Customer Reviews

Golden Classics Edition

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When someone mentions Robert Goulet, it triggers a memory.

Back in 1964, barely in my teens, I walked into my grandmother's
house one Saturday to find my two middle-aged aunts gushing over
a handsome male singer who was scheduled to appear on the Ed
Sullivan show.

I could not imagine who could elicit such a reaction.

One of my aunt's dashed from the room and returned, holding
a copy of the LP "My Love Forgive Me." The singer was Robert
Goulet.

Well, years later, late in my teens, and listening to the music
of my parent's generation instead of my own, I discovered what
all the fuss was about.

Robert Goulet has one of the finest voices in the pop music of
that era. Indeed, that handsome baritone sings those warm and
tender ballads so convincingly, it's no wonder the ladies swoon.
On the swing numbers, I can't help but snap my fingers and sing
along. His showmanship radiates in every performance, whether
in cabaret, in musical theater, or on records.

This CD reissue, in addition to the forementioned LP, also
includes the LP "Sincerely Yours," a beautiful recording also
released in the early 60s on Columbia Records. His albums back
then were big sellers for the label. It's wonderful that two
more are now available to his fans in the CD format.

Footnote: Highly recommended, too, is the Sony import that
includes his two LPs of Broadway songs.

Having had both "Sincerely Yours" and "My Love Forgive Me" on vinyl I was familar with the content of this CD.

Robert Goulet had released 2 alblums prior to "Sincerely Yours" with mixed results. He had been trying to make that transition from "Broadway Baritone" to the pop charts , and he finally hit the mark with "Sincerely Yours". With a mixture of both Broadway and Standards charts and a letting loose of that big voice he finally found the combination that showed his talents. The arranger and conductor, Sid Ramin, should be given credit for a job well done.

The "My Love Forgive Me" tracks are a different kind of offering. This alblum was Robert Goulet's most popular, given the fact that beside "If Ever I Would Leave You", the title track of this alblum is the song he was most associated with during his recording career. There are 4 different conductors on the 12 tracks and the alblum, although it doesn't suffer from this,it feels a little less consistent. I will say that on the tracks Mr. Goulet is at the top of his form, and most of the set has a very serious feel to it.

The 2 bonus tracks are the icing on the cake. Marty Manning's arrangement of "If Ever I Would Leave You" and Mr. Goulet's delivery of his signature song are worth the price of admission. "Summer Sounds" is a representative song of the mid-60's, when summer songs were the rage.

Now if we can only get Sony to produce a box set of Robert Goulet's entire Columbia output!

Robert Goulet is gifted with an extraordinary voice: vibrant, deep and emotive. This CD is the reedition of 2 early LPs with an excellent choice of songs. Listen to an authentic voice, with no trick and let this old-school crooner put a spell on you! His style is out of fashion and he has the quality of a classical singer.

Aside from Goulet's self-parody image, he was indeed an amazing singer! These two early albums display this in beautiful form. Goulet is in full, dramatic voice here. A pure not-so-guilty pleasure!

The CD arrived on time and was in perfect condition.