Downtown - The Greatest Hits of Petula Clark

Petula Clark | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 12, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 12, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Buddha
• ASIN: B00001T3H0
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,164 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Downtown

2. I Know a Place

3. You'd Better Come Home

4. My Love

5. A Sign of the Times

6. I Couldn't Live Without Your Love

7. Who Am I?

8. Colour My World

9. This Is My Song

10. Don't Sleep in the Subway

11. The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener

12. Kiss Me Goodbye

Editorial Reviews

This CD is an out of print collectible! It is the original 1999 release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MAYBE NOT HER GREATEST, BUT THE CHART HITS ARE HERE, September 29, 2000

By 

Thomas C. Rizzo, Jr. (Largo, Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Downtown - The Greatest Hits of Petula Clark (Audio CD)

To start, a couple of quibbles . . . there are already an extraordinary number of compilations featuring these tracks, so why this one, as well? Only die-hard Clark fans with a propensity to buy anything with her name splattered across the front will see a need to buy this if most of the music herein is on another CD you already have. And why not have expanded the collection to make it a complete history including all 15 of her U.S. Top 40 hits? Those thoughts aside, this is an ideal compilation for those who vaguely recall "that Girl who sang Downtown" and her string of bouncy, upbeat, sing-and-dance along single releases. The one that sent her to our shores in late 1964, the Grammy-winning "Downtown" is, to my mind, one of the most beautiful and enduring tunes to emerge from the "British Invasion" in its entirety. Originally intended for the Drifers, the song was actually little more than a title and opening chords when writer Tony Hatch first played it for Clark, who liked the sound and asked that he finish it for her to record. With no anticipation of its ultimate impact, she knocked it off in three takes, selected the second for release, and returned home to France to a life that was on the verge of major disruption. It's follow-up, "I Know a Place" won for Clark her second Grammy, and the remaining tracks here represent most of her output while with Warner Brothers, including the worldwide monster hits "My Love" and "This Is My Song". Although the 2-CD collection "Downtown to Sunset Boulevard" will give you all the single hits plus a lot more for your money, this is a good investment for those casual fans who have nothing at all by Clark on their shelves.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Totally disposable pop music--but absolutely infectious!, October 21, 1999

By 

Max (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Downtown - The Greatest Hits of Petula Clark (Audio CD)

What a relief to finally find a bargain priced CD of Petula where the first thing you hear isn't hiss. Everything here is lovingly mastered, with the instruments (the drums! the drums!) clearer and sharper than I've ever heard. The liner notes provide a brief, but entertaining career overview and as they say, you can trace her decline through this CD. The last few songs get pretty lame, as the influence of Edith Piaf seems to creep in, making her voice sound melodramatic and her phrasing way too mannered. While I would've included Round Every Cornor and begged to get Don't Give Up from Warners, the selection is a genuine best of. Petula's optimistic vocals and these soaring arrangements are the epitome of pop-as-guilty-pleasure: totally calculated, but just so-60's you have to smile. When Sign of the Times came on, I heard things I have never heard on that old collection-- I almost had a goose bump. But you can bet I'll never admit that to anyone else in public!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Recording Available, July 13, 2002

By 

Martin A Hogan "Marty From SF" (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Downtown - The Greatest Hits of Petula Clark (Audio CD)

Someone took great care in the transfer from analogue to digital on this collection. The abysmal "Greatest Hits of Petula Clark" has awful sound, having been directly recorded to ditigal. You cannot go wrong with this collection, even if there are four less songs. It all you need unless you are a completist.