Liner Note Author: Mick Patrick.

Arranger: Carole King.

The Cookies scored a pair of memorable hit singles in the early '60s, "Chains" (which hit number 17 on the pop charts in 1962 and was covered by the Beatles on their first album) and "Don't Say Nothing' Bad (About My Baby)" (Top Ten in the early months on 1963), and they were hardly the average girl group of the era. The first lineup of the Cookies cut their debut record in 1954, and were recruited by Ray Charles to become the Raelettes in 1956. In 1962, Ethel McCrea (who was also billed as Earl-Jean McCrae and Darlene McCrea) left the Ray Charles show and formed a new edition of the Cookies with Dorothy Jones and Margaret Ross. With Carole King and Gerry Goffin writing, producing, and arranging most of their material, this edition of the Cookies created some of the most sublime girl group material of the era, and Chains: The Dimension Links 1962-1964 brings together all the sides they cut for Dimension Records, along with some stray singles they recorded as the Cinderellas, the Palisades, and the Honey Bees, and six of McCrea's solo efforts. The Cookies' records for Dimension lacked the more soulful feel of their early work for Lamp Records or with Ray Charles, but Goffin and King's Brill Building approach served them equally well, and McCrea, Jones, and Ross delivered enough passion on these singles to satisfy nearly anyone. Carole King and Gerry Goffin brought an emotional honesty to their material that few pop songwriters of the era could touch, and they gave a handful of brilliant tunes to the Cookies; "Will Power" speaks with subtle clarity about the power of desire, "Only to Other People" is a powerful cry of loneliness and romantic disappointment, and "Love & Learn" offers a pleasingly adult perspective on the game of love. Goffin and King also had a good eye for material from other writers, and "Please Don't Wake Me" and "Foolish Little Girl" are wonderful, heart-tugging gems. Chains: The Dimension Links 1962-1964 is 60 minutes of pure pop heaven from an age when a production line could create intelligent and satisfying art, and while this is a must for girl group collectors, it's hard to imagine anyone who loves a great song not succumbing to its charms. ~ Mark Deming