Sheila Burgel (a disc jockey, writer, historian, and host of the Cha Cha Charming website) compiled this collection of rare pop, rock, and R&B sides from the '60s that offers a welcome look into some of the lesser-known corners of female-fronted pop music.

Recorded between 1961 and 1968, these 19 songs are largely the work of vocalists who didn't have long or memorable careers, though there are exceptions, most notably country star Skeeter Davis (here showing she was a sure hand with pop ock on "I Can't Stay Mad at You"), Little Eva (of "The Loco-Motion" fame, here belting out a strong rendition of "Stand by Me"), and Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhuru herself, who sounds great on the sassy R&B number "Why Don't You Do Right?"). Stylistically, Burgel covers a broad range for Honeybeat, with the passion of the vocalists and the skill of the songwriters and producers being the key unifying factors, rather than genre.

The track listing sways from the Shangri-La's-influenced "The Rider" by the Pussycats and the tough-talking soul of "I Don't Want No Mama's Boy" by Erma Franklin (Aretha's sister) to the youthful but no-nonsense R&B of "Don't Monkey with Me" by the Lollipops and the joyous Brill Building pop of April Young's "Gonna Make Him My Baby." (Young was good to the song's word -- she would later marry the single's producer, Jerry Ross.)

There are a few ringers on this set, in particular "I'm Gonna Destroy That Boy" by the What Four (in which producer Teo Macero struggles to make up for the fact the group couldn't sing especially well) and "Gee Dad" by Andrea Carroll (an overly gimmicky number that drowns in teen slang that probably wasn't common knowledge in 1961). But even the weakest tracks on Honeybeat have their charm, and most of this disc is a winning tribute to girl group-style pop as well as a great era of record making.