Customer Reviews

20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection (Eco-Friendly Packaging)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The greatest group of the 50s, the Platters combined a tremendous lead singer whose talents bordered on the operatic, great harmonizing, and tremendous musicality to produce some of the best songs ever recorded, most of which are captured here including the immortal The Great Pretender and the wonderful (and controversial at its time, in fact Cole Porter's estate sued to block it) Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. The crescendo at the end of that song has got to be one of the most creative and thrilling moments of all pop music. My only complaint, and it is with this series as a whole, is that with all the room on a CD only 11 songs are included. There are other Platters CDs with up to 20 songs and this one would have been all that much better had some other tunes been included.

Now thought of as a "doo wop" group because of the beat and the finger-snapping rhythms, the Platters, in the 1950s, set the scene for rock and roll, ushering in a new music which incorporated gospel and soul sounds never before part of the mainstream. The first all-black group to become universally popular, they influenced pop music for fifteen years and opened doors to the many black doo-wop groups which succeeded them into the 1960s.

Of the several "Best of the Platters" albums now available, this collection contains most of their biggest hits, including "Only You," their first #1 hit on the R and B chart, which then became #5 on the pop chart, when it crossed over; "The Great Pretender," their next hit, which was #1 on the pop charts; and "Magic Touch," "My Prayer" (another #1 pop hit), "Twilight Time," "I'm Sorry," and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes."

It does not include several other memorable Platters songs, such as "On My Word of Honor," "You'll Never Know," "If I Didn't Care," or "To Each His Own." These songs, along with the previously mentioned favorites, are all available on one album if you search on Amazon for B000200Q2U, "The Very Best of the Platters."

The wonderful Tony Williams sets the pace as tenor soloist, with a voice ranging from a soft whisper to a soaring vibrato. The harmonies are mellow, the timing is superb, and the arrangements are terrific. The back-up voices are strong, and the album has been remastered to remove background "fuzz." Trend setters whose influence was felt for fifteen years, the Platters are an indelible part of the high school memories of a whole generation from the 1950s and 1960s. Mary Whipple

If you are seeking GENUINE PLATTERS this is the one. The top 6 best known all time Platters' tunes are here, along with 5 other great though lesser known cuts. This is the ORIGINAL music, and it is delightful.

I LISTEN TO THIS C.D. WITH MY EYE'S CLOSED AND I AM TRANSPORTED BACK TO JR. HIGH SCHOOL WITH FIRST LOVES AND CRUSHES AND THE SOCK HOP'S IN THE GYM AT LUNCH HOUR IF YOUR A TEEN OF THE 50'S(OR YOUR PARENT'S ARE) DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND RUSH OUT AND PURCHASE THIS ALBUM! YOU JUST CANNOT FIND THIS KIND OF MUSIC ANYMORE, WHAT A SHAME THAT CHILDREN TODAY CANNOT ENJOY IT!AS WE DID

Only 11 songs in this CD, Polygram of USA is not generous to consumer. As one reviewer stated, there are rooms for more songs. I can easily named some of these, such as 'Remember When', 'You never never know', 'Enchanted' and 'I'll never smile again' etc. Here I would like to recommend another Platters' CD titled "Universal Masters Collection [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [IMPORT]", which is the best sounding Platters CD I've heard (I've already owned 4 greatest hits CDs of The Platters). This [Import] CD is the only one you can find stereo versions (genuine stereo) of 'Smoke gets in your eyes', 'Twilight Time', 'I'll never smile again', 'Harbour Lights' and 'Red sails in the Sunset', plus 'I'm just a dacing partner','I give you my word', all 17 songs in one CD which is preferable to this 11 songs collection.

These Voices are Soulful&Pure Thru Out This Set.the songs speak for themselves some of the Greatest songs ever Recorded.Pure Bliss&a TimeLess Quality.

The Best of The Platters did'nt have the songs on it that the LP
had back in the fifties.But it has most of the ones that I like.
The cd is worth the price and the wait.

Neal.

Although I should give 1 star for each Platter, 5 stars would be pushing it for such a small sampling of The Platters hits. I recommend this cd only if you want just some of their biggest hits and you can get it for just a few bucks.

For myself, I'd much rather put out a few more bucks and get a used - good condition "Magic Touch Anthology" cd that has far more songs. Don't forget that in their day, The Platters were so popular that many of the "B" sides also charted. Songs such as "It Isn't Right", "Remember When" and "Heaven on Earth" didn't chart in the top 10, but were super good.

All of the songs here are the original versions, are well recorded and are with Tony Williams on lead. It's also a treat (and surprise) to hear a few of their tracks in stereo, especially "Harbor Lights" where it sounds like the birds and ships are all around you in the beginning. Not like my old 45.

A tip-of-the-hat to Mercury and its engineers for recording the Platters stuff so well back in the 50's. They must have had top notch equipment and were more concerned with sounding clear than loud. It's sad how many old master-tapes have slowly deteriorated over the years leaving us with muddy or distorted music. Luckily, most of The Platters stuff still sounds like ...well .. Heaven on Earth.

The CD arrived on time and in very professional packaging. The CD appeared new, never opened. I would order from this vendor again in the future

I was completely happy with this order and the way it was handled. The product lived up to my expectations. For anyone who remembers the Platters, this is just as you remember.