularly well essayed on his amazing versions of Bacharach's "Make It Easy on Yourself" and "Message to Martha." None of his fine duets with Betty Everett are to be found, but this is a small complaint considering the wealth contained herein. ~ Stephen Cook
