Customer Reviews

Frankie Valli - Greatest Hits

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Four Seasons were the fourth biggest singles group of the sixties, only the Beatles, Supremes, and Beach Boys were bigger. When Frankie Valli went solo, it must have seemed like a no-brainer that he'd be a huge star. He started releasing singles in 1966 with some success -- including the lush, string-filled smash "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (#2 in 1967). However, by 1969 his career had faded.

Fortunately, Frankie was one of a handful of sixties male acts whose careers were resurrected in the mid-seventies, along with Neil Sedaka and Paul Anka. Specifically, he hit with the gorgeous ballad "My Eyes Adored You" (#1 in 1975). He followed that hit up with several others, including the disco-fied "Swearin' to God" (#6 in 1975) and "Our Day Will Come" (#11 in 1975) a dance-tinged remake of the sixties hit by Ruby & the Romantics. In addition, he had the biggest hit of his career with the title song from the movie adaptation of "Grease" (#1 for 2 weeks in 1978).

All of these songs are on "Greatest Hits," as well as two moderate hits -- "To Give (The Reason I Live) (#29 in 1968) and "You're Gonna Hurt Yourself" (#39 in 1966). The only miss is "Soul," which sounds like an early, cheesier version of "Fame."

I love Frankie Valli's falsetto, and many of these hits use his gorgeous vocals to magical effect. However, this collection could have benefitted from being organized chronologically, as his sixties hits sound extremely different from his mid-seventies singles. Listening to the danceable seventies music and then jumping back to a melodramatic sixties hit is a bit jarring. Frankie really had two careers, and this CD should have reflected that more explicitly. Also, the liner notes are sparse, with only writing and publishing credits listed for each song. The music is great, but the collection could have been a tad better.

After a string of hits with The 4 Seasons, Frankie Valli decided it was time to try his hand at a solo career. The result was a long line of chart hits, 2 of which made the top spot, 3 additional top 10 hits and several more that made the top 30.

Beginning with the number one hit "My Eyes Adored You", "Frankie Valli: Greatest Hits" is off to a flying start. Any album that can boast "My Eyes Adored You", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "Swearin' To God" and "Grease" as its lead - off tracks is well worth your money. But it's the remaining 5 tracks that go deeper into Valli's legacy. I especially enjoyed "Soul" and the haunting "To Give (The Reason I Live)". But my favorite was his electrifying rendition of Ruby And The Romantics' "Our Day Will Come". Also worth checking out are "Your Gonna Hurt Yourself and "You're Ready Now".

I highly recommend this cd to fans of Valli and/or The Four Seasons. While there are collections with both his solo hits and Four Seasons hits, this one is cheaper and just as enjoyable. Also recommendes: "The 20 Greatest Hits Of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons Live".

I am a huge fan of the 4 Seasons and Frankie Valli is definitely my favorite singer, but his solo work just can't match the band's amazing string of hits. This isn't s knock on Valli's solo work, it's just a testament to the immense quality of the band's work. This album starts off with a bang with 2 of the first 4 songs being # 1 hits "My Eyes Adored You" (1975) and "Grease" (1978) from the hit movie of the same year; and one #2 hit "Can't Take My Eyes My Off Of You" (1967). THe rest of the album is fairly good material, with "To Give:The Reason I Live" and "Our Day Will Come" standing out. This album is a must for any serious fan of Valli, and even the casual fan will enjoy it for the strong prescence of 4 chart toppers out of 10 songs and also its budget price, but for the casual fan the non-chart toppers may be more 3 star or even 2 star work.

Although the first 5 tracks are classic songs that are a delight to hear, the other five are nothing special. If you really like Frankie's music it would be a much better investment to purchase the album titled "Very Best of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons." For just a couple dollars more you'll get all the favorites this album offers plus many he did with the Four Seasons (think: Walk Like a Man, Big Girls Don't Cry, etc). That one is a five star, but this one only gets three.

I remember all those great Philips 45s records of the Four Seasons which had "Featuring the Sound of Frankie Valli"--an official notarizing of the East Coast neo-Doo-Wop Frankie and the Jersy Boys were famous for. Initially, when Frankie started doing his solo records I felt betrayed somewhat on the order of when everyone was blaming Yoko Ono on the Beatles break-up, but for Frankie's first album, the ultra-rare "Frankie Valli Solo", there was a picture of Valli superimposed on a silver serving platter with Joe Long, Tommy Devito, Bob Gaudio, and Frankie Valli himself holding him up. This to me was the greatest thing in the world--not to have FV leave the group and have the FS's instumentation and vocal backing on most of his solo efforts--it even had liner notes/blessings of a sort from each Season and producer Bob Crewe. It was kind of special in its own way. Here are some of the great songs that came out of that initial solo album--"Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", "You're Gonna Hurt Yourself" "You're Ready Now", "Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" (which was recorded by the Statler Bros.) "To Give" from Valli's second solo album, "Timeless", is a Crewe/Gaudio composition that is stirring to this day. "Grease"--a song everybody loves-- and "My Eyes Adore You" are highlights from his 70s and 80s solo effort. The CD is, in other words, one you will never tire of.

Frankie Valli had a marvelous falsetto and his talent led him to a successful solo career after he worked with The Four Seasons. This is an album of some of Frankie's greatest hits.

"Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" is a `60s ballad that made girls swoon--I wonder why! LOL Frankie never sounded better and his voice is quite strong. The musical arrangement goes along with his vocals perfectly and overall "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" is quite a strong start for this album.

"My Eyes Adored You" always brings back memories of my former one true love; Frankie sings this so sweetly with all his heart and soul. I love this tender and touching ballad and I predict you will enjoy it, too. "Swearin' To God" is a more optimistic, joyful number as Frankie celebrates his one true love. The female backup chorus sounds great and Frankie never hits a bad note. "Swearin' To God" is truly one of Frankie Valli's greatest hits--ever.

"Grease" is from the show of the same name; and this funky `70s beat still sounds awesome today! I like the musical effects and Frankie performs this with an awful lot of style. I really like "Grease."

"Our Day Will Come" features Frankie at his best; and the `70s melody remains catchy, upbeat and pleasing to the ear. "Our Day Will Come" showcases Frankie's vocals squarely in the spotlight but the backup vocalists do a great job, too.

"The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" again proves Frankie Valli is a grand king of pop vocalists from the entire twentieth century. Great!

As another reviewer notes, the liner notes ARE sparse! We get the song credits but little else. I do like the picture of Frankie on the front cover of the artwork, however.

I have two complaints about this CD. First, the album really should have another song or two. A track list of ten songs is a bit too brief for my tastes. Second, other reviewers say that they should have presented the songs in chronological order; and I agree with them. It can be a bit jarring to listen to one song from the 1960s and then jump into a totally different style that Frankie may have used in the 1970s. Ouch! I will have to take off one and one-half stars to make this a three and one-half star review.

Frankie Valli will always be a giant amongst giants of the entertainment industry. This album does him some justice but as I noted just above there are two flaws with this album. Nevertheless, staunch Frankie Valli fans may choose to have this in their collections anyway.

My Eyes adored you is my cut from him.can't take my eyes off you is still a smooth jam as well.of course "Grease" which the Bee Gees wrote&you get there trademark production which matches Frankie's Falsetto on point.this is a really good collection.

The music was fine, but I really was looking for Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons. My fault as I wasn't paying enough attention to what I was ordering. If Anyone wants this copy, I'd be willing to part with it for what it cost me.

i liked every single song especially Can't Take My Eyes Off You.totally good stuff

Excellent CD. You just want to sing along with every cut. You feel like you're in an audience watching him perform. If you're a true fan, you shouldn't miss this one. Especially notable is "To Give" (The Reason I Live). It just gives me the chills each time I listen to it.