Customer Reviews

British Invasion: Gold

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

 

 

I originally ordered this as a gift for a friend, but after listening to her copy, bought it for myself. The 2 disc collection offers an excellent compilation, including some that are indispensible and others that are very hard to find without buying an entire album by the artist. Most of the tracks sound as good as you're likely to ever hear them, considering their age and the technological limitations of the time. As always with such compilations, one can quibble over the inclusion or exclusion of certain songs, but this collection is essential for any fan of British rock of the 60's and 70's.

This 32-track, 2-CD collection from Hip-O Records is, for all practical purposes, a stripped down version of Hip-O's 54-track, 3-CD collection titled "British Invasion: 1963-1967" that was released in 2004, and which Amazon also carries. The only tune here that does not appear on the earlier collection is The Who's "Happy Jack." As one might expect, recordings from The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, and The Dave Clark Five are not represented here due to rights issues, but the collection does manage to squeak in one non-EMI/Capitol Beatles song from their early years in Hamburg, Germany. What is somewhat surprising is that The Kinks, Manfred Mann, and The Yardbirds, all staples of British Invasion collections over the years, are not represented on this set.

The song selection is mostly on target and provides a nice sampling of the various styles that made the British Invasion years so exciting musically. Pop is represented by Tom Jones, The Seekers, and Lulu; group harmonies are typified by Peter & Gordon, Chad & Jeremy, The Searchers, and The Hollies; straight ahead rock is provided by The Troggs, The Spencer Davis Group and The Who; we even get a sampling of psychedelia courtesy of Donovan and some very early prog rock from Procol Harum. It's also good to see some groups and performers from the era that are typically not represented on these collections like Georgie Fame, The Merseys, The Merseybeats, and The Silkie. The only real disappointment for me on this collection is the track selected for Eric Burdon & The Animals, probably done so for rights issues. But, for a 2-CD set, "British Invasion: Gold" is a terrific collection, one of the best available.

This CD is awesome! I bought it mainly for "You've Got Your Troubles" (took three months to find the ORIGINAL), but almost all the others are good, too. I've never seen (or heard) some of these songs,like Cat Stevens' "The First Cut is The Deepest" and am surprised because these songs are awesome! "Aint She Sweet" and "Bad to Me" are rare, too. I've never seen this CD at regular stores, for some reason. So anyway, order this CD if you want good, rare, and cheap music. You won't be sorry (I can't see why I'M first to review)!

This album has really hip sounds and the lyrics are far out. It has a groovy beat and it's easy to dance to....
Seriously, I really dig John Lennon's vocal on "Ain't She Sweet." This is very classic ultra-Early Beatles. This track was the first thing about this disc that got my attention, but there are also many other great hits, absolute staples of the British Invasion era music:
Freddie and the Dreamers' "I'm Telling You Now", The Hollies' "Bus Stop" and "Game of Love", "Groovy Kind of Love," "Ferry Cross the Mersey"....This CD has many of the most important recordings of that magical era. Essential
And the CD quality of the music means this is the best I've ever heard some of these songs sound. It's also interesting to hear Cat Stevens doing his own version of his "First Cut Is the Deepest" hit.

This CD contains many of the best songs and artists from the tidal wave that followed the Beatles' Invasion of American airwaves in 1964.The lone Beatles track is from their German sessions with Tony Sheridan.Then you have a great variety ranging from the pop of the Hollies,Lulu and the Zombies to the blues tinged music of The Spencer Davis Group and Eric Burdon & the Animals.You also get a couple of lesser known gems by The Merseybeats and Wayne Fontana.Very highly recommended!

I am thrilled with this double CD. It takes me back to my teen-age years. I initially bought the CD because it contained an old favorite by the Fortunes (You've Got Your Troubles), but found that almost every song on the CD was one that I loved! An excellent value for the money I paid! If you grew up in the 60's, you will love it!

Gold: British Invasion is a fine two CD set that gives us so much to remember from "The British Invasion." The music is very high quality throughout and the sound is excellent, too. I also like the artwork.

The Beatles show off with "Ain't She Sweet;" the arrangement for this sounds awesome; The Beatles perform this so well. Peter & Gordon deliver "World Without Love" as they harmonize perfectly; and the guitars and percussion work wonders for this number. Peter & Gordon always sounded strong together; but when they sing "World Without Love" I really like how they sound. I predict that you will enjoy this number also.

Gerry & the Pacemakers score a huge hit with their "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying;" I always smile when I hear this because of the beauty of this number. Gerry & The Pacemakers sing and play this beyond perfection. There's no doubt that Gerry & The Pacemakers were a strong group with great talent; this song certainly proves it. There's also Dusty Springfield doing her hit entitled "Wishin' & Hopin';" Dusty sings this like only she could and this has always been another one of my very favorites from this era. Dusty's voice is as clear as a bell; and her excellent diction enhances her performance all the more.

The Walker Brothers come out strong when they perform "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore);" they bat this one straight out of the ballpark with some mighty fine musical accompaniment. The Troggs also sound great when they do their number "Wild Thing;" the minor chords and their manner of performing "Wild Thing" makes this number shine brightly!

The Seekers do "Georgy Girl" up right with a perfect arrangement; and of course there's Procol Harum doing their huge hit "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" has a very lush musical arrangement including what sounds like an organ to embellish this number even further. I'm very impressed!

Lulu also sings another of my favorite numbers--and a huge hit for her--"To Sir With Love." Lulu's voice is also as clear as a bell; and she delivers this song passionately with all her heart and soul. Excellent!

Overall, major fans of music from "The British Invasion" will have these tunes already. Other people will correctly complain that there's nothing here by some pretty major groups including The Stones, The Kinks and The Yardbirds! I think this could be because of copyright issues; but I cannot be certain of that. I have to take off a star for that to make this a four star review. I would give this set three stars but what we get is such high quality throughout that I'll give it four stars anyway. Casual fans of music from "The British Invasion" will probably get the most out of this two CD set.

British Invasion Gold is a nice CD for those who want to listen to a bit of what was popular throughout the 60's. Don't get me wrong: it contains great tunes, but it also doesn't contain anything by The Rolling Stones and only one song by the Beatles. They were the top two influences coming out of Britain during the 60's, so it seems sadly illogical to omit them, even if it is due to copyrights.
All in all, a good collection, but not the best, and certainly not the most inclusive.

This music sure took me back to days gone by. One thing I really liked is the fact that for a change I listen to all the songs instaed of just one or two on the entire CD. The quality was great and the choice of titles was excellant. I would recommend this CD to any one who was around during the British Invasion days.

There are a lot of great ole songs on this album that give me great joy to play. I didn't give this five stars because of the song slection in total analysis. Considering the bountiful number of treasured songs that came in the British invasion, I was shocked to hear some duds on this album. They could have replaced those with some much better samples of the invasion. They could also have expanded the invasion another year or two in the timeline to say 68. The songs by Gerry & the Pacemakers alone, make this worth the purchase, and actually 80% of the songs are great. You'll enjoy it, but it could have been even better.