Customer Reviews

The Legendary Masters Series

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Bobby Vee was the voice of choice for a lot of the Brill Building songwiters. Songs like "Run To Him", "The Night Has A Thousnad Eyes" and "Take Good Care Of My Baby" all came from the pens of writers such as Barry Mann, Carol King and Neal Sedaka.

This is classic stuff. This is from the era that followed Elvis but was efore The Beatles. The era that many claim Rock and Roll died.

I don't know if you can consider any of these tracks Rock and Roll here, but they are great POP music. Classics in their own right. Many have become standards.

Bobby Vee started out as a Buddy Holly sound alike and developed into a mature singer songwriter himself, somewhat in the folk vein.

His best selling hit of all time, "Come Back When You Grow Up" is here in a clean stereo mix, and as always, Liberty records has thrown in a fair sampling of rarities, album cuts and B-sides.

Other artist worth searching out in the "Legendary Masters" series are Jay & The Americans, The Lettermen, The Ventures and Jan & Dean.

Very listenable, sometimes danceable, always enjoyable- this set is awesome.

If any member of the pop music set was ever the perfect "boy next door," it had to be Bobby Vee. A toned-down Buddy Holly with a squeaky-clean image, he was the music industry's response to a rock & roll scene gone mad.

Unfortunately, too many people let the image get in the way of the music. One of the first genuine "Teen Idols" of the pop era, above all else, Bobby Vee could sing! From 1960 to 1968 he cracked the Top 40 fourteen times, including six top-ten hits.

Bobby hit his peak in 1961 with "Take Good Care of My Baby", his only number 1, followed immediately by "Run to Him," his only number 2. He reached the number 3 slot in late 1962 with "The Night has a Thousand Eyes," his only hit with a slightly nasty twinge to it. By the time he hit the top ten again, it was 1968 and "Come Back When You Grow Up," a forlorn but beautiful ballad, was really his swan song.

While many of his songs sound almost formulaic, Bobby brings an energy and a sincerity to his music that breathes life into predictable lyrics and puts jump into sacharine sweet melodies. There is no doubt that his teenage angst sound is somewhat dated, but the selections on this album are pleasant listening and bring back a flood of memories of the early and mid-60s.

As with any collection that nears anthology level, this 26 track offering includes a few weaker cuts among the hits. However, EMI did an excellent job of mastering, using all original tracks, and the sound is bright and clean. From the wide-eyed questioning of "Devil or Angel" to the exuberance of "Rubber Ball", Bobby Vee - The Legendary Masters Series, is an enjoyable visit to the days of malt shops, bobby sox and colgate smiles, a musical breath of fresh air.

Not only did Bobby Vee's vocals enhance any song he was given to record, he was also a talented songwriter. The first song on this collection, "Suzie Baby," was written by Robert Velline (Bobby Vee's real name) and released in 1959. "One Last Kiss," a tongue in cheek song from Bye Bye Birdie, was transformed into a great love song by Bobby's straightforward rendition. "Devil Or Angel" was Bobby's first hit song, charting at #6 in 1960. "Rubber Ball" (also #6 in 1960), with its bouncy backing vocals, would have sounded like a novelty song with a less talented singer. Buddy Holly was a big influence on Bobby Vee's vocals, so it's no surprise that he sounds exactly like Buddy on the song "Everyday." Bobby's rendition of the Goffin/King composition, "Take Good Care Of My Baby," was his only #1 song, reaching that peak on 8/21/61. It was soon followed by "Run To Him," which hit #2 on 11/20/61. "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes" (#3 in 1962) is much more upbeat than Gene Pitney's similarly themed song "Town Without Pity." The influence of the Beatles is very evident on the song "I'll Make You Mine," which was written by Bobby Vee and included in his 1964 album "The New Sound From England." The moving ballad "Come Back When You Grow Up" peaked at #3 in 1967, and is one of his best remembered songs. Bobby's medley of "My Girl/Hey Girl" was his last top forty single, peaking at #35 in 1968. It closes out this 25-song collection on a strong note. The 26th track isn't a song, but is a 1961 radio ad for Bobby Vee's then current record release.

This CD represents most of the outstanding work of a vastly under appreciated artist from the 60s. Bobby Vee burst on the scene with a sound that was uncannily like the late Buddy Holly and quickly established his own identity. Like other Bobby Vee compilations, this CD does not include all of his fans' favorites, such as "Someday" and "A Letter from Betty." It is, nonetheless, outstanding. The quality of the recordings are good and worthy of anyone's collection. (Incidently, I found no discrepency between the packaging and the track order as another reviewer mentioned.)

I bought this back in '90 and I still play it every so often. I first listened to Bobby Vee when my parents played back their album collection everyday while I was growing up, and Bobby was one of the albums they played. He has a great singing voice that can take even the most sacchrine tunes and make them better. To me, he's what Buddy Holly might have done had he not went on that flight in '59.

This CD is actually one of the better compilations of Bobby Vee's career, and a better representative of the pop music of the early '60's, where the producers ruled the show. Liberty Records needed some artists for the young pop culture, and people like Bobby Vee, Jackie DeShannon, The Ventures, and Johnny Burnette fit the bill. Vee was also backed up by a good studio band, a great producer like Snuff Garrett, and the best of the Brill Building songwriters(Goffin, King, Bacharach, Schroeder,...). He also worked and sang with The Crickets, and The Ventures.

The best songs on this CD are
1. "Devil Or Angel" - a great cover of The Clovers original, except with strings, and the original Marlburo Man doing the "doo-doo-doo-doo"

2. "Rubber Ball" - a 'bouncy', energetic tune that if it was anyone else, it would come out very corny.

3. "More Than I Can Say" - Here's where Leo Sayer got his ideas from.

4. "Take Good Care Of My Baby" - A surefire winner if ever it was, he does a great job on it.

5. "Run To Him" - Another great tune from Goffin/King that he just
rides to glory, while the Mann Singers, the strings and the timpani accentuate this tune.

6. "Walkin' With My Angel" - A minor hit, but a fun tune to sing along and to listen to while you're walking with your 'Angel'!
It's gotta be the shoes!

7. "Please Don't Ask About Barbara" - A minor hit again, but a real good ballad about angst. Should've gotten more airplay.

8. "Sharing You" - Another Goffin/King tune that does well with him.

9. "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes" - His signature tune, as well as his darkest.

Last, but not least:

10. "Come Back When You Grow Up" - His swan song, and a great ballad that took awhile to become a great hit. At least it's the full version this time around.

Unfortunately, he along with the other "Teen Idols" fell to the 'British Invasion', but not without influencing other British artists with his style of pop. The Liner notes by Steve Kolanjian are outstanding with other sidenotes from Bobby Vee and the CORRECT order of recordings that became hits for him, along with good B-Side tunes as well. I also like the behind the scenes before the music comes on a few tunes, as well as the order of takes it took to be the hit version.

I recommend this CD to those who don't want to spend a lot of money on the box sets that are available now. My regret about this CD is that it didn't include "Someday", another great tune, but that is for another time. A great compilation for an underrated, and underappreciated artist of his caliber.

This 26 track c.d. is one of the best collections of Bobby Vee if your a casual oldies listener. His biggest hits are included. Heres some songs you may remember, and were top ten hits:
1. "Devil or Angel" 1960.
2. "Rubber ball" 1960.
3. "Take good care of my baby" 1961.
4. "Run to him" 1961.
5. "The night has a thousnad eyes" 1962.
6. "Come back when you grow up" 1967.
From 1959 to 1970 Bobby Vee had a song on the chart every year. For a total of 38. Fourteen of those songs made the top 40. All fourteen are here, plus nine songs that charted, but did'nt enter the top 40. The other 3 tracks are: "One last kiss" an album cut, "Everyday" the b-side of "Rubber ball", and a "Bobby Vee radio spot". Twenty-three of these twenty-six tracks are charted singles. Bobby Vee's music is a very enjoyable corner of some of the best music the 60's offered.
These recordings are from the original master tapes, and are the same version as the 45's, BUT NOTE THAT 6 songs start out with a soft spoken 1-2-3, from the recording session. That intro is not on the original 45' that were aired on the radio. If you don't think you'd like listening to the intro's that were not edited out, you may want to choose a different compilation.
The six tracks that retain the 1-2-3 intro are:
1. "What do you want", 1960.
2. "Everyday", b-side of "Rubber ball", 1960.
3. "Run to him", 1961.
4. "The night has a thousand eyes", 1962.
5. "Yesterday and you", 1963.
6. "Come back when you grow up girl", 1967.
The track listing with the year and chart # are in the fold-out front cover, along with information of Vee's career.
Footnote: If you used to listen to both the front AND back of your 45's, you might like the "Singles Collection" that includes ALL A&B sides of the 38 singles Bobby Vee had on the chart during his career, 1959 to 1970. All are the exact singles as were on the original 45's. Also -- "The singles Collection" has better sound quality, and clarity than this "Legendary Masters Seriers" collection.

This is a great CD of some good classical pop music. But there appears to be two versions of what songs are actually on the CD.

I have read other Amazon.com customer reviews of this CD and see a June 15, 2000, review lists a "corrected track listing" which has 28 tracks. This review left "?" for some of the track titles.

Another review of June 20, 2008, "corrects" the listing to 26 tracks which match the listing displayed on Amazon's product description. Also, this is the version for this CD listed on the Bobby Vee website discography page.

I bought my version in April, 2011. If you consider the actual songs on the CD, it is the 28-track version. But the front of the actual CD and the jewel case liner lists the 26-track version. So my copy seems to be some sort of blending of the two versions. Following is the track listing with the complete song titles (rather than "?") on my 28-track CD:

1. Suzie Baby
2. It's Too Late
3. Love Must Have Passed Me By
4. Everyday (Digitally Remastered 90)
5. Someday
6. Buddy's Song
7. Devil Or Angel
8. Rubber Ball
9. It Might As Well Rain Until September
10. Stayin' In
11. More Than I Can Say
12. Walkin' With My Angel
13. The Opposite
14. Take Good Care Of My Baby
15. Run To Him
16. Don't Ever Take Her For Granted
17. Sharing You
18. Punish Her
19. Please Don't Ask About Barbara
20. Do I Really
21. Charms
22. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes
23. A Letter From Betty
24. I'll Make You Mine (Digitally Remastered 90)
25. Come Back When You Grow Up
26. Beautiful People
27. Maybe Just Today (Digitally Remastered 89)
28. My Girl/Hey Girl (Medley) (Digitally Remastered 89)

According to the Bobby Vee website discography pages, the above 28-song version is the same as the "Bobby Vee Legendary Master Series" 2-LP set from 1973. Of course, the differences would be the Digitally Remastered Tracks. All these songs charted as singles (however, some charted quite high) except track numbers 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 13, 16, and 20. Track number 1 was his first single. Track 6 number is from "Bobby Vee I remember Buddy Holly" album. Track number 9 is from "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes" album. The origin of track numbers 2, 3, 13, 16, and 20 is unknown. They seem to appear only on the 1973 2-LP set and the 28-track version of the CD. Track numbers 7, 8, 14, 15, 22, and 25 are the 6 gold records earned by Bobby Vee.

My main message is a paraphrase of a line from the movie Forrest Gump: This CD is "like a box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get." But no matter which version you get, you'll like it.

The correct track listing is::

1. Suzie Baby
2. What Do You Want?
3. One Last Kiss
4. Devil Or Angel
5. Rubber Ball
6. Everyday
7. Stayin' In
8. More Than I Can Say
9. How Many Tears
10.Take Good Care Of My Baby
11. Run To Him
12. Walkin' With My Angel
13 Please Don't Ask About Barbara
14. Sharing You
15. Punish Her
16. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes
17. Charms
18. Be True To Yourself
19. Yesterday And You
20. I'll Make You Mine
21. Look At Me Girl
22. Come Back When You Grow Up
23. Beautiful People
24. Maybe Just Today
25. My Girl / Hey Girl
26. Bobby Vee Radio Spot
(Note)Windows Media did not play or display Track 26 Bobby Vee Radio Spot

Bobby Vee's first big break when his group (the Shadows - no connection with the similarly named British instrumental group) that had to deputize for Buddy Holly at a gig in Iowa soon after that singer was killed in a plane crash. As a result of that performance, Bobby was offered a recording contract. He failed to make an impact with his first three singles (Suzie baby, a cover of What do you want (Adam Faith) and One last kiss) but made the American charts with a cover of Devil or angel (Clovers). Bobby then had an international hit with Rubber ball. Bobby's version of Rubber ball had to compete in the UK charts with a cover by Britain's Marty Wilde, but both versions made the UK top ten.

Following the success of Rubber ball, Bobby was a regular on the charts for the next two and a half years but faded quickly as Beatle mania took over. In that period, Bobby had major international hits with Take good care of my baby (a number one American hit), The night has a thousand eyes (arguably the most popular of his songs now), Run to him, Sharing you, How many tears and More than I can say, all of which made the UK top ten. More than I can say became a UK hit again in the seventies when Leo Sayer covered it. Bobby's other hits include Devil or angel, Forever kind of love, Bobby tomorrow and Please don't ask about Barbara. Bobby made one more return to the American after that (Come back when you grow up, an American top ten hit that sold a million in 1967). All these hits and others can be found here.

This compilation contains all the essential tracks from Bobby's early years, together with those early failed singles and some American hits that I haven't mentioned, but which are well worth hearing.

First of all, contrary to another review, the songs are listed properly on the liner notes and the packaging. The session chatter on many of these songs is interesting to hear and many of these do have extended endings as those tracks and many others have been remixed from the multitrack tapes. The liner notes are a great read, the sound quality is very good and it does feature all of his top 40 hits and many lesser known gems such as I'll Make You Mine?, Maybe Just Today, Suzie Baby?, Beautiful People, What Do You Want, a medley of the songs "My Girl" and "Hey Girl" and others alongside the signature songs such as "Devil or Angel," "Rubber Ball," "Take Good Care of My Baby," "Run To Him," "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes," "Come Back When You Grow Up," and the rest. As I noted in my review for Leo Sayer's "All The Best," Bobby did the original version of "More Than I Can Say" which is included on here. As a bonus, there is a 1 minute radio spot promoting the "Take Good Care of My Baby" which actually fits this album very well as many of the songs sampled in the promo are on this compilation which is the only Bobby Vee CD you need unless you are a completist.