Customer Reviews

The Drifters' Golden Hits

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

The review right below this one is the one you should pay attention to; the guy complaining about the short running time and "acoustic versions" is, uh, high. As you probably already know if you're looking at this page, "Stand By Me" isn't even a Drifters song...Ben E. King did that one solo.

This is a very nice collection that really includes all of what the Drifters had to offer...they existed in the later years of the "hit single" era, pre-album rock, and all their best singles are definitely included here. I owned this hits collection on vinyl before I got it on disc, and I've always really loved it for what it is: a nice portrait of a truly groundbreaking, genre-bending early 60s R&B act.

If you're an audophile who likes the sound of old records popping and warped tapes getting louder and softer, this recording could be for you. If you want your recordings to sound crisp, this isn't. And if you want your greatest hits of a group to be the classic recording, not of some other version with less colorful instrumentation, this isn't for you. "Under the Boardwalk," "Up on the Roof," and "Stand by Me" are not performed with the instruments that made them classics. Most of the stuff here are in acoustics. "There Goes My Baby" sounds as though it had been "remastered" from worn tapes, with pops and wavering dynamics. With only a little more than twenty-four minutes of playing time, this is one CD Drifters fan can avoid!

Released in 1968, this set chronicled the golden era of the Drifters (1959-1964). This starts right off with the sound of the "new" Drifters with Ben E. King on lead: "There Goes My Baby"; timeless classic. Next "If You Cry" and "Dance With Me" a double-sided hit; both very nice, nice songs. I dig the string arrangements. The hits continue with "This Magic Moment" and
"Save The Last Dance For Me." "I Count The Tears" is one I always liked because of the "na-na-na-na-na late at night", and that's right; the Grass Roots copied that for "Let's Live For Today." Uh-uh. "Some Kind Of Wonderful" is some kind of gem; it hardly gets any attention. "Up On The Roof" and "On Broadway" feature Rudy Lewis on vocal and are ageless songs. "Under The Boardwalk" and the answer to it, "I've Got Sand In My Shoes" are really crafty and neat songs as well as "Saturday Night At The Movies" which I loved ever since I first heard it. Those three feature Johnny Moore. The Drifters were one of Atlantic Records best-selling groups and their songs are absolutely timeless and ageless never seeming to grow old. They sort of transport you to another place where you can escape the outside world. The Rhino compilation is the best alternative for this one because of track number and sound quality. Yes, this one is pretty short but the sound is quite good actually and a lot of songs are in stereo. If you're an original album collector liking to collect CD versions of old LPs, this is a definitive set.

THE DRIFTERS GOLDEN HITS was a dog in 1968, and it's still flea-bitten and barking 40-plus years later. One of the first-ever collections of vocal group "retreads," the versions here are inferior to the classic Drifters 50s ATLANTIC records tracks.

(1½ woofs)

TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 29:41

Recommended:
Rockin & Driftin: THE DRIFTERS BOX is the one to get!

I don't kknow if the band re-recorded these songs in 1968 or not , but this set is awesome. The songs here are truly monsters and beyond classic. "Saturday night at the movies' , 'this magic moment' 'some kind of wonderful' (grand funk had a great hit versoin of this in the 70's), 'up on the roof" , "on broadway" and others. the sound here is fine, I don't know what the complaint was about from one reviewer. Obviously this band made some great music and were having hits back before these songs , way back to 1950. rock and roll really goes back to the 40's but it didn't get it's name until 1954 or so. SO this band was rockin' way back, The boxset is better but this is a great collection of superhits.

Of all the singing groups of the rock-n-roll era, the Drifters simply
revolutionized music with an inimitable sound. The combination of: European/concert string melodies, Latin syncopation, and R&B voices,
created a sound never to be duplicated or forgotten. The group was blessed
with a multitude of lead singers and wonderful harmony. Their music was
"class." Only after the tragic and untimely death of Rudy Lewis did the
group begin the wane. I have followed the history of many singers and
groups and have done research into the background of their personnel and
history. Although their music was not Gospel/religious, the music seemed
to bring heaven and love a little closer

As one of my all time favorite groups, this cd lives up to the respect I have for the Drifters, a pleasure to listen to and brings back some fond memories, a must for your collection...Tommy

I am a sucker for anything by 'The Drifters';I don't believe they ever came out with a bad song.This compilation of their music from '59 to '64 is hard to beat,even as the lead singers changed from Ben E. King to Rudy Lewis to Johnny Moore.Listening to this,it's impossible not to be reminded how far popular music
has drifted-in the wrong direction.

JOHNNY MOORE sang: Under the Boardwalk, I've Got Sand in My Shoes, Saturday Night at the Movies.

RUDY LEWIS (d. 1964 of a heart attack, R.I.P.) sang: Some Kind of Wonderful, Up on the Roof, On Broadway.

JOHNNY LEE WILLIAMS sang: If You Cry (True Love, True Love).

BEN E. KING sang all the rest: There Goes My Baby, Dance With Me, This Magic Moment, Save the Last Dance for Me, I Count the Tears. PHEW!

(If he hadn't left, you could have added Spanish Harlem and Stand by Me to the list!)

These are the original recordings of the Drifter's greatest hits. This is one super album. We all grew up on this album.

If you totally didn't know what you were doing, and took a chance buying this album, you would be buying one of the greatest albums ever recorded.

This is just beautiful music that everyone from babies to grandparents love. If you don't like the Drifers (like Louis Armstrong), you ain't human!