Customer Reviews

The Coasters - 20 Greatest Hits

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

 

 

Some clarification is needed here! Yes, 8 of the 20 tracks on
this CD are, in fact, remakes of the Coasters original 1950's
Atlantic classics (Charlie Brown, Searchin', Young Blood, Along Came Jones, Yakety Yak, Poison Ivy, Little Egypt, and One Foot Draggin'). These were cut in 1977 for the Gusto label, by a group featuring lead vocalist Billy Guy and bass-singer Dub Jones, both of whom were members of the "classic" Coasters line-up of the 50's and early 60's.

However, the remaining 12 tracks are not remakes at all, but
newly recorded songs by the then-current, "official" Coasters,
cut for the Date and King labels between 1968 and 1972. The group featured on these cuts included Billy Guy, founding member Carl Gardner, and Earl "Speedo" Carroll (formerly of the Cadillacs). Important is the fact that these 12 songs were produced and arranged by Leiber & Stoller, who also wrote several of them.

Although these recordings represented an attempt to keep the Coasters' sound contemporary (late 60's/ early 70's soul & dance), the wry humor of the famous Leiber-Stoller/Coasters collaborations of the Atlantic Records years remained intact. (Note also, the covers of other artists' hits of the period: Mustang Sally, Cool Jerk, The In Crowd - not bad choices at all!

So...the 8 remakes are certainly no substitute for the original Atlantic cuts. You should get those first (eg., one of the comp's on Rhino). But, once you've got those, and you want to hear where the Coasters went from there, these other 12 tracks are your next logical stop. And so this CD is worth picking up for that reason.

Not THE Coasters, just skillful imitators. The differences are subtle, but telling. MINUS five stars. Amazon should not be selling this.

I ordered this CD thinking I was getting the original released songs. Unfortunately, they are remakes that just don't have the memories. If you've never heard the originals, you may like it, but if you are looking for the orignals like me, don't waste your money. Unfortunately, I was not able to preview any of the songs on my PC.

This is a nice collection of well-remembered (Love Potion #9) and not so well-remembered (D.W. Washburn) hits from the late 50's and early 60's. Most are still fun to listen to. Worth having in your collection at the right price.