Customer Reviews

Ultimate Collection

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

 

 

There was so much more to this band than most people realized. Those who knew Marmalade only from their initial soft rock success ("Reflections of My Life") missed the more substantial later efforts such as the tunes from the album simply titled "Marmalade" and also the LP "Kaleidoscope." Many of the better latter era songs appear on disc 3 starting with "Empty Bottles." The amazon tag lines "bubble gum" and "one hit wonders" don't do justice to the meat of this compilation.

This 3CD Set is Excellent, It has 64 songs amazing, some I have never
had the pleasure of hearing,MY opinion is that Marmalade has such
quality in their voices, so smooth so much feelings none are boring
I am very happy to have found this CD set I didnt realize that this
Set was available. Yes I should have known about this CD Set since
I enjoy this group so much, well I guess I finally had the time to
STOP AND SHOP..This is a sound investment and music to last a lifetime.
Enjoy.
Donald

I remember loving "Reflections of My Life" by Marmalade when it crossed the big pond and found its way onto American Top 40 radio, but I didn't discover Marmalade until I got under the covers with Susanna Hoffs and Michael Sweet. Hoffs and Sweet blew me away with there cover of "I See the Rain" by Marmalade. My wife and I liked the song so much that we searched You*Tube for a Marmalade version. Not disappointed, we came to the awareness that perhaps Marmalade had more to offer than the one hit wonder reputation built on Reflections.

Although I could have been satisfied with fewer tracks and a sampling of their best recordings, I'm glad I spent the cash on their three disc set. Consistent quality, writing and sound make Marmalade a must have for any Brit invasion fan, and offer an indictment against American radio for not making this band a household name in the US.

Don't be swayed by the "official" introduction on this Amazon page: Marmalade, if remembered at all, are NOT best remembered for their cover of "Obla Di Obla Da." I say "if remembered at all" because people remember their song "Reflections of my Life" without being able to identify the artist.

"Reflections of my Life" (yeah, someone really wrote a song with a title like that) has the chorus:

All my sorrows
Sad tomorrows
Take me back to my ho-ome

Ring a bell? People have trouble identifying the group because here in the US very little else by them (if anything) was on people's radar screens, and the tight harmonies on the song frequently make people say "Wasn't that the Hollies?"

"I See The Rain" was covered by Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs on their "Under The Covers, Vol 1," so maybe you know that song, too. It's here also.

Having said that, this three CD set is a career compilation of carefully crafted British pop music. The band and their producers did their share of both original music and covers (showing they were aware of what else was going on at the time). Bob Dylan covers and Lovin' Spoonful covers are (shall we say...) RESPONSIBLE: they are professional and will not make your skin tingle in disgust. They're fair, with touches of originality.

The rest of the music is quite fine: they deserve more attention than they've gotten, and if you're in the mood to find more British Invasion or stuff of that ilk, you won't be disappointed here.

And of course, there's "Reflections," which aside from its title could well be the best crafted brit pop song of all time. Aside from being a navel gazer of course.