Customer Reviews

Very Best of Herman's Hermits

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sure, Peter Noone was a safe teenybopper idol and the Hermits weren't frequently used in the studio, but what a great string of lightweight pop singles they left behind in the wake of the second wave of the British Invasion.

Granted, this stuff isn't quantum physics, but songs like "Im Into Something Good," "Silhouettes" and "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" were infectious ear candy for those of us who were barely in our teens in the mid-sixties. One of the first six albums I bought (I now have over 6,000) was Introducing Herman's Hermits with the three previously mentioned singles on it. It also contained a lot of covers like "Sea Cruise" and "I Understand," but this was a singles band which is what makes this such a terrific collection. The only singles missing are their last two to chart in the U.S.--"Don't Go Out Into the Rain (You're Going To Melt)" and "Museum," both from 1967. Instead we're given a handful of failed singles from 1968 to their breakup in 1970, although several of them hit the top ten in the UK: "Sunshine Girl" (#8), "Something's Happening" (#6), "My Sentimental Friend" (#2) and "Years May Come, Years May Go" (#7). Since this is, after all, a UK release it only makes sense that these songs--though unfamiliar to the average American listener--are included in this Best Of package. [Note: No. 1 songs like "Mrs. Brown" and "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" are on this set, too, even though they were never released in the UK as singles. So this collection seems to be a compromise for fans on both sides of the Atlantic.]

In any case, this is a wonderful collection of sixties pop confection. So, listen people, this is a dandy and not a must to avoid. [Ouch!]

I bought this cd for nostalgic reasons, as I was a teenager when the British Invasion of pop stars began in the wake of the success of the Fab Four, The Beatles, on our American shore in the mid-nineteen sixties. With the advent of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and The Dave Clark Five, how could Herman's Hermits not fare well?

Led by the fresh faced, photogenic, clean-cut and boyish Peter Noone, the band was to conquer America with their up-tempo, British music hall influenced, vaudevillian pop. They took America by storm. In listening to the album, which is a terrific, comprehensive compilation of their recordings, I realized that I had forgotten just how many hit songs they had had that I still love hearing.

From their irrepressible debut single, "I'm Into Something Good", to their remake of the Rays' nineteen fifties hit "Silhouettes", to the unparalleled "No Milk Today", and last, but certainly not least, their 1967 hit, "There's a Kind of a Hush All Over the World", Herman's Hermits were able to score significant hits. There are other hits on this album, some more well known, perhaps, but these are my favorites. With twenty five tracks from which to choose, many baby boomers will enjoy taking a walk down memory lane with this cd.

The songs are very rhythmic and dance able.

This collection of Herman's hermits hits is great and happy and some a little mellow.

A classic treasure of their music and times.

Among the Herman's Hermits compilations currently available (as I write this, it is still available in the UK), this is as good as any.

Their American chart history was very different from their UK chart history. Some singles were released in one country but not the other and even where a single was released in both, it often did much better in one than the other. Despite having a UK number one hit with their first single, they were much more popular in America than Britain from 1964 to 1966 but the positions were reversed thereafter.

The American top ten hit, Leaning on a lamp post, and two other American top forty hits (Don't go out in the rain, Museum) are not included here, though none of these made the UK charts - only Museum was actually released in the UK. Also missing is Hold on, the title track of a film they starred in. The only UK hit missing is Oh you pretty thing, a Peter Noone solo track recorded in the early seventies.

Herman's Hermits began with I'm into something good (a cover of a song by Earl Jean of the Cookies), their only British number one hit, which also made the American top twenty. Six top ten American hits including two number ones were never released as UK singles, these being Can't you hear my heartbeat (a UK hit for Goldie and the gingerbreads), Mrs Brown you've got a lovely daughter, I'm Henry the eighth I am (an old music hall song), Listen people, Leaning on the lamp post (inexplicably omitted from this collection) and Dandy. Two UK singles - Show me girl, You won't be leaving - made the top twenty but were not released as singles in America.

Some singles were released in both countries, these being Silhouettes (a cover of a fifties song by The Rays), Wonderful world (a song that has also charted for both Sam Cooke and Louis Armstrong at different times), Just a little bit better, A must to avoid, This door swings both ways, No milk today and East west.

There's a kind of hush was a top ten hit in both charts although it was a bigger hit in America. I can take or leave your loving just missed the UK top ten and just missed the American top twenty. After that, Herman's Hermits never again made the American top forty but continued to chart in Britain.

Their remaining major UK hits were Sleepy Joe, Something is happening, My sentimental friend, Years may come years may go and Lady Barbara. Here comes the star (an Australian song) and Bet your life I do (written by members of Hot Chocolate before they became famous for their own music) were lesser UK hits.

Despite missing a few songs, this collection will provide enough Herman's Hermits music for most people. Some years ago, there were two CD's available in the UK titled Best of the EMI years (Volume 1 1964 - 1966, Volume 2 1967 - 1971). These are now out of print but together remain the most comprehensive collection of their music yet released on CD.

If you're trying to decide whether to buy this Herman's Hermit's cd or "Their Greatest Hits", then read on.

Both cds contain their original recordings. This CD contains 25 songs, a full nine more than the ABKCO cd. Every song from "Their Greatest Hits" is on this disc except for "Leaning On The Lamp Post" and it's B-side, "Hold On". Of their 19 Hot 100 hits, only "Leaning On The Lamp Post", "Museum" and "Don't Go Out Into The Rain (You're Going To Melt)" are absent from this cd.

Herman's Hermits were hardly state-of-the-art in the studio, so you won't find much stereo here. Every song on both the ABKCO disc and this one is in mono, except for two songs on this cd. "A Must To Avoid" and "Lady Barbara" are presented in stereo here and they sound wonderful! Overall, the sound quality is excellent and better than the sound on "Their Greatest Hits".

If you have a choice between "Their Greatest Hits" and this cd, buy this disc. But it does lose one star for not having the Top-10 hit "Leaning On The Lamp Post".

This CD contains all of the Herman's Hermits songs you would want with a few extras. Herman's Hermits had many good songs and most of them, if not all of them are on this album, all original recordings and a must for any Herman's Hermits fan.

Good compilation. You cannot get such a collection for a few bucks. Some tracks like "Travelling light" and "Sea Cruise" are missing, but they cannot be more generous. Buy this and be aware of those new re-recordings in stereo available at Amazon.com ( I prefer the original mono recordings!). Just compare both versions of "Sunshine girl" (Today, H.H's drummer needs viagra!).

As it turns out,this is the one-disc version of the 2-CD title of the same name,but with a different cover(see my review).A good collection of the British Invasion band's repertoire,but how many time must these labels put out 'best of' compilations?As I put the CD in my player,I checked out the twenty-five cuts,as usual,with a few of the highlights being "I'm Into Something Good","Wonderful World","Sunshine Girl","Dandy",etc.By today's standards,this is pretty innocent material.Pretty much aimed toward the completists.

The first 17 songs on this album were good. Some could have been better if they had been re-mastered from the original recordings. My biggest disappointment was poppin it in my cd recorder and getting the dreaded "Unable to copy" message.
Thanks alot Recording companys...I live in the rural toolies where they think Country music is the only thing we like to hear!

What's here is good, but it is missing some of their hits like "Leaning On The Lamp Post", "Museum" and one of my favorites "Don't Go Out Into The Rain". It seems to be common practice when record companies release "greatest hits" collections to leave off a few hits and replace them with some forgettable album cut or B-sides that never received air-play. I don't understand what they are thinking when they do this. With 25 songs on this CD, they could have included ALL of their hits and still had room for some of their better non-hit songs. Their "Retrospective" CD is better.