The Ultimate Peter & Gordon

Peter & Gordon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 14, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Collector's Choice
• ASIN: B00005MHUD
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,291 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. World Without Love

2. Nobody I Know

3. I Don't Want to See You Again

4. Love Me, Baby

5. I Still Love You

6. I Go to Pieces

7. True Love Ways

8. Don't Pity Me

9. Broken Promises

10. To Know You Is to Love You

11. Woman [Stereo mix]

12. There's No Living Without Your Loving

13. To Show I Love You

14. Lady Godiva

15. The Town I Live In

16. Knight in Rusty Armour

17. My First Day Alone

18. Sunday for Tea

19. You've Had Better Times

20. Jokers

Editorial Reviews

This is the best sounding Peter & Gordon collection ever including the first-ever stereo version of 'Woman'. The notes feature interviews with the pair. 20 tracks. Standard jewel case. 2001 release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great pop songsters without a doubt, December 13, 2002

By 

Phil Rogers (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Ultimate Peter & Gordon (Audio CD)

One of a pair of almost lookalike duos (the other being Chad & Jeremy); these guys hit with the beautiful Lennon/McCartney song "A World Without Love" and took it to the top of the charts. The songs the Beatles threw P&G's way were probably less suited for the Fab Four than for them; the duo really did something good for these songs, most especially with "I Don't Wanna See You Again", probably my favorite of their first three. "Nobody I Know", though probably the weakest, still comes in with at least 4 stars.

They then switched gears from this groovy mid-tempo bounce into more a ballad mode, and stayed there for quite awhile. My favorite from this part of their career was their rendition of the Del Shannon tune "I Go to Pieces" which was a gorgeously mournful breakup/goodbye song. Buddy Holly's "True Love Ways" and McCartney's "Woman" are also quite stellar, and emotionally very satisfying.

In the latter part of their short career, they got into humorous songs, a bit like the Kinks did around the same time, but of course with a very different sound than the Davies crew, and a lighter touch in terms of the lyrics. When I first heard these songs as a callow youth, they kind of left me cold (I was a bit of a serious bloke at the time). But I now feel they are as high quality as their more beautiful and emotionally stunning earlier songs. The standouts here are, of course, "Lady Godiva" and "Knight in Rusty Armor". "Knight" is particularly awesome melodically, and very, very generous in the humor department. Quite quirky and cute . . . you might say that. "Sunday for Tea" is also very much the number. Very British, you know!

I often wonder how to compare their output/repertoire with that of Chad and Jeremy (both duos entered the U. S. charts for the first time in May of 1964). Chad & Jeremy never charted in Britain. They, when not doing big-time show tunes, have a rather folksy sound. Peter and Gordon were pure soft rock, and power pop once they entered their ballad phase. Though I might prefer Chad and Jeremy's overall vocal blend, it's really too close for me to call. I'd say, try them both out for size.

[Chad and Jeremy lasted a bit longer, even going through a so-called psychedelic phase, which however I find to be overly theatrical, both vocally and otherwise. There were plenty of others who fell into that kind of groove around the same time (Earth Opera, the Mothers of Invention, Pink Floyd, the Fugs, Love . . . the list is quite long.) I guess I just never grooved in that direction, except for short little gems here and there.]

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fine CD retrospective, January 31, 2008

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ultimate Peter & Gordon (Audio CD)

The Ultimate Peter & Gordon gives us an excellent overlook at the artistry of Peter & Gordon. The quality of the sound is excellent and the artwork is very nicely done.

The album starts off so nicely with their classic hit entitled "A World Without Love." Peter & Gordon harmonize well to this tune and the lyrics are very well written. The drums and guitars make the melody quite catchy and memorable; I predict that you will like this song if you haven't already heard it.

"I Don't Want To See You Again" has a lush musical arrangement while Peter & Gordon sing this sweetly. Their voices are full of masculine warmth and their excellent diction bolsters their performance. The modulations between major and minor keys work well for "I Don't Want To See You Again." In addition, listen for "Love Me, Baby." This middle 1960s tune reflects a somewhat harder rockin' style carried well by the electric guitars; and there's also "I Go To Pieces." "I Go To Pieces" is a beautiful love ballad that places Peter & Gordon squarely in the spotlight as the arrangement makes great use of the guitars, flute and more. Great!

"Don't Pity Me" isn't the strongest song on the album; but it is quite well written; and I really like "To Know You Is To Love You." Peter & Gordon sing this ballad in their fine tenor voices; "To Know You Is To Love You" becomes a masterpiece in their capable hands! For a more playful type of song, listen for "Lady Godiva." "Lady Godiva" has a unique twist to the story and I think you'll get a kick out of this song!

"My First Day Alone" repeats the general formula of the two singers harmonizing to perfection; and they sing this awesome song about their feelings after a breakup with their women. "You've Had Better Times" has a great tempo with a great arrangement; and the CD ends really well with "Jokers."

The liner notes may not be an encyclopedia of information but they are better than nothing; and the artwork is well done.

Overall, this is a fine retrospective CD of Peter & Gordon. Their sound was very professional and passionate; they appealed to your senses in a way few duos ever could. I highly recommend this album for fans of this genre of music.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you have one Peter & Gordon album this should be it, April 27, 2005

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ultimate Peter & Gordon (Audio CD)

"The Ultimate Peter & Gordon," released in 2001, is the best collection available for a decade. Peter Asher and Gordon Waller were the rock duo who had the distinction of being the first group in the British Invasion other than the Beatles to have a #1 hit with "A World Without Love." Of course, the explanation for this success was that Asher's younger sister Jane was Paul McCartney's girlfriend during the first part of the Sixties. This connection paid off with two other hits for Peter & Gordon in "Nobody I Know" (#12) and "I Don't Want to See You Again" (#16). It is not surprising that the first three tracks on this collection are the trio of Lennon & McCartney songs. However, even without their recoding discarded Beatles songs Peter & Gordon would be remembered for their novelty hit "Lady Godiva" (#6).

A key thing to remember with these twenty tracks is that they are arranged in chronological order of when they were recorded rather than when they were released, for what that is worth (I am not enough of a fan to catch the value of the resequencing). What you have are the fourteen songs that made it to the Billboard chart, which means not only the songs you remember like the above along with "Woman" (#14) to go with ones you might have missed, such as "I Go to Pieces," "The Jokers," and "To Show I Love You." The other six tracks are a single that did not chart ("You've Had Better Times), a pair of B-sides ("Love Me, Babye" and "The Town I Live In"), and a trio of ablum tracks ("I Still Love You," "Broken Promises," "My First Day Alone"). It is hard to quibble with the results and if you only own one Peter & Gordon album this one has to be it because it easily lives up to its title.

With their softer, more acoustic sound, you can see Peter & Gordon as being more in tune with the folk-rock movement than with the British Invasion (Asher would go on to be a producer who helped define the mellow sound of California rock, which would seem to help prove the point). Notice that their folksier songs, like "Knight in Rusty Armour" and the Phil Ochs song "The Flower Lady" stand up a lot better than ones where the production values lean towards orchestrations, such as "To Know You Is to Love You," and "Baby I'm Yours." At the very least, Peter & Gordon represent the lighter side of the British Invasion, and you can have fun figuring out who their dark side counterpart would be. The only serious knock against them is that Asher and Waller were average songwriters at best (but notice that the album ends with a pair of songs the duo wrote individually).