Customer Reviews

Misty-the Very Best of

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I don't mind record labels that call compilations 'GREATEST HITS' or 'THE VERY BEST OF...'. this CD is nonetheless properly titled because 'very best' doesn't make a statement that everything will be a hit single. The liner notes are by a person named Fred Dellar and it's an import from Europe, which you will notice right away in the overall wordings that Dellar uses.

The CD includes "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head", the song Ray originally turned down in 1969 in order to record "Sunday Morning Coming Down". B.J. Thomas would eventually record "Raindrops..." for the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid movie and would sell millions of singles in the process. Ray, on the other hand, took "Sunday Morning..." to #81 pop and #55 country. Here's the irony, though, Johnny Cash would come along a few months later and take "Sunday Morning Coming Down" all the way to #1! Ray eventually recorded "Raindrops..." in 1970.

A rare treat is "Something", the Beatles song...yes, everyone's songs are up for grabs for him to either change the melody or change instrumentation and to "Stevenize" them. One of the more emotional is "Leaving On a Jet Plane"...the arrangement even SOUNDS lonely! I love this CD's ability to delve into the heavy love ballads of Ray's career and spotlight "She Belongs To Me", "A Time For Us", and "A Mama and a Papa" along side his famed novelty songs.

"Misty" closes the CD and the hilarious "Bridget the Midget" opens things up. For those of you raised on the up-tempo "Young Love" by either Tab Hunter or Sonny James, take a listen to Ray's version. It's slowed way down and delivered in a crooning ballad style. As far as i know, this CD can only be found on-line and it isn't in stores. It's on the Music Club label. The songwriter credits listed here on Amazon are not accurate and perhaps is a result of a faulty computer program. Ray didn't co-write every song on here...I think a lot of people who read the songwriter credits will spot the obvious errors immediately. The picture of Ray comes from 1970 and it was taken in Washington, D.C. The picture is a reverse image from the original, though, and the CD's color scheme sort of bleeds into the picture making it look unflattering.

I bought this CD 6 years ago and since I found it such a terrific
compilation I still keep on buying Ray Stevens CD's to see if
I can be lucky as I was then. No way! This one is absolutely the
best not only because of the song selection but also because of
the sound quality. It's impossible to match all hits on 1 CD
but here they mixed quality with all of Ray Steven's musical
styles. It has everything: Rock ?n Roll incl. a Jerry Lee Lewis
gimmick (Moonlight Special), Doo-Wop (Indian Love Call), Country
(Misty), Pure Comedy (most of the songs), Gospel like (Turn
Your Radio On plus # 1 top hits (Everything's Beautiful and The
Streak) In total 21 songs covering Ray's hits from the 60's & 70's

Best known for his comedy hits, Ray Stevens is also an accomplished balladeer and pop artist with a long career that started in the early 1960s. These 22 tracks contain most of his hits (not always the original vesions) and display his mastery of a variety of styles, including country, gospel and catchy pop.

The novelty numbers include the bubbly Bridget The Midget (a cute take on go-go dancing) and The Streak, plus live versions of Gitarzan and Along Came Jones (a humorous look at the hero rescuing the damsel in distress).

The best of the ballads are Mr Businessman, Kristofferson's Sunday Morning Coming Down, John Denver's Leaving On A Jet Plane and Bob Dylan's She Belongs To Me, whilst the cheerful Everything Is Beautiful is prime 70s pop and there's also gospel in the form of Turn Your Radio On and country in the form of Misty which was a huge hit in 1975.

This is a most enjoyable album with something for everyone, especially if you like the pop music of the 1960s and 1970s. And those novelty numbers still bring a smile to the face.

20 Comedy Hits Special Collection

Best known for his comedy hits, Ray Stevens is also an accomplished balladeer and pop artist with a long career that started in the early 1960s. These 22 tracks contain most of his hits (not always the original vesions) and display his mastery of a variety of styles, including country, gospel and catchy pop.

The novelty numbers include the bubbly Bridget The Midget (a cute take on go-go dancing) and The Streak, plus live versions of Gitarzan and Along Came Jones (a humorous look at the hero rescuing the damsel in distress).

The best of the ballads are Mr Businessman, Kristofferson's Sunday Morning Coming Down, John Denver's Leaving On A Jet Plane and Bob Dylan's She Belongs To Me, whilst the cheerful Everything Is Beautiful is prime 70s pop and there's also gospel in the form of Turn Your Radio On and country in the form of Misty which was a huge hit in 1975.

This is a most enjoyable album with something for everyone, especially if you like the pop music of the 1960s and 1970s. And those novelty numbers still bring a smile to the face.

20 Comedy Hits Special Collection

Ray Stevens - All-Time Greatest Hits