Customer Reviews

Collection

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

 

 

I've owned every one of Lee's albums for going on 30 years now - even the HORRIBLE "Space and First Takes" album. His first 5 were great - each in it's own way. No two were the same, and reflected the attitude that Lee had at the moment. sometimes he wanted to craft a song, sometimes he just laid 'em down.

I also picked up this collection before the individual albums became available (now I have them, too). While it doesn't have all of my favorites, it does have a lot of them. If you want to hear the development of a decent writer, great keyboardist and vocalist, this would be a good choice.

Give it a listen and trip back to the late 60's.

The main issue I have with this CD is the version of " Heighty hi " is a short one which ruins the song . I bought this CD just for that piece , very disappointed . If a CD has a neutered version of a classic song at least put the playing time in the advertisement . I can't imagine Michaels allowing that song in particular to be so butchered .

Lee Michaels had a Billboard top three hit in 1973 with the song Do You Know What I Mean. That powerful rocker is included here, but this album shows that there was more to the artist than the solitary hit. Unique amongst the rock artists of the time, Michaels gives the organ pride of place in his music. There are also other unusual instruments like harpsichord in the mix.

The music is basically rock, but there are major psychedelic and R&B influences too. Songs that really stand out include the impressive Carnival Of Life with its complex arrangement, the catchy If I Lose You with its lovely pop melody, and the lilting Heighty Hi that reminds me a little of the typical Motown classic of the early 1970s! I also love Stormy Monday with its funky organ and its James Brownesque vocals, which is a real tour de force, the passionate ballad Uummmm My Lady, and the rhythmic Can I Get A Witness.

Of course the hit Do You Know What I Mean still packs a punch and remains his most memorable song. The album concludes with Hold On To Freedom, another strong rock song with a rhythm and blues feel. Lee Michaels was an obscure talent of the late 1960s/early 1970s, but this album proves that his contribution was significant since the music has aged well. The successful blend of different styles definitely sets Michaels apart from his contemporaries.

This is the Best Lee Michaels "best of" cd to get therefore the 5 stars. It's out of print but still able to be found without too much effort. There are 3 Lee Michaels "best of" cds that I know of. 1. Hello- Very Best Of, 2. Best Of and 3. Lee Michaels-Collection which this review is for. The only one still available is Hello-Very Best Of which is the poorest of the three with less tracks and other shortcomings like a severily (only 1/4 as long) cut version of the great medley: Tell Me How You Feel.... The other Best Of has 19 tracks but omits "Murder In My Heart For The Judge", etc to include lesser songs. Lee Michaels-Collection may not have "all" his best songs but it does have 18 tracks and good sound quality. So unless you want to search high and low and spend big bucks on his very hard to find, pricey out of print cds, this is the one to get. If you have the time and money to invest forget this one and get a few of his OOP early cds instead.

Lee Michaels was a great singer, and a great keyboardist, but only a marginal songwriter. He also had a penchant for, as many 1960's artists did, utilizing music to advance social commentary. As a result, he basically drove record company executives, and probably more than a few of his friends and musical associates, crazy. What would you do with a performer who, after all, laments over his career by saying, "I guess I should have tried to make good records all the time"? Well, duhhhh.... But that doesn't mean that Michaels' six studio albums (plus a self-marketed 1981 album titled 'Absolute Lee' not represented here) didn't contain some good tunes, in spite of Lee's apathetic attitude. A number of them are collected here, as Rhino records attempted, in 1992, to glean the finest work from a catalog replete with nearly every style of music imaginable, from rock to gospel to psychedelic to romantic ballad.

Lee Michaels prided himself on his West Coast heritage, and as such made use of session musicians like drummer Johnny Barbata, who also lent his talents to California's finest, such as Crosby, Stills and Nash and The Turtles. In his own eclectic style, however, Lee also drew accompaniment from unlikely backgrounds, such as guitarist Drake Levin, who cut his teeth with the Midwest garage band 'Paul Revere and The Raiders'. Levin showcased his considerable talents on sparse Michaels' productions such as 'Barrel'. Other name performers making appearances on Michaels' releases include Merry Clayton (best known for her vocal work on the Rolling Stones' 'Gimme Shelter'), providing vocal support on '5th', and Larry Knechtel, future member of the band 'Bread', playing bass on 'Recital'. The track selections emphasize Michaels' mid-career efforts such as 'Barrel', which featured only Lee, Levin, and "Frosty" Smith on drums, and '5th', both claiming four tracks out of the eighteen offered. Michaels' debut LP, titled 'Carnival of Life', and his second release, 'Recital' claim three tracks each, while the self-titled 'Lee Michaels' affords the artists' best cover ('Stormy Monday'), and 'Do You Know What I Mean' sound-alike track, 'Heighty Hi' (this being the edited, single version). Lee's last studio album for A & M records, 'Space and First Takes' contributes only one track. Rounding out the collection is the rare b-side to the 1969 anti-war single, 'The War', a worthy rock track driven by a cowbell and funky Motown background singers titled 'Goodbye, Goodbye'. Michaels' affinity for social commentary is most evident on 'The War', taking on would-be Vietnam servicemen with questions like, "how would you like to see a baby burn... could you march on and kill one more"? Michaels seldom minced words. He answers his own question in 'Thumbs', as an advocate of hitchhiking away the draft, and tendering another question... "what are you going for"? The latter song features some ominous guitar sounds along with a funky wah-pedal.

Among the other better tracks are the romping and rolling, all-hands-on-deck opener, 'Hello', which resoundingly heralded Michaels' emergence on vinyl. 'Grocery Soldier' ironically follows 'The War', but tells a slightly tongue-in-cheek tale of a friend of Lee's who was arrested for attempting to shoplift dinner. 'If I Lose You', 'Uummmm My Lady', and even Lee's single Top Ten hit, 'Do You Know What I Mean' show Lee's capability with relationship-based themes, a talent he resisted nurturing. Michaels' abilities with O.P.'s (other peoples...) include his bouncy rendition of 'Can I Get a Witness', his 'The Band' sound-alike version of 'Murder In My Heart (For the Judge)', and his sultry cover of 'Rock Me Baby', featuring delicious lyrics such as "rock me baby like my back ain't got no bone". Such lines were written for voices like Michaels'.

I have a CD of Lee's third album, and owned a vinyl copy of '5th' while in college. The tracks on 'Collection' have been remastered, and the improvement in sound quality is noticeable. On 'Heighty Hi', for instance, Lee's understated organ is brought to life, adding dimension to the track. True to Rhino Records form, the liner notes are informative, well-written, and relevant, and the track listings are detailed, although running times are omitted (all the tracks are in the 3 minute range, however, with the exception of the worthy investment of 5:19 in 'Stormy Monday'). Even Rhino could better itself, however, by including printed lyrics as standard fare on each and every CD. If you're wont to spend serious cash on some of Michaels' rare and out-of-print studio discs, one of his several compilation discs should do the trick. The disc needs a little heavier rock presence to squeeze a '4' out of me, so we'll call it a '3'.

I purchased this CD soley because of "Do You Know What I Mean". Far and away Lee Michael's best song. After listening to this CD twice, it doesn't sound as dated as some of my other CD's from this era (late 60's early 70's), however that may be because I have never heard any of the others before. It is interesting to read in the linear notes that Lee didn't care so much for "Do You Know What I Mean". He says he wrote the lyric at 5 a.m. one morning and it doesn't mean anything to me. This song is different from most of the others on the CD, but I enjoyed the one song a lot, so took a chance on the others. Probably would not encourage others to purchase it unless they are interested in the music from this era. Is keyboard heavy with drums on background for most of the songs, not the wailing guitar that was dominant at the time.