Customer Reviews

Del Shannon - Greatest Hits

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Gotta love this guy. "Runaway" is easily one of rocks single greatest songs, but there's a couple lesser-known gems hidden on this comprehensive disc.

"So Long Baby" is fabulous. Deep horn blasts underscore Del's dismissive lyrics. Del makes it clear there is no way this chick burned him more than he burned her. Why isn't this gem in more oldies rotations?

Sadly, Del spent a lot of time on sappy spineless ballads, and Rhino saw fit to include all of them here. Still, this is a great collection of Del's lesser known work.

Del's raucous cover of the Beatle's "From Me to You" is an unexpected surprise.

Like all things Rhino, the liner notes are complete and entertaining. Unklike most things Rhino, some of these cuts don't seem as sterlized as they might be. Actually, the static under "Runaway" just makes it that much cooler.

The only Shannon CD you really need to own (unless you are a diehard and you need to buy the Bear Family box set). Del Shannon was a 60s rocker who sometimes get lumped in with Four Seasons and other pop stars of the time, but he was very unique, much different from his so-called contemporaries. Unlike the happy bubblegum sounds of Frankie Vallie, Shannon was much more downbeat. He prefered heartbreak ballads to love songs, and his vocals always conveyed desperation and loneliness. "Runaway" is about a man wondering where to go in life after a breakup, and "Hats Off to Larry" is about a man's ex being let go herself. Okay, maybe I'm looking way too deep into this. The fact is that in addition to wondeful songwriting, its great pop music. Is there any true oldies stations out there where "Runaway" isn't a staple on the playlist? My one minor complaint is that they didn't include the version of "Do You Want to Dance" that was on Rhino's "Grandson of Frat Rock". Still, it's a great song. The Amazon editorial review said that "Swiss Maid" and "Sue's Gotta Be Mine", and while they are legions away from "Cry Myself to Sleep" or "Follow the Sun", they're not bad filler at all. One of Rhino's best "Best of", hopefully this one doesn't go out of print like many other Rhino classics have.

If rock's premier stoic was Roy Orbison, then Del Shannon was its leading paranoid. Most of his great hits have an aura of doom and gloom about them. On the surface, they seem like typical upbeat rock hits of the era, but the lyrics are often about feeling lonely and alienated. Anyway, this CD features all his hits (and misses), other than his '80s comeback hit "Sea of Love". This is great stuff, and I highly recommend it.

The song runaway is perhaps one of the top twenty or so great rock songs of this century. Also the sheer invention of track three is almost enough to place Shannon in the proto-punk category. a real great disc that aims to please, and hits the bullseye dead center.Del Shannon is a name that ought to be thrown around a lot more.

The hits (and misses)of a oft-overlooked artist. 'Stranger In Town' belongs on every "oldies" station playlist. 'Runaway' is certainly the best known of his songs, but there is much more here worth listening to and remembering.

Del Shannon wasn't your typical early 60s teen idol- sure, his music was catchy and exuberant, with lyrics that focused on the ins and outs of young love; he still sounds nothing like the Four Seasons. For one thing, the guy knew how to rock. Even his poppier numbers had the kind of driving rhythms and visceral energy that charactarized rock 'n' roll in its purest form. Shannon's voice, even at its most sugar-coated, was as raw and rough as Elvis' or Chuck Berry's. Just listen to how he tears his way through the Beatles' "From Me To You," sharpening the song's rock 'n' roll edge while retaining its relentless catchiness. Same goes for his covers of "Do You Wanna Dance" and "Handyman."

However, Shannon's greatest power (and what really distinguished him from ontemporary artists) was his songwriting ability. His hook-filled melodies concealed some of the most cynical, paranoid, and bitter lyrics ever penned. In fact, the best songs here drip with unprecidented venom. "Hats Off To Larry" sees Del praising the guy who broke his ex girlfriend's heart, declaring "He told you lies/ now it's your turn to cry" with unrestrained glee. Meanwhile, "Stranger In Town" and "Little Town Flirt" find the singer at his most paranoid. "Cry Myself To Sleep" and "Runaway" (the latter being the set's most well-known song) are darkly catchy howlers with bruised, lovelorn lyrics. "Sister Isabelle-" in which Shannon laments the love of his life's choice to become a nun- is a darkly funny, and unquestionably awesome, rocker.

Sadly, there are a few missteps- Shannon made his share of concessions to the world of mainstream pop, resulting in several schmaltzy throwaways. "The Swiss Maid" and "Two Kinds Of Teardrops" are particularly offensive (the latter's lyrics simply can't be taken seriously, while the former features some ill-advised yodeling). "Sue's Gotta Be Mine" takes a similar path, but at least it has a catchy melody. "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow The Sun)" and "That's The Way Love Is" are simply boring (compared to the best songs here, anyway).

But we can't let a few duds ruin our fun, can we? There's some really great music here, and any fan of early 60s rock or pop should totally dig this.

I had all the singles here in the '60s and, although not usually nostalgic, I bought this just to see how they had lasted. "Runaway" is one of the great tracks of popular music from any era. But there are at least five others here which are almost equally fresh, exciting, and dynamic. These songs were truly innovative, with intelligent emotionally-charged lyrics, and blasted out by Shannon as if he felt every word. Remember, when these came out the market was for insipid pap like "Please don't ask about Barbara" by Bobby Vee! Shannon's typically ballsy response to losing his girl is "So long baby". Fresh as paint!

Talk about underrated.

Charles Westover --- he called himself Del Shannon because he liked a would-be wrestler named Mark Shannon and he admired his boss's car, a Cadillac Coupe de Ville --- was a Michigan kid who was playing guitars in bar bands before he was old enough to drink.

But as the leader of Charlie Johnson and the Big Little Show Band, he had a career going nowhere fast.

Then Max Crook, his keyboard player, started fooling around on his Musitron, a kind of prehistoric synthesizer.

And that became "Runaway," a song that makes my heart beat faster every time I hear it --- and I've heard it a zillion times since it was released in 1961. It's a great show-biz story. Westover finished writing the lyrics sitting on a roll of carpets at the Carpet Outlet, where he was a salesman. It became an instant favorite on the Michigan bar circuit. And then he was summoned to New York to record it.

Max Crook: "A special feature that the studio had integrated into their phone system was a direct hook-up from their mixer board, so that record executives could play the just-recorded tunes via telephone with reasonable fidelity to distributors around the country. Before 'Runaway' was fully mixed, there were pre-orders for over 90,000 copies!"

For all that, Shannon and Crook and their wives couldn't afford another night in a New York hotel --- in freezing weather, they drove a rusted-out car home to Michigan.

Fame came fast --- "Runaway" was a double winner. The music was compelling and original. And the message --- "I think of the things we've done/ Together, while our hearts were young" --- was the ultimate teen anthem.

More hits followed. Del Shannon was a great musician -- Mark Knopfler: "Del Shannon was the reason I picked up my first guitar" --- but the songs were too popular to be considered as art. Shannon was relegated to the oldies circuit. Drinking followed.

I cannot imagine that playing for an audience which remembers how you --- and they --- were way back then compensates for being stuck in small clubs two hundred nights a year. And maybe each stab at a comeback grated on a guy who believed he'd never really gone away.

Still, when Tom Petty showed up, you'd think that would pull any musician out of the doldrums. And, from all reports, it did. Shannon sobered up, ran, lost weight --- and completed, under Petty's direction, most of a new album. Then Roy Orbison died, and, rumor had it, Shannon might be the one chosen to replace him on a Traveling Wilburys tour.

That good news makes the end incomprehensible. In 1990, when he was 55, Del Shannon put a rifle to his head and blasted himself beyond all worldly concerns. He was not, the police noted, wearing his toupe.

What to say? "But his music is immortal." Lord, I hate that chatter --- Shannon's music was immortal the first time he played "Runaway." And the rest of his hits make for a collection that a lot of music lovers would call "necessary."

And more: Shannon didn't make bubblegum music. His songs were about loss and heartbreak, and they were light years from cliché:

Once I had a pretty girl,
Her name it doesn't matter;
She went away with another guy--
Now he won't even look at her...

Hats off to Larry,
He broke your heart,
Just like you broke mine when you
Said we must part.
He told you lies, now it's
Your turn to CRY CRY CRY-Y
Now that Larry said goodbye to you.

The other night, I went to see a singer-songwriter perform most of his new CD. I love his stuff --- and his new songs are state of the art. But he began the evening with a bunch of oldies: the Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash, Eddie Cochran. And he did "Runaway."

There's something about that song, even when there's no one playing the genius keyboard solo. And what it is, I think, is this --- it gets to the essence of what popular music could be sometimes (and now almost never is). That is, it's urgent, crisp, heartfelt. And musically rich.

After Shannon died, Tom Petty recorded a song that begins:

It was a beautiful day, the sun beat down
I had the radio on, I was driving
Trees flew by, me and Del were singing
Little Runaway.
I was flying.

Exactly.

Del Shannon sure could sing out those great songs of his; and this album is guaranteed to bring back fond memories of those days when his tunes were always on the radio! The quality of the sound is excellent and the artwork is very nicely done.

"Runaway" starts the CD strong with Del Shannon showing off his broad vocal range. He jumps from tenor to falsetto effortlessly; and the musical arrangement shines like gold! There's also "Hats Off To Larry;" this was always one of my favorites by Del Shannon and whenever I hear this I always turn up the volume. Del Shannon again switches back and forth between tenor and falsetto; this impresses me a lot. The arrangement for "Hats Off To Larry" really has that early rock and roll flavor to it--awesome!

"Little Town Flirt" is another hit for Del Shannon; I really like the backup vocalists and Del Shannon sings this with heart and soul. His excellent diction bolsters his performance and I like the musical arrangement. "From Me To You" is a great cover of a song by The Beatles; Del Shannon pays tribute to them while putting his own stamp on this beautiful ballad.

"Two Silhouettes" has a great early rock flavor to it also; and the backup vocalists harmonize well. "That's The Way Love Is" impresses me as Del sings this with great passion. He is truly able to express all the feelings in this song.

"Do You Want To Dance" is another great ballad that Del Shannon puts his own stamp on; and the musical arrangement is performed rather well. "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow The Sun)" gets the royal treatment from Del Shannon; I really like this ballad.

The album ends great with "Sister Isabelle;" Del Shannon sings this like a pro and the rockin' arrangement is awesome! Del Shannon never sings a superfluous note and I think you will enjoy "Sister Isabelle."

Anyone who knows anything at all about Del Shannon is aware that, while in Germany with the U.S. Army, he had his own radio show [Get Up And Go], that he wrote hits for others [I Go To Pieces by Peter & Gordon is an example], and that he was inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in 1999 - nine years after he committed suicide on February 8, 1990.

He also had 17 Billboard Pop Hot 100 hits from 1961 to 1982, some of them compulsory on any serious 1960s retrospective collection. Such as his first, the smash Runaway which spent four weeks at # 1 Hot 100, and hit # 3 R&B early in 1961, or the follow-up Hats Off To Larry [# 5 Hot 100 that summer].

His first nine hits were for Big Top [all here], including his last with that label, From Me To You. Written by the then relatively unknown duo Lennon and McCartney, it reached # 77 Hot 100 in July 1963. That year he formed his own label, Berlee, but had just the one hit there - Sue's Gotta Be Mine which topped out at # 71 Hot 100 in December. That too is here.

The following year he turned up with Amy and added five more Hot 100 hits there, including Handy Man [# 22] and Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow The Sun), which became his third-best hit ever at # 9 in December 1964, and Stranger In Town, a # 30 in early 1965.

For some reason, the producer at Rhino chose to leave off his only other Amy hit, Break Up, which made it to # 95 in June 1965, while including the uncharted flipside, Why Don't You Tell Him [another B-side is Kelly which backed Two Kinds Of Teardrops, a # 50 in May 1963]. They also left out his only hit with Liberty, 1966's The Big Hurt [# 94], and his final hit which came 15 years later for the Network label when Sea Of Love, produced by Tom Petty, reached # 25 Adult Contemporary and # 33 Hot 100 in early 1982.

Still, one of - if not THE - best Del Shannon hit collections, all originals which you will find yourself listening to over and over again.