Wall of Sound: The Very Best of Phil Spector 61-66

Phil Spector | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 22, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony Legacy
• ASIN: B003102JKK
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,119 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. He's A Rebel

2. Da Doo Ron Ron

3. Be My Baby

4. Then He Kissed Me

5. (Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry

6. Baby, I Love You

7. He's Sure The Boy I Love

8. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

9. Wait Til' My Bobby Gets Home

10. Walking In The Rain

11. Uptown

12. Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts?

13. Do I Love You?

14. A Fine, Fine Boy

15. There's No Other Like My Baby

16. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling

17. (The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up

18. Not Too Young To Get Married

19. River Deep, Mountain High

Editorial Reviews

Through the 1960s, songs that rang with Phil Spector s signature studio approach ruled the popcharts. In his heyday, Spector s name was more popularly known than the artists he made famous the Ronettes, Crystals, Righteous Brothers, Darlene Love. His was the Midas touch the pop singles on his own Philles label were as ubiquitous as Motown s and rivaled the popularity of the Beatles.

Fifty years ago, legendary producer Phil Spectorestablished his own record label Philles, and a new sound began to ring out of radio speakers across America. The sound Spector created lush, resonant, and dramatic, blending the sentimental swoon of string sections with the excitement of rock and roll was so different, so instantly recognizable, it earned its own name: The Wall of Sound. Through the 1960s, with songs like Be My Baby, Then He Kissed Me, Walking in the Rain, and Da Doo Ron Ron, he ruled the pop charts and made artists like Darlene Love, The Crystals and The Ronettes household names. For twenty years, no new collections of these artists, Philles s most successful, have been released, and only a limited amount of the tracks have been available digitally. The newly remastered greatest hits collections contain the best and most iconic recordings by these artists, and their familiarity will be sure to strike a chord with fans both young and old.

For twenty years, no new collections of these artists, Philles s mostsuccessful, have been released, and only a limited amount of the tracks have been available digitally. The newly remastered greatest hits collections contain the best and most iconic recordings by these artists, and their familiarity will be sure to strike a chord with fans both young and old.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Making A Silk Purse From A Sow's Ear, March 26, 2011

By 

Jack the Beatlegeezer "LMW28IF" (Mohave Desert, California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Wall of Sound: The Very Best of Phil Spector 61-66 (Audio CD)

I've collected this material several times, just trying to get something listenable. When I saw this release was on Legacy, and checked out the rave reviews, I bought it immediately. Bad move.

Although as a collection it is excellent - all of the Crystals' and Ronettes' hits, several solos by Darlene Love, a few by Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and "River Deep, Mountain High" thrown in - soundwise it's a major disappointment. Sony tried to equalise in the low end that was missing, and largely wound up with a very hollow, empty sound. Some of the tracks lost their high end in the process. Many of these recordings have the bass mixed so far back you can't even tell if it's there. "He's A Rebel, for instance. Some of the Ronettes stuff sounds okay, and "Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah" is probably the most improved. But the Crystals' hits sound better on the Spector/ABKCO release, and the Ronettes sound better, in stereo, and the Marginal disc from Brussels. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" also sounds better on the ABKCO disc. Much better. I was thinking "River Deep, Mountain High", being the latest recoding on the disc, might sound better. Forget it. It's the worst. Find the A&M 45.

This is the first Sony Legay disc I've bought that disappointed me. They put their premium brand on junk recordings. Let's hope this isn't going to become a trend for them.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh mono transfer and remaster of Spector's best, February 24, 2011

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Wall of Sound: The Very Best of Phil Spector 61-66 (Audio CD)

In the lull between the primordial spark of `50s rock `n' roll and the `60s echo brought by the British Invasion, Phil Spector reinvented the pop single. He broke into the music industry in the late `50s with his group, The Teddy Bears, and subsequently elevated the stature of "record producer" with his unique Wall of Sound methods. Starting in New York, and eventually decamping to Los Angeles, Spector's fame eclipsed that of his artists. Though the Ronettes and Crystals got star billing, and the A-list studio players got their historic due as the Wrecking Crew, these singles have collectively become known as "Phil Spector records." And given Spector's reclusive lifestyle and his 2009 incarceration, the records are more than ever his public legacy.

This 19-track collection samples the key years, 1961-66, during which Spector produced for his own Philles label. With the Philles catalog now in the licensing hands of Sony Legacy and EMI, the fiftieth anniversary of the label's 1961 founding is being celebrated with a new round of reissues. Alongside this remastered collection of Spector's hits are collections for the Ronettes, Crystals and Darlene Love. This set stretches from the Crystals' and Philles' first single, 1961's "There's No Other (Like My Baby)," through the 1966 release whose chart failure is reported to have broken Spector's heart, Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High." In between are key sides from the Ronettes, Darlene Love, Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans, Righteous Brothers and more from the Crystals, gathering together all of the label's Top 40 singles except for three mid-60s releases by the Righteous Brothers.

This is a great look at the peaks, both commercial and artistic, of Spector's run at Philles. It's missing the warm-up act of pre-Philles sides with Ray Peterson, Gene Pitney, Curtis Lee and the Paris Sisters, as well as Spector's comeback work in the `70s and 80s, but as a single disc overview of the Wall of Sound, and given the per-track royalty model for U.S. releases, it's hard to argue with the choices. To reach deeper into the Phil Spector and Philles catalogs, to hear B-sides, album tracks and the few non-charting Philles singles, seek out the individual artist collections being issued in parallel, dig up a copy of the out-of-print box set Back to Mono, or spring for the imported Phil Spector Masters. This isn't the vault archaeology that fans seek, and many will complain about the mono line-up (all except "River Deep"), but it is a welcome overview of one of pop music's greatest auteurs. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible sound, April 2, 2011

By 

Grandpa Tom "Music is in my soul......" (Twin Cities, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Wall of Sound: The Very Best of Phil Spector 61-66 (Audio CD)

I purchased all 4 Very Best of CD's released in 2011 by Legacy (Phil Spector, The Crystals, Darlene Love, and The Ronettes). My aim is to get the finest sounding examples of these recordings possible, and these sets deliver the finest MONO sonics possible from the almost-50 year old recordings. Almost 50 years-WOW! Where does the time go, from AM radio to digital files played on CD's, IPODS and cellphones? Thanks Phil, for giving us kids the "little symphonies"! BTW, the packaging and liner notes are excellent also.