Customer Reviews

Rockin' Connie

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I am leery of writing reviews on the floodgate of Connie Francis "hit packages", so many have been repeated under different guises and cover art. UK's Ace Records has already released two CDs by female rock singers but left Connie for last. It may have been because of her staggering 56 US charted singles were mainly ballads. She tore the male dominated rock scene wide open on "her terms" and had several rock hits. Because she is known for her great ballads, many forget Connie could rock with the best of them. She is also the largest selling female recording star in history thanks to her many tracks recorded in 13 languages. She is also the most prolific singer with over 14,000 individual recorded tracks.

Ace has put together a wonderful set of some very nice rarities including her 1957 bomb "Eighteen", an edgy song that should have become hit. A year later she made history. There are many obscure single tracks seldom found on CD, "Look at Him", Lock Up Your Heart", "It's a Different World" among others, but the real treat are the tracks culled from her "only" full rock Lp--1962's "Do The Twist" which was reissued with a new name and cover just months later (the twist fad was over), entitled "Dance Party". There is only one outright "twist" song on this CD, the other tracks are full blown rocking Connie at her best.

I was impressed with everything on this disc from the selections, cover art, liner notes and the great Ace sound quality. This disc was meticulously conceived--and it shows.

For those of you who grew up with Connie (and how could you not know her, she was constantly on every jukebox and radio station in the country), will enjoy this disc immensely. I came in a little to late as a child. Connie's hit years were basically over, but I recognized quality when I heard it and like millions of others, fell in love with America's Sweetheart of Song. It is a shame most of Connie's releases are imports, as she is more revered overseas than in her own musically fickle homeland. But Connie still packs them in at concerts to this day.

Super disc, great nostalgia. If you were not able to obtain the short-lived "Rocksides", with it's many unissued material. This is a great alternative.