Customer Reviews

The Drifters - All-Time Greatest Hits & More: 1959-1965

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Talk about playing up to the uniform...you have to wonder if manager George Treadwell knew more than 40 years ago that when he recrowned a struggling black group, the Crowns, with the even-then legendary monicker "The Drifters," that he would introduce a second half-decade of hits and jump-start the legendary soul era.

But the songs on "All-Time Greatest Hits And More," did just that, and are among early rock and roll's most elegant and enduring. Credit this to lyrically precise compositions by the best songwriters of the day (Cynthia Weil-Barry Mann, Gerry Goffin-Carole King, Doc Pomus-Mort Shuman) meeting dramatic, orchestral production (from legendary producers Jerry Wexler, Jerry Leiber-Mike Stoller, and Bert Berns) meeting distinctive vocals from Charlie Thomas, Ben E. King, Rudy Lewis, and Johnny Moore.

You hear little histrionics and vocal effects here that today date (but also charm) much 50s vocal group music. Instead, you feel the rhythmic Latin pulse of "Save The Last Dance For Me" and the gorgeous "Sweets For My Sweet" (featuring excellent King and Thomas leads, respectively), Phil Spector's famous guitar intro to "On Broadway," the swinging sway of the upbeat "What To Do," Johnny Moore's tribute to summer past and to co-member Rudy Lewis on "Under the Boardwalk," recorded the day Lewis died. This album captures what any city, particularly early 1960s New York City in summer, must have felt and sounded like at its most romantic. Colin Escott's thorough liner notes chart the history of the Drifters, their label, management, and production during this critical period.

This 2CD set was released concurrently in 1988 with "Let The Boogie Woogie Roll" which covered the early Drifters hits with Clyde McPhatter on lead. It's a different sounding Drifters, but equally compelling and worth seeking. For now, "All-Time Greatest Hits" is among the most complete Drifters collections short of Rhino's "Rockin' and Driftin'" box set; seek only Atlantic or Rhino Records' collections for this essential music at its original best.

The Drifters were onne of those groups that went through a lot of line-up changes, so let's first clear up any confusion first. There was a group with that name before 1959 - it feautured Clyde McPhatter and recorded some wonderful R+B, some of which is available on other CD's. That group was disbanded, and a totally different group was given the Drifters name. It is that line-up, featuring Ben E King, that opens this collection (which is presented in chronological order). Ben left after Save the last dance for me to pursue a solo career. His solo hits are not included in this collection, which is why Spanish Harlem and Stand by me are missing. You can obtain these recordings on Ben's own albums, although I've also seen Drifters compilations which include Ben's solo hits.

So, what you get here are forty of the finest tracks from their best period, including Save the last dance for me, There goes my baby, Dance with me, On Broadway, Some kind of wonderful, One way love, Up on the roof, Under the boardwalk, Saturday night at the movies, When my little girl is smiling, Sweets for my sweet and others - all huge American hits. Only Save the last dance for me was a big hit in Britain for the Drifters, because record companies at that time often found local singers to cover the songs and they had the hits instead. This shameful practice died out by the end of the sixties.

Even with all their hits included, there is plenty of room to explore their B-sides and album tracks. All the ones included here are excellent, but my favorite is their cover of Stranger on the shore, an extremely sad song which which was a huge instrumental hit for clarinetist Acker Bilk. Many vocal versions of this song exist, but the Drifters sing it as well as anybody.

After 1965 (which marks the end of this compilation), the Drifters didn't have much success in America, but they enjoyed a new wave of popularity in the seventies in Britain, where they had several top ten hits. Even as a Brit, I prefer their sixties music, but anybody interested in their seventies music should seek out a British compilation.

This is the one, folks! Although Clyde McPhatter made some memorable songs in the early '50s as lead singer for the Drifters (songs later covered successfully by other name artists), the Drifters we most remember had Ben E. King or one of the seven others (count them) who followed him as lead singer. They are all in this compilation. Everybody has a favorite of these; although I like all the "A" sides (and many of the B's), I have always been fond of "Please Stay" (Don't Go) which is virtually never played on the radio. Today many of the Drifters are gone and various groups travel the country singing their songs (sometimes alternately appearing as The Coasters). If you want the real deal, though, this is it. By the way, in case you didn't know, Ben E. King "left" the group because the other members of the group failed to show up for a recording session and his product was released under his name only. Do you remember the name of it?

There are so many bad remakes of Drifters classics that you will be pleased to know that this album contains all original material - including the distortion on "Under the Boardwalk". Better to have the original with the distortion than a poor remake eh?

Only disappointment is that the collection stops short of "I'll take you where the Music's Playing" and "Baby What I Mean".

For those of us who were teenagers when this music first appeared (40 years ago!), it was a grand time. The Drifters were the first R&B/RnR group to use string instruments as a signature. Lead singer Ben E. King continued that innovation in his solo career, where he recorded "Stand By Me" and "Spanish Harlem", among others. I bought this CD for its "B" sides, including "I Don't Want to Go on Without You." These guys preceded the Temptations and Boyz II Men. But their music is as fresh and powerful as ever. Listening to it is still a grand time well spent.

Together with Elvis Presley, Phil Spector's bands, The Everly Brothers, The Beatles, Dusty Springfield, The Beach Boys, some from Motown, Brenda Lee, The Rolling Stones or Tina Turner among others, The Drifters have also written their page in Rock'n'Roll history, a fact that I don't realise whether it has been some time acknowledged.

The legendary group recorded songs that are today timeless pop or R&B classics; Save The Last Dance For Me, Dance With Me, Sweets For My Sweet, Some Kind Of Wonderful, When My Little Girl is Smiling, On Broadway, my personal best favourites: Up On The Roof, At The Club, Under the Boardwalk, and This Magic Moment, are only some gems of their musical legacy. They have been covered by dozens of artists and they still continue to be covered by others.
The Drifters' choice of songs and songwriters were exemplary: Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman, Bacharach, Hilliard, David, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Bert Russell, Jerry Ragovoy, Goffin/King, Kenny Young, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, almost all the best of the 60s.

A must-have for those who love 60's music, for collectors and also for those who feel curious about all the richness and beauty the music of that time gave the world.

"The Drifers - The Greatest Hits" (ASIN:B0013SGTQ2) is manifestly NOT original material. I can hear synthesizers in the mix.

I read some of the other reviews which claimed this collection was original material and then purchased without verification. Mistake. If you read these reviews, you are going to get a mixed message about whether or not this collection is original material. Please listen to samples before you purchase and make up your own mind.

Acting on the jist of reviews for this recording, I downloaded "Under the Boardwalk" for a family function. This is NOT the original track. Very disappointing. I don't know who the guys are on the recording, and altthough I'll bet they put on a nice lounge act someplace, the contemporary instruments, the contemporary recordings, and the totally different voices are very disappointing. I haven't bothered to sample the others- once bitten, as it were. Save your money.

The Drifters are alway good. This album is good. I purchased it.

But,
those that are looking for the very late fifties and early sixties singing, will take exception with some of the songs of old provided.

Why?
The Drifters had featured singers and background vocals changing even with the same song (there were at least 12 different performers). The melodies and harmonics can be very easy or hard to distinguish -they sound a little different- with these changes.

Solution,
Take advantage of the "MP3 Downloads" here and select your individual choice or recollation of the songs. Also do a "bing" on "drifters original recordings" for assistance.

It is difficult to describe the kind of sheer joy and sense of freedom which comes from listening to one song here 'Up on the Roof'. I believe it to be one of the greatest of all pop songs and one which most perfectly expresses that desire to in pure kind of joy , a freedom in joy which comes most naturally in youth.
It is one of the songs which have stayed with me all through the years, and gives pleasure to this day.
There are other fine pieces here, including ' On Broadway' but being up on the roof with the Drifters is as high in my opinion as pop music can go.