Customer Reviews

Frankie Laine: 16 Most Requested Songs

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Hello there! I'm pleased to see Frankie Laine albums offered on the Net. I became acquainted with his music when I was about 13 years old and began collecting his albums at that time. I now have them all..even some very old 78 rpm's. Um...that gives away my age, doesn't it? ;-)) I'm just pleased to see that the younger generation can now listen to and appreciate the voice of the greatest singer of all time....Frankie Laine...the man who was my teenage idol!! By the way, I've been writing to Mr. Laine for the past several years..and have a number of letters from him. He's a WONDERFUL, decent gentleman. I DO hope all of you pick up his book..."That Lucky Old Son", written by Mr. Laine. It's really great and gives a lot of information on his life...and his music. Again...thank you for devoting this space to promote his albums..er...CD's. Keep up the great work!!

Another reviewer wonders why a "16 Most Requested Songs" volume would not include That's My Desire and Mam'selle. One might also ask why neither of Mule Train or The Cry Of The Wild Goose were included as well, and the simple answer is, all were recorded during his early days as a solo artist with the Mercury label and this volume was released by Columbia, the label he joined in 1951.

And that's part of the problem with this one, because That Lucky Old Sun [# 1 in 1949] was also a Mercury release and so the rendition included at track 13 is not the original. The other part of the problem is, it's hard to believe that producer Michael Brooks' formula for compiling 16 most requested songs would include Blowing Wild (The Ballad Of Black Gold - a # 21 in late 1953, its flipside, Answer Me, Lord Above - a # 24, and The Kid's Last Fight - # 20 in March 1954. Each was a legitimate hit, but in comparison to some Columbia cuts left out, were of the minor variety.

Not that there's anything particularly wrong with their inclusion in this volume, as each is well done and very definitely in the unique Frankie Laine style. But if the contents are actually based upon some kind of survey [which I doubt] I cannot believe that several key Columbia cuts never made the final cut.

These would be: Sugarbush, a 1952 duet with Doris Day that reached # 7; Tell Me A Story - the Jimmy Boyd collaboration that rose to # 4 in 1953; two of his duets with Jo Stafford - Hey, Good Lookin' [# 9 in 1951] and Hambone [# 6 in 1952]; and Humming Bird [# 17 in 1955]. Or how about his classic cover of the Hank Williams C&W smash, Your Cheatin' Heart, which reached # 18 as the flip of I Believe? Or the # 14 Some Day which peaked in July 1954?

Any four of those in place of the tracks mentioned (and That Lucky Old Sun) would have turned this into a 5-star release, because for what is here the sound quality is excellent and you get four pages of liner notes in the form of an interview with Frankie compiled by Fred Binkley.

Perhaps, as with the Johnny Mathis "16 Most Requested" volume there will be a "16 More Most Requested." They certainly have enough material to choose from in terms of his Columbia years. Or, better still, maybe some outfit like Bear Family of Germany or Ace Records of London will get the green light to do a proper compilation.

Why cant someone come up with a CD that has both "That's my desire", and "Mamselle" on the same disc? I can't believe that these are'nt in the "16 most requested"!!!