Customer Reviews

Very Best of Perry Como

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It's a tragedy that most people under forty don't even know who Perry Como is and few have ever been exposed to his music. This album will introduce to some marvelous music, sung by the inimitable Perry Como. As a fan of Perry, Sinatra and Bing Crosby, comparisons to their voices is inevitable. Perry modeled himself closely after Bing and the influence clearly shows. His voice wasn't as deep and his range wasn't as great, but his voice was more mellifluous and mellow, particularly as he aged.

All of Perry's great 40's and 50's hits are included here, as well as two stellar songs from the 70's, "And I Love You So" (my personal favorite) and "It's Impossible." Como injected so much pathos and emotion in both these songs. He learned how to use his vocal instrument more effectively as he got older. My only regret is the omission of Perry's last great song, "Wing Beneath my Wings," one of the great swan songs in American music.

Perry Como's music is timeless and anyone of any age can enjoy it. No one else sang quite like him with that beautifully restrained, sweet, gentle style. I've seen Perry in concert several times and he was a beautiful man, inside and out. His voice mirrors his soul and this is a superb collection.

RCA's The Very Best of Perry Como is a wonderful 21-song set which covers nearly 30 years of this barber-turned-crooner's career. I purchased this album one year after its release in July of 2000, and although I do love Como's voice and smooth delivery of such songs as "Papa Loves Mambo" (a Billboard Top 10 hit in 1954), I am fond of this record for sentimental reasons. When I was a girl growing up in Florida, my stepfather and I would either watch one of Como's TV specials or listen to his recordings on a record player. When I listen to "Some Enchanted Evening" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific," I remember watching Como perform this classic ballad on our black-and-white TV, my stepdad (a Navy veteran who served in the Pacific in World War II) at my side.
As I said earlier, this CD is a retrospective of Como's long and successful career, starting with the 1940s Swing Era hit "(A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba) Dig You Later" to his sweet, romantic "And I Love You So" from the 1970s. Some of my favorite tracks include Slim Willet's "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes," "Because," and an English language cover of Armando Manzaneros "Somos Novios," better known as "It's Impossible."
If you like Perry Como or want an album of easy listening music with one of the great talents of the genre, The Very Best of Perry Como belongs in your music library. I heartily recommend it.
Betty June Moore

Perry Como's voice was smoother than silk while oozing masculinity and a singular tenderness all at the same time. I agree with the reviewer who writes that it IS a tragedy that many younger people today have no idea who Perry Como was or what he did. Perry brought a great deal of sunshine into many people's lives for pretty close to half a century and he deserves a world of credit for that.

This CD is an excellent introduction to Perry's talent as well as a retrospective of Perry's very active singing career. The songs on this CD, as the author of the liner notes points out, all were number one hits or sold at least a million copies. Some feat!

The CD starts off nicely with the upbeat "I'm Gonna Love That Gal (Like She's Never Been Loved Before)," a fun celebration of romance. Other fun and playful songs about love include ""A"--You're Adorable" and "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)."

However, the CD highlights the type of traditional love ballad that Perry loved to sing so much. His rendition of "Some Enchanted Evening" is brilliant; and I liked his classic "It's Impossible," which is based on a Spanish song entitled "Somos Novios (We're Lovers)." The CD ends with the touching ballad "And I Love You So" written by Don McLean and recorded by Perry in early 1973.

The liner notes boast an extensive essay about Perry's professional career although they do gloss over the 1960's as does this album, unfortunately. There are some great color photos of Perry and you get the credits and recording dates for all the songs on this CD.

Although this CD has been in my collection for many years the quality of the sound has not diminished one bit. I would say that the quality of the sound is excellent. The digital transfers and audio restoration by Bill Lacey, Jim Crotty and Mike Hartry are very well done.

In short, this CD is a wonderful way to give younger people their introduction to the incomparable Perry Como. It is a terrific single CD retrospective, too. I highly recommend this for Como fans who want a single CD of his huge hits and fans of classic pop vocals. Thank you, Perry!

This new compilation must surely be the CD all of Perry's many fans have been waiting for! Twenty of the twenty-one songs are repeated from BMG's last "Greatest Hits" package, all but seven are repeated from the popular "Yesterday & Today" box set, whilst ten of the twenty-one tracks, almost half the album, are from Perry's 1958 RCA Victor album "Como's Golden Records" itself generally available on CD for many years. Also replicated here are the majority of songs from "Pure Gold" and "All Time Greatest Hits" for anyone who may have missed these packages. Perry's unforgettable 1958 classic "Catch a Falling Star" leads the pack with over thirty-six other CD releases, followed closely by "Prisoner of Love" with thirty-four and "Till the End of Time" with thirty-two. On average, all of these songs have been released within Como CDs alone more than twenty-two times each, a total of four hundred and twenty-nine times. It's remarkable that BMG continues to be successful selling essentially the same songs over and over. They must be aiming for honourable mention in the Guinness Book of Records! And once again, BMG has printed Perry's picture in mirror image as they did for their recently released Christmas "Greatest Hits" package. BMG may not always be competent but at least they're consistent! This compilation is proof once again that the folks within BMG can't see the forest for the trees.

I am 35 and my husband and I love Perry Como. Our 7 year old daughter who LOVES Pappa Loves Mambo and the ABC song too! We push the repeat button and she could listen to this one for hours. I love Perry Como's songs. Thanks to my grandma who I loved to hang out with she and I shared it, especially during the holidays. He was a great guy and singer. We like listening to this on our weekend drives we always take. It really sets the mood. A total family outing! Just wish I had the car from that era! I have to say every song on this is great! I highly recommend this to anyone my age!

When i was young, PERRY COMO was the singer i used to laugh about.Now that i am 40, i just can't live without him;funny how we change as years go by.This is the perfect COMO cd, complete with good liner notes and the songs we all remember including those novelty songs that our mothers used to sing.Notice how I'M GONNA LOVE THAT GIRL ressembles SINATRA's first version of SATURDAY NIGHT IS THE LONELYEST NIGHT OF THE WEEK with COLUMBIA, as though the conductor was aping ALEX STORDHALL.PERRY COMO deserves his place among the good singers of his time.

The old barber Perry Como had the smoothest, most relaxed voice. At times he looked as if he was falling asleep. He exuded a niceness, a sentimentality that none of his compeers could match. He didn't have Sinatra's musical brilliance, but he had a kind of quiet integrity that radiated calm and pleasantness. My own favorites among the songs include one which I believe was his last great hit , "It's Impossible" and 'Some Enchanted Evening' 'If' . I personally do not go very much for the novelty songs, of 'Hot- Diggety -Dog' type.
Just relax and enjoy.



The songs included here are:
1. I'm Gonna Love That Gal (Like She's Never Been Loved Before)
2. Till The End Of Time
3. (A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba) Dig You Later
4. I'm Always Chasing Rainbows
5. Prisoner Of Love
6. Surrender
7. Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba (My Bambino Go To Sleep)
8. Because
9. 'A' - You're Adorable
10. Some Enchanted Evening
11. Hoop-Dee-Doo
12. If
13. Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes
14. No Other Love
15. Wanted 16. Papa Loves Mambo
17. Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)
18. Round And Round 19. Catch A Falling Star
20. It's Impossible

Not the very best of Como's songs. The sound is rather poor but if you're a Como fan go ahead and add it to your collectionl.

"The Very Best of Perry Como" provides a great platform to showcase the talents of the Pennsylvania barber who became one of the most popular vocalists of the 40's and 50's.

While at times a object of satire, most notably on Second City TV at the hands of Eugene Levy, Perry Como was a talented, warm-voiced singer whose voice was the equivalent of a beloved sofa - comfortable and soft, sturdy with support, but relaxing and carefree at the same time.

Songs like "I'm Gonna Love That Gal Like's She's Never Been Loved Before," "Till The End of Time," "Some Enchanted Evening," "It's Impossible," and others remind us that Como had a wealth of talent.

Eras come and go. Tastes change. But true talent survives the test of time. Perry Como is definitely a survivor.

This CD is awesome! It has some of Perry Como's most beloved songs, including "And I Love You So". He has the smoothest, most amazing voice, and this CD showcases his talent very well with a variety of songs.