Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rhino Records does it again!!, March 24, 2006
There is a lot more to Ben E. King than just his seemingly one hit wonder "Stand By Me". Of the many collections of Ben E. King, this one from Rhino is the best one.
I'll admit, I wasn't expecting much more than just a great remastered recording of "Stand By Me", and "I (Who Have Nothing)". This collection even jumped to the seventies and included Ben E. King's (probably forgotten), Top Ten Hit "Supernatural Thing". I cherished the radio religiously during the early to mid seventies, so having this one Ben E. King seventies hit is a real treat. (It was also in Rhino's "Didn't it Blow Your Mind: Super Hits of the 1970's" collection.)
But, what makes this "Very Best of Ben E. King" collection so much better is that it includes Ben's first few hits with The Drifters before he went solo. Plus, if you didn't know, Ben E. King recorded the original hits of "Spanish Harlem" and "Don't Play that Song (You Lied)", later made into bigger hits by Aretha Franklin.
Some of Ben's more crooner styled recordings were his songs "On the Horizon" and "Amor" which became my most favorite songs on this CD. However, I could do without "How Can I Forget".
Rhino Records, once again, proves to be the leader in releasing the best, "Best of..." CD collections.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best singer of all time..., April 20, 2005
This is one compilation that really gets the essentials to you and doesn't overdo the Drifters material. Ben E. King was such a gifted singer that in my opinion, he has still yet to be equalled. But ask someone to name some great singers and you may not hear his name. Pick up this album: a wonderful mix of r&b, soul, and country. Pure class from one of the greats.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ex-Drifters lead singer made great solo music, March 15, 2005
Born Benjamin Earl Nelson but known as Ben E King by the time he achieved fame as lead singer of the Drifters, Ben did not have many big solo hits but he nevertheless made an important contribution to popular music.
This compilation begins with five of his American hits as lead singer of the Drifters. All five are brilliant but the most famous is Save the last dance for me, which has been recorded by a multitude of singers in several different styles of music. It has also been translated into several languages and many great covers have been recorded in France, Germany and elsewhere.
Following the success of Save the last dance for me, Ben opted for a solo career. He had fewer hits as a solo artist than his former group had without him, but Stand by me (later to become the theme song of an eighties movie) ensures his place in pop music history as a solo singer, while his other great solo records include Spanish Harlem, Amor, Don't play that song and I who have nothing. Ben made a brief comeback in the American charts with Supernatural thing in the mid-seventies. Ben's first (minor) UK hit, First taste of love, is missing but although I'd like it to have been included, it's not essential.
This is a wonderful compilation that contains all the important tracks from Ben's career, whether as a Drifter or solo.
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