Customer Reviews

Oldies But Goodies, Vol. 2

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

 

 

Oldies But Goodies, Vol. 2 is an excellent installment in this fifteen CD series of great rock and roll tunes and more fro the golden era of rock and roll. The sound quality couldn't be better and the artwork is just OK--but, then again, we want the music here and what we get is stellar!

Danny & The Juniors start things off right with their excellent, strong "At The Hop." This number really rocks even by today's standards and I love it! "At The Hop" has lots of positive energy and this really impresses me. Great tune! Big Joe Turner also does an excellent job with his "Shake, Rattle And Roll;" Shake Rattle And Roll" has an excellent beat that is truly infectious and extremely upbeat. "Shake, Rattle And Roll" is easily a major highlight of this CD. "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" is a peppy little tune that many people could never tire of hearing; and The Beach Boys do an earlier number of theirs that worked so well called "Barbara Ann;" "Barbara Ann" rocks well and the handclapping is a creative way to add more percussion into the number.

Paul Anka's "Diana" has that early rock and roll flavor with just a dash of doo wop to make this number really shine! Paul Anka's ode to his girlfriend has a very pretty melody and it's a classic number without a doubt. The Everly Brothers also do "Bye Bye Love" without a hitch; they harmonize and sing this number to perfection; and a lot of people can relate to this tune as so may of us have been dumped when our sweetheart moves on to another new love. Shades Of Blue also does great with their hit entitled "Oh How Happy;" "Oh How Happy" has rock mixed in with a fine gospel flavor to make this number stand out; it's very memorable and Shades Of Blue was a very talented group indeed!

"Popsicles And Icicles" gets a gentle, emotional treatment from The Murmaids; I'm surprised that The Murmaids didn't have more hits because this tune is so well done they clearly were expert artists. Fats Domino also scores a huge hit with his timeless hit "Blueberry Hill;" "Blueberry Hill" is very beautiful and although the lyrics aren't consistently upbeat this tune could never be forgotten. "Before The Next Teardrop Falls" is a gorgeous tune from the immortal Freddy Fender who passed away recently; Freddy sings part of this tune in his native tongue of Spanish and this enhances the beauty of this number very much. "To Know Him Is To Love Him" gets a great treatment from The Teddy Bears; and the CD ends strong with Brian Hyland performing "Sealed With A Kiss;" this poignant tune moves me and it makes a fine ending for this album. It also leaves you wanting more--which is exactly what you're going to get if you have the others CDs in this series!

People who like classic early rock and roll will be charmed by this album. I highly recommend it.

Apparently, the 17 track version of this CD listed above is no longer available. I tried to order the version advertised here through very reliable amazon sellers, and also through a record shop in town, and every time I received a truncated 14 track version.

If you order this CD, the listing you will probably receive will be as follows:

1. Barbara Ann
2. At the Hop
3. Bye Bye Love
4. Bread & Butter
5. Rama Lama Ding Dong
6. Pretty Little Angel Eyes
7. Shake, Rattle & Roll
8. Blueberry Hill
9. Oh How Happy
10. Sealed with a Kiss
11. This I Swear
12. Goodnight My Love
13. You Cheated
14. Pledging My Love

These are all great songs, but some key cuts are missing here, including the hard to find "To Know Him is to Love Him" by Phil Spector's Teddy Bears, which in truth was what I was looking for with this collection in the first place. If the 14 track version works for you, by all means have at it. Otherwise, be sure you're very specific before you buy.

I Think Oldies But Goodies Vol,2 is a classic oldies album with all the atmosphere and wonder that the 50's and 60's embodied . I would recommend this to any that loves the feel and passion that this bygone era was and ever will be.

I grew up listening to these oldies from our local radio station on a little transistor, (sister) luckily that my dad bought me in his travels, and my mom unplugged it from my ear every night!! This cd has some great oldies on it..."Bread and Butter" by the Newbeats is a classic!!!! I know my kids have gotten a kick out of that crazy, jazzy, falsetto, screeching blues voice on that rock and roll classic number as I sang along to the radio in the car~and thought I was nuts at the same time...it's in a league of its own. An early Brian Hyland is nice here, before "Illusive Butterfly of Love" fame~ My 14 year old who sings loves Paul Anka's "Put Your Head On My Shoulder"~and "Shake Rattle and Roll" was a classic Jitter Bug tune~ What is also interesting as I look at these top 10 hits is a social, cultural change...together on the charts was a beginning...people were together in their love of music. I know certain movies outlined this music era as a progressive sign of change and togetherness among people, teens, in their excitement with this music. This cd is such a nice mix with Buddy Holly's unique sound, The Teddy Bears live sound, Fats Domino's huge hit, (and used to the max on Happy Days) The Everly Brothers unforgettable harmonies everyone still loves, and all the others.... "Rama Lama Ding Dong" was the key song in "Grease" my teens know, but I want them to hear the original~As a child of the 50s and 60s, this music is as important to our roots as the newer oldies, such as the Byrds I just bought to enjoy and have my teens, who are playing guitar now, learn the roots of (my) Led Zepplin (cd they stole from me and love)~Each era builds on the last, and it's great when kids know that and enjoy the gems from each past era~I will be glad to add this to my collection as this cd is a gem~Luv to all~Keep On Rockin'

This is one of my favorite oldies but goodies CD out of the collection! It contains fantastic music from the 50s and 60s, but also has a small touch from the 70s with Before the Next Teardrop Falls by Freddy Fender. Here you have such classics like Sealed with a Kiss, At the Hop,Popsicles and Icicles,and two songs that hit the top 40 on the R&B charts!

I have been doing a series of commentaries elsewhere on another site on my coming of political age in the early 1960s, but here when I am writing about musical influences I am just speaking of my coming of age, period, which was not necessarily the same thing. No question that those of us who came of age in the 1950s are truly children of rock and roll. We were there, whether we appreciated it or not at the time, when the first, sputtering, musical moves away from ballady Broadway show tunes and rhymey Tin Pan Alley pieces hit the radio airwaves. (If you do not know what a radio is then ask your parents or, ouch, grandparents, please.) And, most importantly, we were there when the music moved away from any and all music that your parents might have approved of, or maybe, even liked, or, hopefully, at least left you alone to play in peace up in your room when rock and roll hit post- World War II America teenagers like, well, like an atomic bomb.

Not all of the material put forth was good, nor was all of it destined to be playable fifty or sixty years later on some "greatest hits" compilation but some of songs had enough chordal energy, lyrical sense, and sheer danceability to make any Jack or Jill jump then, or now. And, here is the good part, especially for painfully shy guys like me, or those who, like me as well, had two left feet on the dance floor. You didn't need to dance toe to toe, close to close, with that certain she (or he for shes). Just be alive...uh, hip to the music. Otherwise you might become the dreaded wallflower. But that fear, the fear of fears that haunted many a teenage dream then, is a story for another day. Let's just leave it at this for now. Ah, to be very, very young then was very heaven.

So what still sounds good on this CD compilation to a current AARPer and, and perhaps some of his fellows who comprise the demographic that such a 1950s compilation "speak" to. Of course, Danny and The Juniors, "At The Hop", one of the first rock songs that I heard (and heard over and over again) on the local radio stations. Naturally an "angel" song, this time on a happier note, "Pretty Little Angel Eyes". Naturally, in a period of classic rock numbers, Fats Domino's "Blueberry Hill" (or, like Chuck Berry from this period, virtually any other of about twenty of his songs).

But what about the now, seeming mandatory to ask, inevitable end of the night high school dance song (or maybe even middle school) that seems to be included in each CD compilation? The song that you, maybe, waited around all night for just to prove that you were not a wallflower, and more importantly, had the moxie to, mumbly-voice, parched-throated, sweaty-handed, asked a girl to dance (women can relate their own experiences, probably similar). Here the classic "Goodnight My Love fills the bill. Hey, I didn't even like the song, or the singing, but she said yes (a different she that from the one in the Volume One review, oh fickle youth) this was what you waited for so don't be so choosey. And, yes, I know, this is one of the slow ones that you had to dance close on. And just hope, hope to high heaven that you didn't destroy your partner's shoes and feet. Well, one learns a few social skills in this world for no other reason that to "impress" that certain she (or he for she) mentioned above. I did, didn't you?

Highly recommended for people who cherish music from the 1950's and 1960's. This CD contains hits from both decades--original artists--and the sound quality is excellent. Now I don't have to bother with oldies radio--just music, no talking!