Customer Reviews

Never To Be Forgotten: The Mustang Years

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

 

 

This was obviously a labor of love for the people who put it together. The sound quality is superb -- most of the tracks sound like they were recorded yesterday -- and the packaging is the best I've ever seen. The box contains a jewel box with the two studio CDs, a separate sleeve with a CD of the group performing live, and an extremely comprehensive booklet. All of these tracks were recorded within five or six years after Buddy Holly's death, and I think it's a fair guess that this is what Buddy Holly might have sounded like if he had lived. The songs are all very catchy, and the sound is very crisp and full. This wasn't a one-dimensional group -- these guys could really play. "I Fought the Law" is, of course, one of those 2-1/2 minutes of rock perfection where everything just came together. I was astounded that it didn't make it into the VH-1 Top 100 in Rock History -- I can't imagine how it could fail to be in any sane person's Top 20. It would have been a major hit in any era.(Check out the version by The Clash, which is also great.) Anyway, this is a super set and is WELL worth the money.

This collection is outstanding -- one song is better than the next. Fuller is known largely by rock historians as the essential connective tissue between Buddy Holly and Creedence Clearwater Revival. By listening to the songs on the set, it's easy to see that that is an apt characterization of Fuller, and his place in the history of pop music. Whether one considers "Let Her Dance," or the piercingly beautiful "New Shade of Blue," or the drivin' "Another Sad and Lonely Night," this set has no low points. And that's a tough thing to say since most any box set has some bit of dross. You can't go wrong here.

It was a mono copy of the "I Fought the Law" LP, which was found in the bargain bin, that turned me on to the Booby Fuller Four. That was back in 1968. I still love those butt-kicking recordings.

What makes "Never to be Forgotten" a "must have" collection is the inclusion of both the mono and stereo recordings. Some of the mono recordings are really wilder than the stereo versions.

One example is "New Shade of Blue," which, in my honest opinion, sounds so stark and expressive in mono. The stereo version sounds sterile and lame in comparison.

Personal opinions aside, I strongly recommend checking out this collection (in its entirety) and then draw your own conclusions.

By the way...you don't even have to be a life-long BB4 fan to appreciate this collection!!!

But be warned..."Never to be Forgotten: the Mustang Years" will turn listeners into die-hard BB4 fans.

I knew this box set was available in the late 90s, but I put off buying it thinking I could get it anytime. Much to my dismay, I found the set was discontinued. Fortunately Amazon made it available in MP3 download. Hearing the MP3 made me REALLY mad at myself for not having purchased the CDs when they were available. The quality of the music is astounding! My only wish was that somebody could have provided a better mike for Fuller during the live recordings as his vocals were a bit muddy for my liking. Otherwise, whoever did the re-mastering did so with tender loving care. The recordings are pristine and the performances make me wish was that I were alive (and at an appropriate age) to have actually gone to PJs to watch him as I was born 3 months after his brutal murder. If you feel like you've missed the boat, I CANNOT RECOMMEND THE DOWNLOAD VERSION ENOUGH!! Somebody please re-issue this box set!! It is just too good to keep locked up!!

Classic 60's pop rock, approaching Beatles level quality. The rare live album is worth the price alone. Had he lived, Bobby Fuller was destined for super stardom.

picked this up after repeatedly coming across Bobby Fuller's name and the sad tale of his unseemly demise. And I've been listening to it repeatedly for two weeks straight. it's tough reverb washed garage Buddy Holly, Really stripped down and with an addictive drive to it. Nary a slack cut in the bunch. got a cool surf edge too. Real straight up rock and roll. It's no wonder punk bands like the Clash and Ramones drew from it.

This review is for anyone who heard "Let Her Dance" at the end of The Fantastic Mr. Fox movie and went looking for that song and maybe some more from the Bobby Fuller Four.

This is where you get the bang for the buck. The problem is that the CD can only be had in physical form at extreme prices (hint, that's because this stuff is brilliant and incredible joyous fun to listen to) so now you're thinking of downloading the MP3 version.

That's what I did, and I found that the beautiful Byrds-like track "Julie" is whacked. The balance is all off and the vocals can barely be heard. Imagine my surprise when I then listened to the same song on the "I Fought the Law: The Best of the Bobby Fuller Four" and found that it sounded fine. So I downloaded that track alone from that CD and replaced the "Julie" version from this album.

Also, I found the version of Let Her Dance on this CD seems to have recording quality problems too. It sounds like it was taken of an old original tape without any attempt to correct for problems. The version on "I Fought the Law: The Best of the Bobby Fuller Four" is superior as well.

Still, for buying Bobby Fuller Four in bulk, this is the deal.

I actually have yet to get my hands on this box set. If anyone out there can help me, i'd be soooooooo grateful! <... I do have the Shakedown Box set and the El Paso Tapes, vol I and II and some of the albums they put out back in the 80's <does anyone know if he the band put the live songs, Just One Look, It's Too Late and I Cried A Tear out on CD, I can't find them anywhere.....:( >

If anyone is a lover of rock n' roll from the 50's and 60's, Mr. Fuller's band is a must have in your collection. He has great rockers, wonderful ballads, surf music, and his live stuff is awesome too. Their best music, though, is when he recorded the band at his home studio. Other than a few tunes such as I Fought the Law, this band largely remains in obscurity - and that has just got to change!!!

give a listen to el paso's best rocker.died before he was able to really shine.listen to "I FOUGHT THE LAW ' and other great rockin songs.

Five fat stars for the best $30 I've spent in a lonngggg time. Been listening to this for days, and am just enjoying myself so much, and know I'll be listening for years. Sound quality was, and still is, very clean and pure. I always thought of the BF4 as a one hit wonder or lumped them in with their contemporaries: Dave Clark Five, Turtles, etc. But there's something to the BF4 that keeps pulling you deeper into their stuff. There's an integrity to the music here, which I think Fuller also borrowed from Buddy Holly. Their first album (included here) is rock and roll perfection, with nary a weak song or moment. While there are equally as many great songs here, you also get a sense of a true artist struggling with pressures to produce hits, to be more "marketable", in some of the surf/dragster tunes on here, which stand out to me the best of the genre, if a bit off track for them. The Live tracks are awesome too - you really hear a refined stage show, which reminds me of Sam Cooke's "Live at Harmlem Square", sans the killer vocals (unfortunately the recording quality of Bobby's vocals don't give him the chance to impress) and the Beatles' muscular live Hamburg recordings. I think the BF4 was out and out a great band, that can be lumped in with 70's bands like Big Star, which are just timelessly cool, if wayyy underappreciated in their time. The era of 1965-66 is a weird time - a time of transition, and this gives a slice of that time period and sound (Fender/Gibson guitars through huge Fender Blackface amps!) before things changed. Even then, I think the BF4 were a bit old school, which is way tooo cool - they were definitely carrying that roots rock and roll torch years before it was "cool". It's hard to say what would've happened had Fuller lived, but this is essential listening by an oft overlooked jem of a band, that had an all too brief run. Even a fan moderately interested in the Bobby Fuller Four could find all they need in the first 12 tracks (their first album) and could pick and choose the best from the samples: My Own True Love, She's My Girl, Don't Ever Let Me Know, Love's Made a Fool of You. Or just go for it all - it's worth it.