Customer Reviews

Anthology

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

 

 

FROM THE STANDARDS TO THE RANGE OF SONGS MADE POPULAR BY NAT KING COLE TO THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS THIS BOX SET HAS IT ALL. MR. HAMILTON'S VOICE IS AS SMOOTH AS THAT OF NAT COLE AND AS TENDER AS SAM COOKES' BEST OFFERING. CHECK OUT HIS RENDITIONS OF "ROUTE 66" (AS SONG BY NAT COLE) AND THE POWERFUL"YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE, EBB TIDE AND COUNTLESS OTHERS: NATURE BOY AND ON AND ON. THIS IS A HISTORICAL SET THAT SHOULD BE ADDED TO ANY JAZZ, R&B,AND/OR STANDARD LISTENERS COLLECTIONS. LISTEN TO THE SAMPLES AND HEAR WHAT I'VE BEEN RAVING ABOUT. THIS IS AS GOOD AS IT GET!

In 1997

I was lucky enough to be in Cleveland Ohio at the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame where I bought the only cd I could find of Roy's...Roy Hamilton's Golden Classics. I own his album, You'll Never Walk Alone and I'm praying there will someday be a cd with the second song from it---I'm Going to Sit Right Down and Cry. This is my favorite of all his songs. I have always found it a wonder that this man is so overlooked in that era. You ask any "oldies" station and they will come up with "Ebb Tide" which was his signature song, but that's it! Sit Right Down and Cry came out in '57 in a 45(rpm) on the back side of You'll Never Walk Alone and also in the album. I love it! When he died we were robbed of an extraordinary talent!

In my review of the great group The Ink Spots I mention that the Spots lead singer Bill Kenney was a very important part in Elvis's singing style. I failed to mention that Roy Hamilton was also. Just like the Ink Spots Elvis had Roy's records in his personal collection and jukebox and listened to him quite frequently clear up to his death in 1977.Elvis came close but he never was as great a singer as Roy. Keep in mind that Roy and the Spots came first-they were cutting records while Elvis was still a truck driver in Memphis-So they influenced him-not the reverse.When I hear Elvis sing it is so clear to me that's he's trying his darndest to sound like Roy Hamilton on some records and then The Ink Spots on others. But Elvis loved Black people and Black music - a fact that was suppresed back then and is still suppresed even today.But in his humble early years he always acknowledged that fact himself-(albeit to Col. Parkers disdain).I like Elvis and I have him in my massive collection,but when I want to hear the real deal I pull out my Ink Spots and Roy Hamilton cd's which I purchased right here on Amazon. By the way Thanks Amazon for giving the people a chance to review music. Unlike the "professional" critics we are not financially and politically motivated to give a certain critique. I see more intelligent and knowledgeable critiques from the people on here than I ever do in magazines from the so called pro's. Keep it up Amazon for the people now have a voice.I reccomend this cd highly.

Most of the time when you see a collection of an artist's music offered up to buyers as an "anthology" one expects to see most - if not all - their charted hit singles. This one misses the bus in that regard. Of course, it's also from our friends at Collectables who make a habit out of leaving out something significant from most of their compilations. It's virtually become a "thing" with them.

Between 1954 and 1961 Roy had ten hits on each of the pop and R&B charts. This 2-CD set, containing 36 selections, omits seven of them: 1954's If I Loved You (# 4 R&B/# 26 Pop on Epic 9047); 1955's Without A Song (# 77 Pop Top 100 on Epic 9125) and Everybody's Got A Home (# 42 Pop Top 100 in late '55/early '56 on Epic 9132); 1957's So Long (# 14 R&B on Epic 9212; 1958's Pledging My Love (# 45 Hot 100 on Epic 9294); and 1959's I Need Your Lovin' (# 14 R&B/# 62 Hot 100 on Epic 9307) and Time Marches On (# 84 Hot 100 on Epic 9323).

That's the only reason, however, I did not assign 5 stars. What is offered shows the remarkable range of his near-operatic baritone, honed in the late 1940s with The Searchlight Gospel Singers, and so it's not surprising that he is cited as a major influence by The Righteous Brothers who, of course, covered two of his biggest hits - Ebb Tide and Unchained Melody.

Another plus lies in the comprehensive liner notes by Mark Marymont, although I should point out to Mr. Marymont that the contents of the set belie his last sentence: "His best work was for the Epic label, and that is the basis of this collection." All seven omitted hits were for the Epic label!!

The heart attack that took him in 1969 robbed us of a magnificent talent. Give your ears a treat with this beautiful collection.

Hey...Carl Anthony....are you serious when you say that Elvis tried his darnest to sound like Roy Hamilton and when you want to listen to the real deal you listen to Roy Hamilton? Please go and check in the nearest hospital my friend. Elvis listend to and liked Roy Hamilton as he did many other singers....yet if you are the least bit sensitive....you will realize the most important thing, and why Elvis was the greatest. In the songs Elvis sung...not 'Hound Dog' or rock'n roll...but in the 70's....there is feeling and passion that you will find nowhere else. Listen to 'Hurt' or 'Unchained Melody'...by Hamilton and then by Elvis. There is a huge difference. Someone said something very true one time : "Elvis could take any song and make you forget who sang it best before him". There is a reason why Hamilton got lost with all the others in that era...and why Elvis still reigns to this day. He was in contact with human suffering...and it all came out through his songs. If any of you out there agree with me....let me know. Thank you.