Customer Reviews

Honey - The Best Of Bobby Goldsboro

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read other reviews that put down the content/lyrics of Bobby's songs. That maybe true for some people who have not experience much of what life has to offer. However for people who have been hurt in life, his lyrics have a great true meaning.
His song "Honey" could be my and my wife's life story (She passed away in 2002) it gives me great pleasure to listen to it.
As far as I'm concerned this is a wonderful C-D, I recommend it to anyone who knows about life.

Just like the "Brenda Lee Story" album, this is the only Bobby Goldsboro you'll really ever need. This album is a re-release of the original 2-record set released by United Artists in the 70's with a few extra songs added that were probably intended for the album set but never made it because of space limitations on the vinyl records. This is definitely the CD to own of B.G.! Make room in your collection!

All original recordings are nicely and chronologically arranged on the CD. Well written documentation of Bobby's career included in the jacket brochure. Bobby's own words and extensive thoughts around and for each song on the CD are included.

This is an excellent compilation of Bobby Goldsboro's hits and important tracks. Goldsboro is probably one of the more underrated singers from the 60's. His music was at times sentimental, but his delivery was always heartfelt. His first hit "See the Funny Little Clown" was self-penned and still sounds fresh. His version of the Burt Bacharach "Me Japanese Boy, I Love You" is a lovely ballad that sounds fresh in this digital format. "Little Things" is a pop jewel that Billy Gilman covered several years ago. With its popping chorus and original bass line, it's a track that holds up well 40 years later. "Voodoo Woman" is another great rocking track with that pounding drumbeat, "Voodoo woman you break every heart you see; so voodoo woman stay away from me." "If You've Got a Heart" is a track that I've come to enjoy as a result of this compilation with its pretty upbeat melody and breakup lyric. The combination of opposites is kind of a musical version of tragicomedy. "Broomstick Cowboy" is one of the more sentimental tracks that Bobby wrote with its midtempo beat and a pretty melody. My favorite Goldsboro track is "It's Too Late" with its pounding rhythms, horns, driving bass line and Goldsboro's expressive delivery, "I remember when I told you that I'd try in every way to hold you & kiss you & love you & keep you 'til my dying day, you just laughed and said you found somebody new, & you didn't need all the things I could do." This is excellent classic rock. "Blue Autumn," Goldsboro's biggest hit "Honey," and "Autumn of My Life" all reflect the more sentimental side of his recordings. This collection is an excellent compilation of the magic of Bobby Goldsboro. Enjoy!

For the era in which I was interested, 1968-1973, this CD was great because it had every Bobby Goldsboro song that ever charted then, to my knowledge. Some really great-sounding songs, especially for singers looking for acoustic guitar songs to play solo, are "The Straight Life" (1968), "I'm A Drifter" (1969), and "Summer" (1973). Minor complaints: (1) I'm pretty sure this recording of "I'm A Drifter" fades out several seconds earlier than the original single version did. (2) A very large percentage of these songs are irritatingly trite and mawkish, especially his earlier material, even big hits like "Honey" and later hits like "Watching Scotty Grow." I never noticed that before, but that's why I gave 4 stars instead of 5.

Though a few lesser chart entries are omitted, this 23-track collection lives up to its name, and with the added bonus of terrific liner notes, most fans will find that this is the definitive anthology. All original hits.

'Glad she's a woman', and 'Watching Scotty grow', are not bad
songs while 'Honey', 'Autumn of my life','The straight life',
and 'I'm a drifter', are outstanding. The rest of the songs on
this album are terrible and in this regard I can only agree with
Michael C Vanier except this is not Goldsboro "at his best'.

At his best Goldsboro deserves to be brackted with John Denver,
Neil Diamond, Garth Brooks, Billy Joel, Barry Manilow and Paul
Simon to mention a few. If you listen to his albums HONEY (1968),WORD PICTURES (1968),TODAY(1969),WE'VE GOTTA START LOVIN'(1971) AND SUMMER (THE FIRST TIME)(1973) you realise that
a lot of good songs are missing from the above-mentioned album.

Rather get his 'Hello Summertime'album or better still his
'Honey/Summer(the first time)' album both which make a mockery
of this album been the best of Bobby Goldsboro.

Don't get on Michael too hard. I mean he gave the CD five stars. So he means well...I think? This is a good collection of the sometimes (OK, lots of times) schmaltzy, but sometimes toe-tappingly cool...Bobby Goldsboro.

All the classics are here...EXCEPT...one of my faves, almost up there with the inimitable "Little Things" (anyone see "Drugstore Cowboy"?)...I say, one of my faves ain't on this compliation:

Where is "Muddy Mississippi Line"?? Slap that baby on this collection, and ya got perfection!

OK, so a few unimaginative fuddy-duddies out there insist on looking down their collective noses at Mr. G. Their loss! And OK, so maybe "Honey" is definitive schmaltz. I don't care! I'm just glad that there's a song like "Honey" in this world for us all to enjoy...in whatever way we choose to enjoy it.

Other than that, this is still a nice little CD. Bobby Goldsboro is a uniquely wonderful guilty pleasure for some. For others he's just a plain old-fashioned, syrupy-sweet joy. And as Paul McCartney has said on many occasions, "What's wrong with that?"

Honey is a song that I sang to my wife when we married. I still sing it to her today. I was happy to listen to this and other songs of yesterday. Todays songs have lots of cussing and screaming but no meaning. Let's here it for honey.

Wow! What an album. As a very macho male, I'm not too proud to say that listening to these great tunes of the '70's brought waves of nostalgic tears to my eyes. Though "Honey" is obviously one of the greatest soft-rock super ballads of all time, it's Bobby's lesser known tunes that bring back those special memories. It's those heart-tuggers like "Broomstick Cowboy" and the quintessential soul searching gem "A Butterfly for Bucky" that really get me going. Bobby's velvet vibrato on "Watching Scotty Grow" takes me back to a gentler, more serene age when I too began to blossom.
Sure, I like to rock out as much as the next guy when it comes to the hits of the early seventies but when the mood hits me, I'll put away the Leo Sayer and Mac Davis and let Bobby Goldsboro take me back to where I long to be.