Customer Reviews

Johnny Rivers Anthology, 1964-1977 [2-CD Set]

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Known more as as interpreter of other artists' songs, JohnnyRivers placed 17 songs in the Top 40 over the 13-year span covered onthis collection. His first two singles (recorded live at LA's Whiskey A Go Go) were covers of Chuck Berry's "Memphis" and "Maybelline." His next single was a cover of Harold Dorman's "Mountain of Love," which Rivers took to No. 9. His string of Sixties hits included "Seventh Son," "Secret Agent Man," "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" and The Tracks of My Tears." Surprisingly, his biggest hit of the Sixties--and his only No. 1--was the only single he had a hand in writing, the lovely "Poor Side of Town." In addition to having a knack for selecting excellent material, Rivers used ace musicians in the studio--frequently using Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel and James Burton. After 1967's "Summer Rain," Rivers' singles couldn't crack the Top 40 until 1972's "Rockin' Pneumonia - Boogie Woogie Flu." The song's rocking arrangement was reminiscent of his earlier Sixties singles and it became the biggest single of his career, selling over a million copies. He was not as successful with his next two covers--Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes" and the Beach Boys' "Help Me Rhonda." Even with Brian Wilson on board to provide harmonies, the song stalled at No. 22. in 1975. Just when critics (and most fans) were ready to write him off again, Rivers surprised everyone with his second million-seller, "Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancin')" in 1977. Two decades later, it's unlikely that Rivers will make a third comeback, but this is an excellent two-disc overview of his classic songs, minor hits and key album tracks. As usual, the folks at Rhino have put together an informative booklet, excellent sound, and a generous sampling of Rivers' peak years. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED END

I loved this CD. Everyone has a favorite Johnny Rivers song. Problem is that, for most people, their particular recollection of one song often ignores the others. For example, when I think Johnny Rivers, I think Secret Agent Man, someone else might think Summer Rain, another might say, Seventh Son, and another sings Mountain of Love, others Midnight Special or Poor Side of Town.

Well they are all his and they are all on this great sounding anthology. Also included are the many covers Rivers has recorded over the years, including Sea Cruise, Do You Want to Dance?, and Sam Cooke's classic, Cupid. And his greatest cover of all, Chuck Berry's, Memphis. And for those musicians out there, Rivers' steel guitar remains his signature on every cut. Pop, rock, blues or country music fan, you'll enjoy this CD; it really does justice to a artist most people can't quite place until they hear the songs and then they become amazed that all those fondly remembered records actually came from the same unassuming guy.

One of the first LPs I ever bought with my own money was a United Artists album entitled The Very Best Of Johnny Rivers, which I must have picked up around 1974 or so--and I have been a Rivers fan ever since. As other reviewers have noted, Johnny Rivers, though essentially a "cover artist," was much more than that--like many great interpreters (Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris come to mind), he had an ability to take most any song and make it his own, regardless of genre. Starting out as a Chuck Berry rock-and-roller with his "a-go-go" sound ("Memphis," "Maybelline") he made forays into folk-rock ("Where Have All The Flowers Gone?"), Motown ("The Tracks Of My Tears," "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'"), blues ("Parchman Farm," "Seventh Son"), R&B ("Sea Cruise," "Rockin' Pneumonia"), country (Buck Owens' "Under Your Spell Again"), pop ("By The Time I get To Phoenix") and even progressive rock ("Whiter Shade Of Pale," "Into The Mystic"). Whatever he did, though, it was undeniably American music, as befits a man who grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

While the hits are all here--and they're all great--some of the real gems in this collection are the ones you may never have heard: "It's Too Late," "These Are Not My People," "City Ways" and "Muddy River" are particular favorites of mine. Overall, an underappreciated artist and an American original. Essential listening.

I've heard 'greatest hit's' albums in the past and always been disappointed...but not this time. This is 5 stars. Takes me back to the days I went night after night when Johnny was playing the Whisky in 1964. Great stuff. Much better than his other greatest hits albums.

One reviewer laments the fact that this 2-CD anthology is no longer available. Perhaps one reason is that Rhino is busy making corrections. First of all, rather than the separate booklet which usually accompanies such box sets, Rhino chose to insert liner notes with each disc. The only problem is, they put the SAME liner notes in both discs.

What is included [ten pages] is interesting, but whereas it says "continued in booklet for disc # 2" we unfortunately get those same disc 1 notes repeated. So, not only do I not know who wrote them, I have no idea if they ever intended to include a discography. I also can't say if this was a general problem or confined only to my set.

As for the contents, of the 29 selections he put onto the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1978 [21 for the Imperial label, four for United Artists, one for Soul City/Epic, one for Soul City, and two for Big Tree] they include all but these five: Right Relations [# 61 for Imperial in December 1968]; One Woman [# 89 for Imperial in November 1969]; Think His Name [# 65 in September 1971 with The Guru Ram Das Ashram Singers for United Artists]; Ashes And Sand [# 96 in February 1977 for Soul City], and his last hit, Curious Mind (Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um) which reached # 4 Adult Contemporary (AC)/# 41 Billboard Pop Hot 100 early in 1978 for Big Tree and with Ashes And Sand as the B-side [different version?].

Instead they give us two B-sides [Going Back To Big Sur, the flip of These Are Not My People, and Outside Help, the flip of Ashes And Sand], as well as a number of selections [tracks 7, 13, 14, 17 to 19 on disc 1, and tracks 3, 5, 7 and 8 on disc 2] which were either failed singles or taken from some of his albums. Unfortunately, without a discography we have no way of knowing.

All in all, this appears to be one of Rhino's weaker efforts and one can only hope that its current unavailability is due to its being revised to correct the errors and omissions.

Johnny Rivers is probably one of the most overlooked artists of the rock n' roll era and I don't understand why. His music ran the gamut of 1960s rock n' roll, from his early beginnings with folk rock to his version of the Hendrix's "Hey Joe", which, by the way, is very good. His early success with hits like "Memphis" and "Secret Agent Man" brought him to the forefront of American music in the mid-60s and he stayed there by changing course and going to the more soulful side with songs like "Poor Side of Town" and his version of "Baby, I Need Your Lovin". With all due respect to the Four Tops, River's version of the latter is better. Johnny Rivers was one of the top male performers in the 60s and I recently saw him in concert for the first time. His voice is better than ever and he can still play a guitar with the best. Check out this collection, you will not be disappointed.

Whether you consider Johnny Rivers to be R&B, blue-eyed soul, country-rock or mainstream pop, you're right! Perhaps no artist during the heyday of the sixties & seventies was so comfortable in so many genres, pouring out genuine hits in all of them.

For the country sound, there's Memphis and Maybelline. For Blue-eyed Soul, try Tracks of My Tears or Baby I Need Your Lovin'. And, if those four don't get your attention, try these on for size: Midnight Special, Seventh Son, Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, Muddy Water, Poor Side of Town, and on and on and on!

This incredible collection includes thirty-six of Johnny's best cuts, from the Presley-esque Blue Suede Shoes to the James Taylor-like Summer Rain. But, don't take all of these references to mean that Johnny Rivers was a copy cat or that he was dependent on other people's material. Nothing could be farther from the truth. No matter if he was working with his own tunes or doing one of his superb covers of others, the final sound is clean, sincere and uniquely his.

Johnny Rivers remains one of the true giants of the pop/rock era. This compilation is wonderfully representative of that stature. It belongs in the personal collection of any fan of mainstream pop/rock.

Look at the selections on this CD--for most of them, you can name another artist who did it first. But can you name anyone who did it better than Johnny Rivers?

Johnny's greatest talent was not in singing or in playing guitar (though he does both of those _very_ well). It was his ability to bring his own emotions to other people's creations. This collection has the covers we're all familiar with (Memphis, Baby I Need Your Lovin', Tracks of my Tears) along with some great ones that you probably didn't know he'd done, particularly Whiter Shade of Pale, Fire and Rain, and By The Time I Get To Phoenix.

More importantly, this two-CD set has songs for whatever you're going through. Hurting from the pangs of unrequited love? Let your baby know how much you need her lovin'. Feel like dancing? Get a case of the Rockin' Pneumonia. Feeling alone? Call for some Outside Help. (Yeah that's corny. Leave me alone.) Johnny's voice is genuine, and it really does bring you into a song. When I listen, the emotions are mine, no one else's.

Maybe Johnny Rivers doesn't do it for everyone, but he sure does it for me.

This is by far the most awesome and complete compilation of Johnny Rivers' songs. I realize he didn't write most of them himself, and he is commonly known as a "cover artist", but, after listening to this CD, you won't even remember that anyone else sang them before him!! His voice is so unique and memorable, espcially in "Swaying' to the Music (Slow Dancing)" and "Do You Want to Dance?" A special treat is "Where Have All the Flowers Gone", (for all of us 60's peace-niks) and "Cupid", which was a big surprise to hear from the usually serious Johnny Rivers. Bottom line -- Johnny Rivers can sing any song, any time, as evidenced by the wide range of music on this CD. By the way, I just ordered my second Anthology cassettes; I wore out the first ones!!

If you're a baby boomer born in the 50s and came of album (not singles)buying age, as I did, in the late sixties ,you probably dismissed Johnny Rivers as being hopelessly lame and un-hip. Yeah,me too.But as with Lulu, and Jackie DeShannon, and the Box Tops, and The Rascals, well hindsight is a funny thing. I secrectly loved every single Johnny Rivers (born John Ramistella in New Orleans, and that speaks volumes)ever released. I'm sure the LPs of the time were full of the usual filler and I wasn't gonna take a chance with my allowance on 'em anyway. But now I'm real happy to own and play this comprehensive 2 disc set of wonderful blue-eyed soul and fun pop.The guy can play some guitar and his distinctive vocal style makes all the Chuck Berry and Motown covers different and fun. "Poor Side Of Town" still gets to me, and my nine and ten year old sons are shimmying and hully-gullying around the house to the sounds of "Secret Agent Man" as I type.They are not easy to please either, if it don't prance, the boys don't dance.A great buy and a whole lotta fun. The problem is, now I havta go back and re-evaluate just how much I liked those ol' Grass Roots and Soul Survivors singles. Not as much as I like these tunes I'll betcha.