Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 130
 Italian-American Brilliance July 31, 2003
17 out of 20 found this review helpful
What more do you want in a disc! This disc contains an astounding "7" #1 hits, "11" top ten hits, and "2" songs that charted at #12 and #13. This collection is basically an awesome historic look at American pop music from the early 60's to the late 70's. It showcases what made Italian-Americans such an integral part of American pop music in the 20th century and Frankie Valli was up there with the best of them.
 If Only They Had Better Recordings March 22, 2006
Mr Squiggle (Adelaide, SA, Australia)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
A lot of the songs on this album are great. Of course, that's why I bought it. However, there are a number of lower-quality songs which I sometimes think would be better off of the album so as to not dilute its class.
However, the album's real problem is it's recording quality. Many, many of the songs, including some that are not so old, possess serious clipping and distortion, and become unpleasant to hear.
I started wondering - have these songs always had this distortion, and have I just been ignoring it - or has some form of remastering made this album particularly bad? Possibly this is the case, but the recordings sound very harsh, even for 'Can't Take Me Eyes Off You', which is a surprise given its later recording date. It is a veritable pleasure to listen to 'December, 1963', which is clearly much higher quality recording - much smoother and without any of the harshness of most of the rest of the album.
Still, I don't know if this is a problem that can ever be resolved, so this album may still be the best that you can get for a collection on Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
The Definitive Collection and Good Sound Quality! April 16, 2006
Frederick Baptist (Singapore)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
This has got to be the best one-disc compilation of the band that's out there. Rhino have once again done a great job in remastering this album so that the sound quality is very, very good. All the great Four Seasons tracks are here as well as the great solo works of Frankie Valli like "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "Grease", "Oh, What a Night" and "My Eyes Adored You". With 20 tracks on one disc, you also get great value for money in addition to the great tracks selections and great sound quality. Highly recommended.
Who Knew They Had Soul December 21, 2004
Jenks (Chicago, IL)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
I had heard the name Frankie Valli and of the group the Four Seasons but I never knew what songs Frankie Valli or the Four Seasons had done. Nor did I know that Frankie Valli was even in the group the Four Seasons! I thought the Four Seasons was just another one of those corny, one-hit wonder, old timey groups of the 50s and 60s that just, quite frankly, didn't have any soul. So for me to like anything remotely Frankie Valli or the Four Seasons is rather uncanny. But PBS had a special on music of the 70's in particular Disco music, and since there was nothing edifying on TV, I decided to watch and get a couple of laughs. Not long after watching, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were introduced, and I'm thinking what are Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons doing on this show-this is a show about disco music--not 50's and 60's oldies music--even though the guys that were performing with Frankie Valli as the "Four Seasons" looked to have been more around my age--singing about 1963 and looking to have been born in 1973 or later. And so, because I didn't know any better, I thought, oh, someone in 70's must have remade one of their old songs from the 50's or 60's into a disco hit and they simply came to perform it, not knowing that they indeed had some disco hits in the 70's. So I watched this cute little old guy come on stage, and he was dancing--well moving--and able to keep up with those young guys, and he actually had SOME soul, so much so, that, well, I was converted. Suffice to say, I fell in love with Frankie Valli, and it propelled me to learn more about the songs the group did, including Frankie Valli's solo projects, and the group's history. As I listen to these old songs I am finding that not only did Frankie Valli have a soulful voice, but the songs actually HAD rhythm! And what can I say--now I'm hooked.
It's unfortunate that my generation (gen-xers) don't really know or aren't familiar with these artists of the past. Sure we sample their music, and remake their songs, but we don't give them any props. Many have had such a profound influence on popular music, and yet they remain relatively forgotten. VH1 used to have shows like Behind the Music and Legends--which was short-lived--that showcased groups and artists of the 50's, 60's and 70's but lately I don't see shows like Legends anymore, which again, is unfortunate.
It's ironic that one editor called their disco stint as misguided--for had it not been for those disco songs I would have never had that chance encounter with Frankie Valli and never would have known that this group was responsible for so many of the classics that have been remade or heard in movies or even in television advertisements.
This is a great CD. And it has the essentials--so whether you've been a Frankie Valli and Four Seasons fan for years or you're a neophyte like me, newly discovering and appreciating this group--you won't be disappointed. And while I still loathe most goldies oldies (or whatever it's called). I make an exception for the Four Seasons. Who knew they had soul!
Even if you think you only like Mozart..... August 5, 2004
Mark Cannon (Larchmont, NY)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
This CD has all of my favorite Four Seasons hits of the early '60's, which was when I became a big fan, plus the hits from later on. I've always been mainly a classical music guy, and back then I wasn't much into pop. In fact, the only times I heard it were when someone else had a radio on. I never knew what I was hearing, but a few of those songs that came out of the radio really "grabbed" me, and I would go around humming them. And then I found out that they were ALL by the Four Seasons!
What was it that made those Four Seasons songs so appealing to a classical music guy? Well, there are a lot of things -- the distinctive style, the clean classical harmonies (although with occasional audacious modulations into new keys), the crisp rhythms, the precise execution, and the great shaping of each phrase and of the larger whole.
The Four Seasons are simply timeless, and to me they're a true crossover. It's great that their old hits are being reissued in these collections.
|
