Customer Reviews

Harry Belafonte - Greatest Hits

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I would surmise the producer was TOO YOUNG to know what the original songs from
the 50s & 60s sounded like because what you heard in those years is not what is found on this
RCA? greatest hits box set. I've noticed this to be the trend in artists from way back
into the 50s and 60s. If you want to have the original releases then buy Harry Belafonte's
individual (3) All Time Greatest Hits CDs as Vol. 1, 2 & 3 if they're still available. Luckily
I have these. Lately greatest hits compilations are NOT true to the original recordings
because the producer NEVER heard the songs as a youngster. You would be better
off reading reviews from people who lived in the era when the songs were popular.
It's too bad when a major label like RCA can't find someone to verify the authenticity
of the recordings. You can't substitute alternate takes for the originals.

Aloha,

Roy Szanik

I bought this set because it had all of the Belafonte songs I was looking for. It has Danny Boy, Jamaica Farewell, Mama Look A Booboo, and Mary's Boy Child. Danny Boy is an amazing performance and can't be found easily. Perhaps my favorite Belafonte song, Mama Look A Booboo, is available out there somewhere in a better version, because the version on this record isn't anywhere near as good as the live version, the one with Harry laughing and playing with the lyrics. The other material on this cd set isn't up to the standard of Belafonte's very best, but then again, not much is.