Customer Reviews

Anthology

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This title should read "The REAL ORIGINAL Ink Spots" because there are so many recordings of so-called 'Ink Spots' who followed the great original team but who have an inferior sound. Here are all the classics of the brilliant group who predated many many imitators like the Platters. Bill Kenney's tenor is unparalleled as is the 'talking part' of the recordings done by Hoppy Jones. Ella Fitzgerald is featured on two of the cuts and her performances alone are worth the price. Just sit back and listen to give your ears a priceless gift with these great oldies. This is a treasured disk for your collection of great music and sound. I play it all the time and love it all over again each time.

This collection has some great cuts I haven't heard before, but about every other track sounds like it was taken directly from old 78's (noisy, hissy, pops), and the others sound good. The shame of it is that a friend of mine has an LP collection from the '60's, 'The Best of the Ink Spots', alas, out of print, with many of the same cuts having much superior fidelity. I'm hoping that collection gets reissued.

I waited a long time for an Ink Spots "Anthology".....was this one worth the wait? hmmmmmmmmmmm.......I was happy to see the song selection....overall....it was pretty good......but like others who have reviewed this CD.....the sound is awful....some songs the hiss and crackle is louder than the music....there are much better compilations out there!

I wrote the liner notes, and selected the tracks. Track choices weren't totally mine, but wanted to put on some rarities new to CD. Sources could have been better- many taken from 78 to CEDAR, again not my choice. Project took over a year. Photos were mainly from me also.

all the great songs are here,but most tracks are so full of background "scratch & pop" you'll think you're listening to old 78s!

This long-awaited anthology of the Ink Spots is thorough -- with several notable omissions -- and comes with excellent liner notes. It presents a very good overview of the career of this group, which had 46 chart hits between 1939 and 1951. There were a couple of puzzling omissions -- "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall," a 1944 #1 in which the Ink Spots collaborated with Ella Fitzgerald, is left out, as are several other excellent chart hits, such as "Someday I'll Meet You Again" and "You Can't See the Sun When You're Crying." Most disappointing, however, is the sound quality. There is evident groove noise on many tracks; in some cases it is so bad that the track is almost unlistenable. With current technology, it seems much more could have been done to improve the sound.

The best part of this anthology are the comprehensive 9 pages of liner notes written in 1997 by Bill Proctor, coupled with 6 great shots of this influential group, inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 in the influential category. There is also a partial discography of the contents which presents all pertinent details except chart performances.

Unfortunately, the quality of the sound comes nowhere close to that of the liner notes, and for the price being asked you are better served to seek out a good book on the group. In addition, most tracks sound like they were recorded direct from a 78 rpm record, and in a few instances using a straight pin rather than a record needle!

Another problem I find is with the collection of the 48 songs themselves. Now, I realize it doesn't advertise itself as "greatest hits" but it seems to me that if you are going to put out a definitive anthology of the music of such a prolific group, there should be no problem culling together 48 of their very best. And while I can make an exception for the first track, You Feet's Too Big, as an example of their earliest offerings, I can't say the same for tracks 2, 19, and 21 to 24, none of which were among their notable singles. Why not include, instead, You Bring Me Down, Stop Pretending and its B-side, You're Breaking My Heart All Over Again, Take A Letter Miss Brown, and both sides of I'm Still Without A Sweetheart ('Cause I'm Still In Love With You) and So Sorry. All were among their very best recordings in 1939/40/41 and all were hits of varying degree.

Disc 2 is much the same, with tracks 4, 5 (both sides of a failed single), 12, 16, 18, and 23 serving up unremarkable performances. Where are If I Cared A Little Bit Less, I'll Never Make The Same Mistake Again, Don't Believe Everything You Dream, Cow Cow Boogie and Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall (both with Ella Fitzgerald to match tracks 10 and 11), and A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening?

In my view a most disappointing collection from MCA and one which should be "cleaned up" in terms of both sound quality and content.

Great compilation with many previously unrelaesed tracks that tend to enamor a fabuolus group who set the stage for so many others after their hey- days. What would WWll have been at home without the Ink Spots? Their sentimentalities vocally said just what everybody felt.

the sound quality is great..just to let people know because it will effect sales....

I'm tempted to suggest that reviewer Ella Roche have her head examined. Well, let's just say that I disagree with everything she says. Part of the pleasure of this CD for me is certainly that it's a nostalgic trip for me - I remember hearing the Ink Spots on the radio as a child - anyway, I bought this CD and am glad I did.