Customer Reviews

Unforgettable Vikki Carr

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This is one of the better "greatest hits" CDs I've heard in a long time. But best of all, I can finally hear "Only Love Can Break a Heart" and "Walk Away" again after years of waiting. I have never understood why those two songs were not included on an album early in Vikki's career, but now everyone can fall in love with them as I did over 25 years ago. Plus, now I can throw out my old 8-tracks that I couldn't play but kept just for those two songs. This is a great CD and a wonderful tribute to Vikki's early career.

If you are looking for the perfect singer and the perfect CD...this is it! A wonderful compilation of songs from a vocalist who doesn't just sing with her voice, but always with her heart...you don't just hear the songs this woman sings - YOU FEEL THEM. In this CD you will hear the studio recorded version of "With Pen In Hand" and you know what? It still breaks your heart to pieces. No one has ever, or will ever come close in doing what she can do to someone's heart...it's simply magic! She touches you like no one else ever could...and once it happens, you are hooked! FOREVER!!! For...ETERNITY...

The Unforgettable Vikki Carr is far from being an album geared toward just fans of Vikki Carr. Vikki can take a song and make it into a masterpiece with her remarkable timing, diction and beautiful vocal talents. The artwork for this CD is terrific; and the sound quality is excellent, too.

The track set starts with Vikki singing "He's A Rebel;" Vikki aces this effortlessly and I love it! The musical arrangement is full of energy and Vikki delivers this with all her might--wow, what a great song to begin this fine album! "Only Love Can Break A Heart" is a cover of Gene Pitney's famous song; but when Vikki sings this she can still make it all her own with her fantastic delivery. Vikki sings "Only Love Can Break A Heart" with great sensitivity and it shows when you listen to this track.

"Bye Bye Blackbird" was always one of my favorite songs; and Vikki's timing is superlative. I predict that you will enjoy "Bye Bye Blackbird" very much; and the big band arrangement works wonders for this tune, too. "Unforgettable" is a cover of the great Nat King Cole's signature song; Vikki and the backup chorus work to make this a new and fresh masterpiece all over again. Listen also for "With pen In Hand;" this incredibly huge hit for Vikki stuns me with its beauty and I love hearing this over and over again.

"By The Time I Get To Phoenix" again places Vikki front and center; and she never sings a superfluous note! "Never My Love" is equally stunning; Vikki's excellent diction once again makes for a flawless delivery of this beautiful ballad. There's also "Yesterday When I Was Young." "Yesterday When I Was Young" showcases Vikki's vocal prowess and she bats this straight out of the ballpark! "Yesterday When I Was Young" is truly a major highlight of this CD.

"If You Love Me (I Won't Care)" is a cover of a ballad made famous by the immortal Edith Piaf--Piaf would be proud of Vikki Carr's performance here! "Poor Butterfly" is another pretty melody; and the CD ends very strong with Vikki singing "Everything I Touch Turns To Tears." This passionate number makes a solid ending for this album. Vikki just never sounded better!

Naturally, Vikki Carr fans will want this for their collections; but people who enjoy classic pop vocals will not be disappointed either.

Bravo, Vikki Carr!

I grew up listening to Vikki carr in the sixties and seventies, so most of this material is quite familar to me. As with the lady from Aurora, CO, this material is an indispensible introduction to Vikki Carr and what she can still do. "He's a Rebel" is a feistier version than that by The Crystals, while "With Pen In Hand" is the original 45rpm release. It's not as good as her in-concert performances! The big surprise is the inclusion of 4 tracks from Carr's "Nashiville by Carr" album which, like the rest of her English-language albums, is sadly in need of a cd re-issue. The topper is the epic "Sunday morning Coming Down" which must have been done in one take. "Walk Away" is more poignant than Matt Monro's justifiably famous performance. Over all, this the most satisfying compilation I have ever heard and I encourage anyone to contact me to say otherwise!

This compilation is an excellent way for someone to hear the various styles that Vikki can sing. But I do not know why she recorded "He's A Rebel". And especially to put it as the lead song on this CD. I hope it doesn't scare a prospective buyer away from this compilation. Vikki has such a terrific voice with such a wide range. She definitely did not do well on "He's A Rebel" (she should have left The Crystals alone). She does a great job on the country songs - I wish her country album would be released on CD. And I particularly liked her version of "Poor Butterfly". If you are a newcomer to Vikki Carr, next try her Spanish albums. They will really blow you away!!!

Fell in love with the singing of Vikki Carr in the 70's. Had more of her albums than any other artist. My old vinyls are worn out, but not the memories. . . After all, she is unforgettable. CD's by Vikki were the first I sought. I surfed the web and scoured the stores, with little success. But I found a few. It was worth the effort. The sound, the sincerity, the sensuality. Sensational. She is as great as I remembered!

Finally! After a 20 year wait songs that, as far as I know, have been released only on 8-track tape are available once again. It's been a long wait to hear "Walk Away" and "Only Love Can Break a Heart" again, and I love them still! In fact, the entire CD is great and one of the best English-speaking recordings released by Vikki in a long time. I highly recommend it for fans and non-fans.

"Unforgettable" is right -- this is an outstanding gathering of Vikki Carr's '60s hits and album tracks. This really captures the early years of a great song stylist.

Vicki Carr is great whatever she sings. Some of these are favoites of mine, some are not. These are some of the first songs she produced. Her voice became richer and warmer in later years. Why doesn't Colombia re-release "The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face)" Album?

Vikki has achieved her greatest successes since focusing on the Latin market, but she recorded plenty of great music in English during the sixties and early seventies. Twenty of her finest English language recordings from the sixties are presented here.

Vikki's first significant success came with He's a rebel, which made the top ten in Australia. It should have been a huge hit for in Britain and America, but Phil Spector heard the song and arranged for the Crystals to record it and they had the British and American hit. Phil Spector and the Crystals were later on the wrong end of such opportunism when they were too late to record It's my party - Lesley Gore hastily released her version as a single, depriving the Crystals of a huge international hit.

Despite that setback, Vikki built a reputation as an albums artist before finally securing a major international hit with It must be him, a translation of a French song written by Gilbert Becaud. Sadly, this was Vikki's only major English-language hit although she had a few others, notably With pen in hand (written by Bobby Goldsboro and also included here).

Among the many other excellent tracks here are Mirror, How does the wine taste and Bye bye blackbird. Vikki shows that she is a brilliant interpreter of other people's song on By the time I get to Phoenix (Glen Campbell), Only love can break a heart (Gene Pitney), Unforgettable (Nat King Cole), Alfie (an American hit for Dionne Warwick and a UK hit for Cilla Black), Can't take my eyes off you (Andy Williams), Never my love (Association), All my love (Patti Page), Singing my song (Tammy Wynette), Sunday morning coming down (Kris Kristofferson), Yesterday when I was young (Charles Aznavour), Walk away (Matt Monro), If you love me (Kay Starr) and Poor butterfly (from the Broadway musical Big show, this is an oft-covered jazz standard).

Although this compilation is now out of print, it is well worth seeking as not everything here has been re-issued on more recent compilations.