From a basement in New Jersey, Tommy Falcone remade himself into a DIY Phil Spector. From 1962 to 1970, he founded and ran Cleopatra Records, discovered and mentored young Garden State talent, wrote songs and produced wild studio effects, and quit his day job to promote it all himself. Trained as an accordionist, Falcone had a whirlwind imagination and an omnivorous approach to genre, expressed through acts like the Centuries, the Tabbys, Johnny Silvio, the Inmates, Bernadette Carroll, the Hallmarks, Vickie & the Van Dykes, the Shandillons, Eugene Viscione, the Shoestring, and more. Cleopatra became a time-capsule of every 1960s pop style imaginable-garage rock, psychedelia, surf, girl groups, soul, novelties, exotica, even a crooner-a kaleidoscope of sound in search of the ever-elusive hit record.
01. BERNADETTE CARROLL – HEAVENLY 02. THE TABBYS – HONG KONG BABY 03. DICK THUNDER – GEE BUT I’M LONESOME 04. VICKIE & THE VAN DYKES – OUTCAST 05. THE HALLMARKS – PAPER SKY 06. THE CENTURIES – BEACH UMBRELLA WORLD 07. THE INMATES – IT’S SO VERY HARD 08. JIMMY DAVIS – MISTER WIND 09. JOHNNY SILVIO – JULIE ANNE 10. THE HALLMARKS – DISTANT RAIN 11. BERNADETTE CARROLL – WHEN WE’RE OLDER 12. THE CENTURIES – OUTER LIMITS 13. THE HALLMARKS – WE CAN MAKE IT TOGETHER DISC #2 01. THE CENTURIES – ANNIVERSARY HOP 02. THE OVATIONS – KISS ME BYE BYE 03. THE INMATES – CRYSTAL BALL 04. VICKIE & THE VAN DYKES – TRUE LOVE 05. THE REMINISCENTS – FOR YOUR LOVE 06. THE HALLMARKS – MISS JUDITH FINCH 07. BERNADETTE CARROLL – CARE A LITTLE 08. THE SHANDILLONS – SHOOP DE HOOP TWINE 09. THE INMATES – YOU TELL LIES 10. THE HALLMARKS – SOUL SHAKIN’ PSYCHEDELIC SALLY 11. THE SHOESTRING – CANDY ANDY 12. TOMMY MANNO – CONCEITED 13. EUGENE VISCIONE – PARTING KISS
