Price: $17.49

What a difference 35 years makes. Contrast these lyrics with, oh, any gangsta rap record of the last decade and a half:

Black pearl/ Pretty little girl/Let me put you up where you belong
Black pearl/ Precious little girl/You've been in the background much too long.

It was a kinder, gentler time, kids.

Checkmates, Ltd. were "discovered" by jazz diva Nancy Wilson, and for their A&M debut engaged the services of producer Phil Spector, who was best known (until recently, anyway) for early hits with the Ronettes, Crystals and others, and for his work on the Beatles' Let It Be. His patented Wall of Sound and back-to-mono ethic served the Checkmates, Ltd. well on their only smash hit, “Black Pearl.”

But don’t stop there. They took Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary” and souled it up, not quite in the Ike and Tina mold, but very credibly. And there’s a gorgeous version of “Spanish Harlem,” which Spector had co-written with legendary tunesmith Jerry Leiber.

Rounding out the disc is a real nugget from the time capsule as Sonny Charles & Co. take on a medley from Hair; takes you right back to 1969.

Select Direct Releases feature original LP artwork reconfigured to an oversized heavy board minijacket wrapped with an iridescent stock, includes a translucent sleeve to protect the CD. Each jacket is gold foil stamped with a limited edition sequential number.

Price: $17.49

Did You Know? Thirteen years after “Black Pearl,” Sonny Charles had a #2 R&B hit with “Put It In A Magazine.”