Customer Reviews

16 Most Requested Songs

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reading through the liner notes, Vinton acknowledges he was something of an anomaly in the Sixties. "...I do have a unique style, one that is warm and intimate. That style is a blend of pop singing and country, a cross between Johnny Mathis and the late Hank Williams." Indeed, Vinton has more in common with such Fifties artists as Perry Como, Pat Boone and Andy Williams, than to his Sixties pop contemporaries. But in any era there's always room for good songs and a great voice to sing them. And from his debut No. 1, "Roses Are Red", in 1962 through his million-seller "I Love How You Love Me" in 1968, Vinton placed 24 songs in the Top 40--not bad for a guy competing for airplay with the Beatles and the Stones!

Choosing good songs, meant utilizing the best songwriters of the day, including Gerry Goffin and Carole King ("Halfway To Paradise" and "Take Good Care Of My Baby"), Burt Bacharach and Hal David ("Blue On Blue"), Phil Spector ("To Know You Is To Love You") and even Vinton himself "Mr. Lonely," "L-O-N-E-L-Y" and "Coming Home Soldier").

According to "The Golden Age of Top 40 Music on Compact Disc" by Pat Downey, these are all the original recordings. [So believe what you want about the previous reviewers' squabbling over authenticity.] And at sixteen tracks, it is the most thorough collection of his hits currently available. RECOMMENDED

Please do not be misled by the mistaken midwesterner! All of the tracks on "16 Most Requested Songs" are original recordings as released on Epic from 1962-1972, with one notable exception. "To Know You Is To Love You" is an alternate take recorded at the same session as the hit released as a single. This alternate take is not noted on the album since it has been included here by mistake. The company never caught the error, and has also released the alternate take on a Reader's Digest 3 CD set. This little "extra" in my opinion adds to the historic value of the CD. Enjoy!

Sorry to be a nag but 15 of the 16 tracks on this CD ARE ORIGINAL Epic recordings. As to my qualifications on this I worked on the sessions at Epic when these were made. PLEASE don't doubt that the only track that is not THE original release is "To know You Is To Love You". This is an alternate take which was done during the same session as the hit version released as a single. Lets hear no more of this nonsense,this is a compilation of ORIGINAL material.

Bobby Vinton made quite a career out of a very limited vocabulary of song titles, a worked within a fairly narrow prism of subjects and styles. Yet in so doing he was immensely successful, and this Polish Adonis ripped up the charts with a number of hits including his first smash "Blue Velvet", "Tell Me Why", and "There! I've Said It Again". He was on the top ten charts almost continually throughout the early 1960s, and I remember hearing "Mr. Lonely" (about a soldier far away from home) when I myself was in fact a soldier a long, long way from home in 1965. It was eons and eons ago.

I also remember hearing "Coming Home Soldier" about the same time frame, and being impressed with his awareness of how many of us were in fact coming and going. And he had quite a run of hits, also including "Please Love Me Forever", "Blue On Blue", and "I Love How You Love Me". He also hit the charts with "Roses Are Red (My Love", one of his biggest hits, and with a cover of Johnny Tillotson's smash hit "Take Good Care Of my Baby". I understand he still tours, although he must be a little long in the tooth for such stuff nowadays. This is all good music, and it is always a pleasure to listen to. Enjoy!

It is amazing to me just how slow the major record companies have been in adapting to the changing marketplace. But if you know anything about the history of the recording industry you realize that this has always been true. This particular CD is a case in point. Bobby Vinton was a major star back in the 1960's. Even today Vinton has a large cadre of very loyal fans. This CD released in 1991 offers 16 of Bobby's biggest and best. But todays music buyer is much more sophisticated and is demanding more for his/her money. With relative newcomers like Taragon, Varese Sarabande, Hip-O and Razor and Tie now becoming significant players in the reissue business it would behoove the majors to offer customers more value.
"16 Most Requested Songs" is a decent but not a great compilation. There are three pages of liner notes and the remastering job was nicely done. But Bobby Vinton had over 40 charted hits. When I was searching for a Bobby Vinton collection a couple of years ago I was forced to settle for this one. But in 2003, Varese Sarabande released "All-Time Greatest Hits". For $3.00 more it is a much better buy. There are a total of 25 tracks including hits like "Everyday of My Life", "Sealed With A Kiss" and "Satin Pillows" to name but a few that are not included in this one. Over the many years I have been a collector I always found Columbia/Epic to be very weak in the area of compilations.
Things have gotten better since Sony took over but there is still lots of room for improvement. So pass this one by and spring for the Varese disc. Demand more for your money!

My wife (passed-on), and I used to listen to his music, before and after we had gotten married, His songs make the hair on the back of my neck, stand at attention!

Great, and wonderful Album! Paul F.

The fact that this album offers so much yet leaves so much out is a testament to the richness of Bobby Vinton's musical catalog. Featuring 16 top forty hits, Epic/Legacy could easily issue Volumes 2 and 3 in this series if they chose to. The hits just keep coming here, including all four of Vinton's #1 Epic recordings. With excellent liner notes and distinctive cover art featuring an artists drawing based on Vinton's 1962 "Roses Are Red" photo shoot,(only the second Vinton album to feature a drawing as opposed to photo art the first being 1966's "More of Bobby's Greatest Hits") this package finally treats Vinton as the major influential artist he is, something long overdue from Epic.

Loved the CD, brought back fond memories of my 'much younger' years. Glad to have a list of songs before purchasing and could even listen to the songs....great buy

What shouldn't be there : Take Good Care of My Baby (Bobby Vee did it much better), Over the Mountain Across the Sea, and L-O-N-E-L-Y.

What should be there: Only Love Can Break A Heart, Every Day Of My Life, and My Melody Of Love.

There are so many songs i`ve loved through the years by BOBBY VINTON. Besides GENE PITNEY and ROY ORBISON, he was the star during my high school years.
I danced to, ( and cried through ), so many.
So, today, so many years later, I found myself on AMAZON, listening and remembering , when all of a sudden this particular collection of his 16 most requested hits pops up and my mouth fell open!
I ILLUSTRATED THE COVER PORTRAIT OF BOBBY VINTON AND HAD FORGOTTEN ALL ABOUT IT !!
I am a professional illustrator and have done many album covers over the years but completely forgot about this one !
What a pleasant surprise ; And I know no one reading this can relate to the feelings i`m feeling as I write this, but , all of a sudden , I feel somehow connected with the songs i`ve loved for so long, collected here on this CD.
Thank you for indulging me,
Bill Nelson