Jim Croce Photographs & Memories: His Greatest Hits [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Jim Croce

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 19, 1995)
• Original Release Date: 1974
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B000002JUC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,198 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #20 in	Music > Folk > Singer-Songwriters
  #49 in	Music > Folk > Traditional Folk

Track Listings

1. Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

2. Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)

3. Photographs and Memories

4. Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)

5. Time in a Bottle

6. New York's Not My Home

7. Workin' at the Car Wash Blues

8. I Got a Name

9. I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song

10. You Don't Mess Around with Jim

11. Lover's Cross

12. One Less Set of Footsteps

13. These Dreams

14. Roller Derby Queen

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Until his untimely death, Jim Croce was a force to be reckoned with on radio playlists. Photographs & Memories repackages some of his best work. Romantic acoustic-oriented songs were his hallmark, and songs like "Time in a Bottle," were huge hits because of their easy sentimentality. "I Got a Name" was the singer as well-worn folk traveler, while "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and even "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" followed standard boogie chord progressions, albeit with Croce's softer rock feel. There wasn't much really separating the overt emotions of "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" and "Operator" from his sap-dripping contemporaries, but there was just enough of an edge in Croce's warm voice to elevate his love songs to another level. Like a, oh, moderately priced wine, Croce remains a classic--accessible, affordable, and easy to enjoy. -- Steve Gdula

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous retrospective from a too-soon-gone artist, May 6, 2000

By	John A. Kuczma "RogueUlfric" (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Jim Croce is best known for the punchy, almost raw sound of his two biggest hits, "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "You Don't Mess Around With Jim." However, he was far more versatile than that, and this collection showcases his talents.

The beautiful "Time in a Bottle" is his best ballad, but it is followed closely by "Operator" and the introspective "I Got a Name." All three of these touching songs are included in this collection.

There are a number of lesser hits here, including the title cut, but the above-mentioned five are the headliners.

Jim Croce had two distinct musical styles, both of which are well represented in this compilation. Photographs and Memories is a must-have for any collection of the great singer-songwriters of our time.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine Inrtoduction To A Too-Short Folk/Rock Career, June 1, 2000

By	Anthony G Pizza "trivialtony" (FL) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Would've been nice to have the sort-of Christmas song, "It Doesn't Have To Be That Way," on this set. But otherwise, "Photographs and Memories" is a brief, full collection of Jim Croce's early 70s hits. Its capturing of a time and musical era allows it to hold the same esteem as best-ofs from James Taylor, Seals & Crofts, Gordon Lightfoot, and other folk/rock performers.

During his too-brief recording career, Croce avoided the political stridency or overly sensitive navel-gazing of most singer/songwriters. Instead, he relied on imagery (growing up in the same general Philadelphia area Croce did, you saw enough roller derby queens, stock car boys, and mean junkyard dogs to know what he sang about), and even a sense of irony and humor to get his character and gentle love songs over. ("Time In A Bottle" with its haunting guitar intro, is the best of these despite inclusion in the sappy, ironically-titled TV movie "She Lives.")

This is all the Croce casual fans will need; otherwise, seek out original albums like "Life and Times," "I Got A Name," and "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" and even the posthumous LP "The Faces I've Been."

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Great, Late & Marvelous Jim Croce!, July 11, 2003

By	Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

For those of us who watched the incredible rise of pop folk and country singer Jim Croce, this was the album that encapsulated his all too brief living of the life of his dreams. Sadly, he was cut down just as his career was reaching its pinnacle, and he left us to sing and perform in other, more ethereal venues. I'm sure he has the angels snapping their fingers and tapping their toes. With the songs that are included her Jim sang his way into our living rooms, automobiles, and our hearts. He was a true original, another of the incredible group of singer songwriters who not only performed so brilliantly, but also wrote the lyrics and composed the music as well.

Here we have every thing from "I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song" to "Photographs and Memories", from "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown" to "You Don't Mess Around With Jim", from "One Less Set Of Footsteps" to "Operator". This is a wonderful album, one filled with all the thoughts and ideas and emotions he evoked so well in his lyrics and his songs. Those of us who came to appreciate his talent and his art were saddened by his death, but are yet thankful he left behind such wonderful photographs and memories, such priceless and timeless reminders of the good times he gave us. That why I wanted to weigh in with this review; I just had to say I loved him in a song... Enjoy!