Customer Reviews

Paul & Paula - Greatest Hits

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are a Paul and Paula fan, this cd is a must have for your collection. All the hits, they are all here and MORE! I never knew Paula and Paula recorded so many songs together. Sound quality is very good considering the original analog tapes were recorded so many many years ago. I really enjoy the background vocals, they add a lot to the songs. These are love songs you can sing and harmonize with whether you are at home or in your car. These recordings will take you back to simpler times and the Leave It To Beaver days of yore! Innocent sweet and fun to listen to, this cd collection of Paul and Paula songs is one you will listen to over and over.

I knew this CD was going to be great and I wasn't disappointed. To hear those old classics by Paul & Paula, really brings back memories of the time that this duo was popular. If you were a fan of Paul & Paula, you'll love this CD too. Five Stars...all the way!

"Hey Paula "made a hit very much in those days in Japan.
A memory of youth.
I begin to think youth to listen to this music.
Japanese DUO sang this song, and they married afterwards.
I think that this song expresses the feeling as a love song of a youth very much.
By the way, it is the thing that it is good to listen to such a song.

If you're into early 60's stuff and like Paul and Paula, this is for you. Good sound quality and all charters included.

I purchased the CD for one song that I have heard and I enjoyed the entire CD.

I had their greatest hits record album 3 times & for years have been trying to get a couple of their songs which was almost impossible...........now I have them all plus songs i never knew they did! I like good music and use Bose headphones & iPod dock...the sound is phenominal considering how old these tracks are........their harmonizing should be rated up near the top as far as i am concerned.....I realize the songs are fairly short & perhaps quirky compared to todays music however, there will never in my opinion be music comparable to the 50's & 60's......if you like Paul & Paula, I strongly recommend purchasing this album.......

I've been a fan of instrumental music for as long as I can remember. Most of the selections on this CD are very familiar to me, and hearing them on CD promised to be a treat. BUT... the sound was not up to par. On many cuts, I heard what sounded like surface noise from LP's. It appeared they attempted to clean up the sound, but I heard the evidence loud and clear. I feel a bit cheated.

I've been a fan of instrumental music for as long as I can remember. Most of the selections on this CD are very familiar to me, and hearing them on CD promised to be a treat. BUT... the sound was not up to par. On many cuts, I heard what sounded like surface noise from LP's. It appeared they attempted to clean up the sound, but I heard the evidence loud and clear. I feel a bit cheated.

If you've read my reviews of Volumes 1 to 5 in this 6-part series from Stardust of Canada you can tell I really enjoyed each. Not quite so much, however, with this final entry, although not for the reason stated by another reviewer.

On that score, let me point out that this series, like many on the market, is not for that special breed known as the audiophile who only wish to hear what they call "pristine" sound quality. Don't get me wrong, there are some out there with horrible sound reproduction, either clearly audible pop and hiss, sounds like it was coming through a drainpipe, or some where the sound is audible only on one side.

That is NOT the case with this series. Oh, you may hear - if you really strain - the odd bit of noise, but certainly nothing like you'd get from a well-worn LP or 45 rpm. Where I find this volume lacking somewhat is in the selections offered.

Take Ernie Freeman as an example. This pianist/producer also worked with many of the giants of the industry, including Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Connie Francis, and Sammy Davis, Jr., arranging many of their hits. He also had several hits under his own name, chief among them Raunchy, a # 4 in 1957. As Sir Chauncey And His Exciting Strings he also had a # 89 in 1960 with Beautiful Obsession, and under the title The Joiner, Arkansas Junior High School Band [no such school existed] had a # 53 in 1960 with National City. He also was the pianist with B. Bumble & The Stingers on Bumble Boogie [# 21 in 1961] and Boogie Woogie [# 89 in 1961].

Any of those would have been preferable to Swamp Meeting which was a failed Imperial single in 1961 - at least on the U.S. Billboard charts. It did, however, make the Canadian charts. Another in that vein is Fools Rush In by guitarist James Burton, culled from one of his albums. Nice rendition of the Ricky Nelson classic, but why go there when everything else offered to date was a legitimate hit single? That also applies to (Theme From) My Three Sons. The only hit version was by Lawrence Welk & His Orchestra (# 55 Hot 100 in 1961). So why include the Bob Moore rendition which did not chart? It's for these reasons that I deduct 1 star from the usual 5.

While most of the other selections in this volume are readily available on any number of other compilations, what I did find welcome were the following, each of which ranks in the hard-to-find category: Gonzo by James Booker, a jazz/R&B pianist/organist who also worked in Dee Clark's band (# 3 R&B/# 43 Hot 100 in 1960); Viva Tirado (Part 1) by El Chicano (# 10 AC/# 20 R&B and # 28 Hot 100 in 1970); Cookin' by The Al Casey Combo (# 92 Hot 100 in 1962); Coin' In The Back Door by The Baja Marimba Band (# 41 Hot 100 early in 1964); and Martin Denny & His Orchestra's version of A Taste Of Honey (# 13 AC/# 50 Hot 100 in September 1962).

What this last volume does concentrate heavily on, however, are TV and movie themes, including: The Phoenix Love Theme (Senza Fine) by The Brass Ring [# 21 Adult Contemporary (AC)/# 32 Hot 100 in 1966 from the film Flight Of The Phoenix); Hawaii Five-O by The Ventures (# 4 Hot 100/# 8 AC in 1969 from the TV Series); Midnight Cowboy by Ferrante & Teicher (# 2 AC/# 10 Hot 100 and featuring the "water sound" guitar of Vincent Bell, from the film of the same name); Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band by Meco (# 1 Hot 100/# 8 R&B/# 18 AC in 1977 from the film Star Wars); Gonna Fly Now by Bill Conti (# 1 Hot 100/# 20 AC in 1977 from the film Rocky); The White Rose Of Athens by David Carroll & His Orchestra (# 10 AC/# 61 Hot 100 in 1962 from the German documentary film Dreamland Of Desire).

Rounding out the volume are the usual prerequisite tunes from Billy Vaughn (Hawaiian War Chant - # 89 Hot 100 in 1959) and Bert Kaempfert (Tenderly - # 31 Hot 100 in 1961), Drums Are My Beat by Sandy Nelson (# 29 Hot 100 in 1962), and three of my favourites: Hungry For Love by The San Remo Golden Strings (# 3 AC/# 27 Hot 100 in October 1965); Soul Coaxing (Ame Caline) by Raymond Lefevre & His Orchestra (# 4 AC/# 37 Hot 100 in early 1968), and I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman by Whistling Jack Smith (# 8 AC/# 20 Hot 100 in May 1967). There was no "Jack Smith" - the record was cut for the Dream label by The Mike Sammes Singers. When it became a hit, Billy Moeller from Liverpool was recruited to tour as "Whistling Jack Smith").

If you get all six volumes you'll have 117 of the best instrumental hits ever to have graced the airwaves in the period covered.

IN SPANISH...VALE LA PENA COMPRARLO, VALE CADA UNO DE LOS DOLARES QUE PAGUE POR EL, TRAE CANCIONES INCREIBLES, LAS QUE RECORDABA SOLO EN SUEÑOS Y CREIA IMPOSIBLE CONSEGUIRLAS, !ESTAS SI SON LAS DE LOS AÑOS MARAVILLOSOS¡