Customer Reviews

Radio Hits Of the '60s

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

 

 

It's a bit disturbing when one first tosses "Am Radio" in for a listen-because all but a few of these selections are NEW versions of the genuine hits.(although by the original artists) If you're looking for what you know-"Am Radio" is dreadfully awful...however, if you're a die-hard fan of some of these artists, it is terribly interesting to hear 2005 versions of your favorites!.."Am Radio" is a shamelessly faithful attempt to be true to the original recordings. (Although I'm not sure anyone wants to hear "Magnet And Steel" with a faux Stevie Nicks in the background!)...Let's hope that these artists were paid fairly-my guess is that they are no longer receiving royalties from the original recordings!
To make the appreciation of this set even more challenging, there are no photos or liner notes whatsoever!..On the plus side however, the sound is crisp and clean, and each disc has FOUR extra "hidden" tracks!.."Am Radio" is a poorly packaged, dreadfully amusing update of songs you once loved...It's really bad-but I like it!!!

Rather than picking an artist or label or scene or sound, Legacy's pulled together thirteen original hit recordings that show the range of music that AM radio brought to its listeners. Collected here is New Orleans R&B ("Ya Ya," 1961 and "Working in the Coal Mine," 1966), Dixieland Jazz ("Washington Square," 1963), Easy Listening ("A Fool Never Learns," 1964), Folk Pop and Rock ("We'll Sing in the Sunshine," 1964 and "In the Year 2525," 1969), Garage Punk ("Little Girl," 1966), Soul ("I'm Your Puppet," 1966 and "Cherry Hill Park," 1969), Bubblegum ("Simon Says," 1968), Trad Jazz Vocal ("The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde," 1968), and Vocal Pop ("Worst That Could Happen," 1969).

Even within these individual songs you can often hear more than one genre exerting its influence, such as the steel guitar and horns that provide accents to the superb pop production of Merrilee Rush's "Angel of the Morning." In this day of highly balkanized music channels and individually programmed MP3 playlists, it's hard to imagine such variety inhabiting a single mass-market playlist, but that was part of AM radio's power to attract and keep a broad swath of listeners. Playing this collection will remind you how good record and radio people were at picking and making hits - the winnowing process disenfranchised many, but what got through the sieves, particularly what got to the top of the charts, was often highly memorable.

Legacy's disc clocks in at a slim 35 minutes, but what's here is a terrifically nostalgic spin whose songs stand up to repeated listening forty-plus years later. True, Andy Williams' "A Fool Never Learns" might wear out its welcome before the other tracks, but it's part and parcel of the ebb and flow of 1960s AM radio. This set isn't meant to be an all-inclusive compilation of any one thing in particular, but a reminder of the breadth that once graced individual radio stations across the land. There was a unity to AM radio's audience that's been replace by the free choice of the empowered individual. That personalization carries with it many benefits, but the range of this set may remind you of what's also been lost. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

Note: As of Jan 3, 2009 Amazon has incorrectly linked the 13-track single CD Radio Hits of the 60s on the Legacy label with the 20-track 2-CD A.M. Radio Hits of the 60s & 70s on the St. Clair label. The 13-track single CD Legacy compilation is all original hit recordings.

the title says it all. avoid this st. clair release. a rip-off if there ever was one. Amazon requires 20 words for a review, this CD collection only needs one: BOGUS.

Now if you really enjoy original songs from the start of Rock n Roll then this box set is a must have for you.