The Sound of Love: The Very Best of Darlene Love

Darlene Love (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 22, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony Legacy
• ASIN: B003102JKA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,112 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

If any individual singer could be called the voice of Philles, it would be Darlene Love. Spector used her powerful, distinctive voice as lead singer on a number of tunes by such groups as Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans and the Crystals, as well as recording such songs as the hit Today I Met The Boy I m Gonna Marry under her name.
Fifty years ago, legendary producer Phil Spector established his own record label Philles, and a new sound began to ring out of radio speakers across America. The sound Spector created lush, resonant, and dramatic, blending the sentimental swoon of string sections with the excitement of rock and roll was so different, so instantly recognizable, it earned its own name: The Wall of Sound. Through the 1960s, with songs like Be My Baby, Then He Kissed Me, Walking in the Rain, and Da Doo Ron Ron, he ruled the pop charts and made artists like Darlene Love, The Crystals and The Ronettes household names. For twenty years, no new collections of these artists, Philles s most successful, have been released, and only a limited amount of the tracks have been available digitally. The newly remastered greatest hits collections contain the best and most iconic recordings by these artists, and their familiarity will be sure to strike a chord with fans both young and old.
For twenty years, no new collections of these artists, Philles s most successful, have been released, and only a limited amount of the tracks have been available digitally. The newly remastered greatest hits collections contain the best and most iconic recordings by these artists, and their familiarity will be sure to strike a chord with fans both young and old.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh transfer and remaster of Darlene Love's best, February 23, 2011

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Sound of Love: The Very Best of Darlene Love (Audio CD)

With the Philles catalog now in the licensing hands of Sony Legacy and EMI, the fiftieth anniversary of the label's 1961 founding is being celebrated with a new round of reissues. First out of the gate are remastered best-of collections for the Ronettes, Crystals, Darlene Love and Phil Spector. This 17-track Darlene Love collection proves that while Ronnie Spector (nee Veronica Bennett) may have been Spector's greatest heartthrob, Darlene Love was his vocal MVP. As the lead vocalist on key singles by Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans, the Blossoms (both under their own name, and as the West Coast version of the Crystals), and solo singles, not to mention her work with the Blossoms as go-to backing vocalists, Love's voice was as important an element of the Wall of Sound as the Wrecking Crew's drums, guitars, pianos and basses.

Included here are tunes by the Crystals, Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans (though not their first hit, "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," on which Bobby Sheen sang lead), the Blossoms, and solo sides. This collection mostly duplicates the track line-up of ABKCO's out-of-print 1992 Best of Darlene Love, dropping "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" and a pre-Dixie Cups version of "Chapel of Love," and adding four titles: the Blossoms' "No Other Love, "That's When the Tears Start" and "Good Good Lovin'," and Love's "Strange Love." A couple of her lower charting singles (the pre-Philles "Son-in-Law" with the Blossoms, and the 1992 soundtrack single "All Alone on Christmas") are absent, but more puzzlingly, neither the earlier or current collection includes Love's signature holiday pièce de résistance, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)."

Though all this material has been previously released, several of Love's solo tracks went unissued at the time of their recording, turning up a decade later on rarities anthologies. Among these are "Run Run Runaway," "A Long Way to Be Happy," and the brilliant Poncia and Andreoli song, "Strange Love." Fleshing out her post-Philles career is a soulful 1965 turn on Van McCoy's "That's When the Tears Start" (produced by Reprise staffer Jimmy Bowen) and a 1975 session with Phil Spector on Mann and Weil's "Lord, If You're a Woman." As with the other volumes in this series, this isn't the vault discovery fans are waiting for, and the lack of stereo (except tracks 16 and 17) will vex long-time collectors, but with ABKCO's earlier best-of out of print, this is a welcome return to retail of Love's classic sides. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rating Spector, March 17, 2011

By 

William Black - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sound of Love: The Very Best of Darlene Love (Audio CD)

Phil Spector, while certainly a moody sullen guy, was at the time, what many would have considered a genius. No need to go over the distinctive, inimitable sound..that being said, there were a few drawbacks. the sound at the time was really not that sonically superior, even though it was a breakthrough of sorts.

Of course, remember this was back in the 60s when we "didn't know any better". There have been several reissues of Phil Spector material since the CD made its debut in the mid 80s. The previous review reminds us that Abkco has released domestically much of the Phil Spector catalogue. In addition, there have been several import pieces on Darlene Love, The Ronettes, & The Crystals.

This particular piece is certainly far from ideal. The lack of stereo has been noted; however, just remember that NONE OF THIS was originally recorded in stereo, and it was not meant to be listened to in stereo (Phil Spector, were he not in prison, would likely concur completely). There are stereo versions of The Ronettes material, and I personally have a couple of Crystals tracks which have been remixed to simulate stereo. They sound OK. But even I, who am likely the biggest stereo freak on the planet, have to agree that they likely sound sonically superior in the original monaural mix.

This package includes the core of Darlene's best material, and I have to say that the sound quality is as good as you can possibly get..given the nature of the original recordings. "The Wall Of Sound" was never meant to sound "pretty" & "homogenized". The name pretty much sums it up: "Wall of Sound". What connotations does that give you??

Yes, there are many who bemoan the fact that this is not in true stereo. Heaven spare us "fake stereo"! I would have to give this package a "95" overall grade. No, "95" isn't perfect, but please put it all in context.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible remastering!, April 2, 2011

By 

Grandpa Tom "Music is in my soul......" (Twin Cities, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sound of Love: The Very Best of Darlene Love (Audio CD)

I purchased all 4 Very Best of CD's released in 2011 by Legacy (Phil Spector, The Crystals, Darlene Love, and The Ronettes). My aim is to get the finest sounding examples of these recordings possible, and these sets deliver the finest MONO sonics possible from the almost-50 year old recordings. Almost 50 years-WOW! Where does the time go, from AM radio to digital files played on CD's, IPODS and cellphones? Thanks Phil, for giving us kids the "little symphonies"! BTW, the packaging and liner notes are excellent also.