Greatest Gospel Songs [Original recording remastered]

Perry Como | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 26, 2000)
• Original Release Date: September 26, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00004XR6S
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,392 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Audio CD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Songs of All Faiths & Inspiration not "Gospel Songs", September 28, 2002

By 

John MacKay - See all my reviews

This review is from: Greatest Gospel Songs (Audio CD)

When this BMG compilation album was first released in 2000 it wasn't done with the help of Como historian and expert George Townsend . . . unfortunately! At the time of release there was a fair amount of controversy concerning the title because, for the majority of Perry's long-time admirers, he has never been associated with "Gospel" music per se. Mahalia Jackson sang "Gospel" not Como. What Como does sing, and beautifully so, are the traditional "Songs of All Faiths" as exemplified by his early '50s album titled "I Believe" and actually sub-titled "Perry Como Sings Songs of All Faiths" released originally in 1953 and then again within an expanded LP in 1956. And, incredible as it may seem, Perry's original versions of "Ave Maria" and "The Lord's Prayer", recorded 'live' at the Church of Incarnation, New York City, September 30th, 1949, fifty-three years ago this month, produced by Charles Grean and assisted by Ray Charles ( of the Ray Charles Singers ), actually charted at Nos. 22 and 28 respectively! Como has been associated with these two hymns ever since, recording the two of them again in 1959 with the Male Voices of the Robert Shaw Chorale. And to demonstrate that he really could sing "songs of all faiths", Perry also recorded two Hebrew / Yiddish traditional songs which were included within the 1953 and 1956 compilations. The majority of these traditional hymns were recorded only in monaural excepting the 1959 versions of "Ave Maria" and "The Lord's Prayer" which were brilliantly recorded in full stereophonic sound but all too often re-released in either monaural or "electronically reprocessed" fake stereo! In 1958 Como recorded what would become one of the most beautiful albums of his long career, an album of inspirational songs ( not "gospel" ) titled "When You Come to the End of the Day" and an album which Como historian Townsend claims is a "MUST" in real stereo to be fully appreciated. Como was at the height of his career in 1958, just as the stereophonic high-fidelity era was beginning, and the maturity and smooth assurance of his delivery is very apparent within twelve beautiful performances supported by Mitchell Ayres' Orchestra and the masterfully conducted Ray Charles Singers some songs a capella. According to Townsend, these songs really do not mix well with the earlier hymns for reasons which are primarily technical. They should be appreciated within the context of their time and place with careful attention to both their artistic and technical integrity. This particular compilation inappropriately labeled "Greatest Gospel Songs" fails to respect these issues, representing a "grab-bag" approach rather than a well thought out artistic and technical sequencing of songs. Early versions of this CD also contained a number of errors which should now have been corrected: several of the original stereo tracks, including "The Lord's Prayer", were in monaural instead of real stereo; half of the hymn "Holy God We Praise Thy Name" was inadvertently missing ( it should include the St. Patrick's Cathedral Boy's Choir ); plus a number of technical glitches resulting from the use of poor masters. The version of "Ave Maria" used within this compilation was taken from Perry's 1968 "Christmas Album" ( with Nick Perito conducting ) whilst it should have been the 1959 Robert Shaw Chorale stereo track as a proper match, artistically and technically, with "The Lord's Prayer". These errors should be corrected within newer versions for which the label has apparently offered a free replacement to those who request it. That's the responsible thing to have done and exactly what you expect from a credible label such as Bertelsmann's BMG company. The corrected version is still a mixed bag but deserves a five-star rating for BMG's responsible handling of this issue! Hopefully, with Townsend's help, this sort of thing will never happen again!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gospel Songs - 2 Versions Available?, April 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Greatest Gospel Songs (Audio CD)

There appear to be two different versions of this CD currently available which are causing confusion with reviewers. The first production run of this CD contained a number of errors the most serious of which was an abridged version of Perry's "Holy God We Praise Thy Name" where the hymn was cut off just prior to the St. Patrick's Cathedral Boy's Choir. The time given within the credits was correct but the actual track time was not. Other errors included monaural versions of stereo originals such as Perry's 1959 "The Lord's Prayer" and songs from his stereophonic album "When You Come to the End of the Day" released in 1958. Some reviewers claim that they have purchased copies within which these errors have since been corrected. If you have purchased the faulty version of this CD compilation it should be returned for exchange.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful News!, October 2, 2002

By 

Dave Manning (Prince Edward Island, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Greatest Gospel Songs (Audio CD)

I am delighted to hear that BMG has finally corrected the errors within this CD! That's wonderful news. The original issue was missing almost half of one hymn "Holy God We Praise Thy Name" while several of the hymns were in monaural instead of real stereo as they should have been! Good for BMG! I'm sending my old copy in for replacement pronto. Fans should know,however, that all of the songs from Perry's album "When You Come to the End of the Day" have since been released within two different compilations, one from Collectables and the other from Buddha. The Buddha compilation included full stereophonic versions of ALL songs including his 1959 recordings "Ave Maria" and "The Lord's Prayer" for the first time in more than forty years. Nevertheless, BRAVO TO BMG! for correcting this CD!