Customer Reviews

Best of

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

 

 

This CD on Vanguard, is one of TWO that are out. This one is the "Best of", the other "Greatest Hits." This one is my favorite, although I have both. There are SEVEN songs on this CD that are not on any other. "Four Strong Winds" is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.

I have recently had a "return to the folk era" frenzy and purchased several of the Brothers disks. This is the best in my opinion. The hits here are the ones I remember the group being famous for. It's a fairly short CD, but what's there is good.

I went back to my youth yesterday when I put on this upbeat CD. Once again I was sitting on a gym floor of a local college or in an auditorium chair, as I listened to the Brothers Four in person! I found myself smiling and singing along with four old friends. Their music is timeless and their voices - WOW!

Folk music has its roots in the anti-Fascist populist movement of the 1930s, led by the likes of Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. Pete Seeger and the rest of The Weavers resurrected the genre in the early 1950's, paving the way for those like Josh White and then, later in the decade, The Tarriers and The Kingston Trio.

From their success sprang The Chad Mitchell Trio, The Limeliters, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Highwaymen, The Rooftop Singers, The Serendipity Singers, New Christy Minstrels - and The Brothers Four.

Some chose as their material the biting, social commentary which drove the early artists, while others leaned more towards the neutral pop style favoured by the more apolitical among the college crowd. That was The Brothers Four to a T.

In the period 1960-1965 they had several popular albums for Columbia and added in seven Billboard Pop Hot 100 single hits, all of which are in this CD. Their first - and best - was the melancholy Greenfields. Written and recorded in 1956 by Terry Gilkyson & The Easy Riders, The Brothers Four took it all the way to # 2 in the spring of 1960 b/w Angelique-O, and kept from the top spot only by the success of Percy Faith's Theme From A Summer Place.

My Tani [# 50 Hot 100 in August 1960 b/w Ellie Lou] and The Green Leaves Of Summer [# 65 Hot 100 in November 1960 from the film The Alamo, b/w Beautiful Brown Eyes] rounded out their first year. In April 1961 they took a REALLY old tune - Frog Went A Courtin' from 1580 - to the # 38 position as simply Frogg b/w Sweet Rosyanne, and that would turn out to be their only other Top 40.

Almost a year later Blue Water Line reached # 68 b/w Summer Days Alone (a personal favourite but unfortunately not in this album), and it wouldn't be until December 1963 that they had their next charter, Hootenanny Saturday Night [# 89 and the theme from the populaer TV show b/w Across The Sea].

A full two years would then pass, and the advent of the British Invasion, before they had a minor hit with Try To Remember [# 91 b/w Sakura], introduced in the Broadway show The Fantasticks by the late Jerry Orbach of Law & Order fame. In December 1966 their wonderful version of I'll Be Home For Christmas reached # 26 on the special Billboard Christmas charts b/w "Twas The Night Before Christmas, and they remain two of the hardest to find of any Brothers Four selections.

That hit's exclusion, and the complete lack of any of the B-sides, resulted in the deduction of one star. As for Four Strong Winds, Goodnight Irene, Yellow Bird, Don't Let The Rain Come Down, and Silver Threads & Golden Needles, they were major hits for other artists.

This collection provides a good representation of what the Brothers Four were all about in their heyday. The arrangements and harmonies in these songs give good reason for their appeal in the early to mid-60s. They were never ones to be political on or off stage, so don't look for any angry protest songs here. But if you love great four-part harmonies in both beautiful ballads and lively feel-good songs, listening to this CD will be a real treat. The shortcoming? It's way to short. Twelve tracks doesn't really cut the mustard for getting into this group. I would suggest the five two-fers released on the Collectors Choice and Collectables labels. But if you are only interested in sticking your toe in the water, this Vanguard issue is a nice package for doing that.

I knew John when we were teenagers in the State of Washington. When I heard his hit, GREENFIELDS, I wasn't the least surprised. He was the singer at parties which were frequent occurrences in the Wenatchee Valley. When he danced, he had music in his feet. He would twirl his girl, in her full skirt with many petticoats around the dance floor in a flurry, always in time to the music. He was a fegi and was very proud of that accomplishment...

Sincerely, The FstShusher from the Valley...