Your Hit Parade - The '50s Generation

 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• ASIN: B000J14VR8
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,026 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decade-long 50's pop overview, March 21, 2008

By 

Zub "Zubenelgenubi" (Forks Twp., PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Your Hit Parade - The '50s Generation (Audio CD)

In the early days of CD reissues, Time Life was cranking out pop and oldies compilations fast and furiously. This entry focuses on tunes spanning the 50's, the decade that saw many an established pop singing star fade into the background as more teenage-oriented recording artists took over the limelight. The songs here run the gamut from the early 50's crooners with the likes of Bing Crosby and Don Cornell to some of the newcomers represented by Jerry Keller and Jodie Sands. As instrumentals were a large part of the pop music landscape of the 50's, they are not ignored here as evidenced by Frank Chacksfield's "Terry's Theme from Limelight". What is not here however, are the songs of Elvis, Bill Haley, Little Richard or LaVerne Baker - performers whose songs made the newly identified rock 'n' roll the dominent form of popular music by the time the decade had ended.

That said, this collection does sample much of the music that dominated most of the 50's and Time Life has done a respectable job in the process. The generous 24 tracks are reproduced in very good sound quality considering the vintage of these recordings. While by necessity, most tracks are mono, a few of the later-50's tracks (19,21,22,24) come up in stereo. The eight-page flopover liner notes provide background on the artists included along with a discography and a few photographs. Overall, this is a well-executed package with several songs not readily available elsewhere making it a worthwhile purchase for the fan of music of the era looking to add to their collection.