Customer Reviews

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Jackie DeShannon is one of the biggest talents to ever hit rock & roll. Unfortunately, this CD seems to be the only collection still in print. While some of the songs are first-rate, others are not her best, and the timing is very skimpy. It's a fine place to start, but listener's would be better served by searching out The Definitive Collection, and her studio albums on vinyl.

On this album of her greatest hits, Jackie DeShannon straddles many musical styles with grace. Her own compositions and some songs that she first recorded have been covered by many other artists down the decades.

Annie Lennox and Al Green covered Put A Little Love In Your Hart, When You Walk In The Room and Needles And Pins were made huge hits by The Searchers and have seen many other versions since then, whilst Come And Stay With Me was a hit for Marianne Faithfull. All of the songs here are very strong, with moving lyrics set to sublime melodies.

Other highlights include What The World Needs Now Is Love and Love Will Find A Way, but every track is really a gem. DeShannon had a fine pop sensibility and a lovely voice; the arrangements are great too. The most conspicuous omissions are Vanilla O'Lay (a minor hit for Twiggy) and Bette Davis' Eyes from her 1975 album New Arrangement, later made a hit by Kim Carnes.

Those two, plus many other memorable tracks, are available on the Best Of compilation on the Rhino label. Those who like Spector style girl group pop, 1960s folk-pop and authentic soft rock will find much to enjoy on this album. It is worthwhile to add to your collection even if you own the aforementioned Rhino collection, even if only for the poignant ballad Come And Stay With Me.

JACKIE DE SHANNON. WOW! SHE WASN'T JUST LOVELY, BUT TALENTED.HER SINGING WAS A CROSS BETWEEN FOLK AND ROCK. SHE BLEW ME AWAY WHEN I FIRST HEARD "WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE".THAT SONG STILL HAS STRONG STANDING ADVICE.JUST LOOK AT ALL THAT'S HAPPENING!HER SONGS LIKE "NEEDLES AND PINS", "WHEN YOU WALK IN THE ROOM" AND "PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HEART" ARE CLASSIC 60'S STUFF.SHE HAD HER OWN STYLE, LIKE EVIE SANDS ("TAKE ME FOR A LITTLE WHILE").THIS C.D. IS GREAT BUT UNFORTUNATELY WILL LEAVE YOU WANTING TO HEAR MORE,AND THERE IS MORE! THEY JUST HAVEN'T RELEASED IT!!BUY THIS C.D. IT'S WORTH IT TIL THEY RELEASE A DOUBLE C.D.

This very entertaining collection of songs from the 1960's showcases the great talent of singer/songwriter Jackie DeShannon. This album leads off with the bouncy rocker, "Put a Little Love in Your Heart," followed by several great songs, many written or co-written by DeShannon herself, such as "Brighton Hill," "Love Will Find a Way," and "When You Walk in the Room." As good as these songs are, however, one of them clearly stands out, and that is her hit rendition of the unforgettable Burt Bacharach and Hal David ballad, "What the World Needs Now Is Love." This CD would be well worth having just for this one song. A friend of mine, after listening for just a few minutes to the music on this disk, immediately declared that he was going to go buy a copy for himself!