Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Buddy Holly 101": all the hits, and then some, June 5, 2000
Today's "oldies" radio stations seem to recognize only two Buddy Holly hits, "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue," but the rest of the Holly catalog doesn't seem to get much play. This collection is a welcome reminder that Holly was one of the recording industry's most prolific singer-songwriters, and the music of Buddy Holly and the Crickets is as enjoyable today as it was 40 years ago. The 50-song compilation opens with a fair sampling of Holly's pre-stardom recordings, heavily influenced by Elvis Presley. Then come the hits ("Rave On," "Oh Boy," "Maybe Baby," etc.), some terrific B-sides ("Everyday," "Tell Me How"), and the more sophisticated "strings sessions" ("True Love Ways," "Raining in My Heart"). This writer's one complaint about this collection is that Holly's last recordings, released posthumously, are largely overlooked. The few that are included have "surf guitar" overdubs and edits which were added in the mid-'60s. That's the only false step in this otherwise commendable anthology tracing Buddy Holly's too-brief career. Casual fans will like it; confirmed Holly addicts will love it.
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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not Fade Away: Holly's Influence Lives On, February 12, 2000
Buddy Holly's influence on rock 'n' roll cannot be measured by chart success (he had only three top ten singles) nor by a lengthy recording career (only three years: his first Decca single "Blue Days" was recorded April 1956 and his final New York apartment recordings were done January 1959--days before the fatal Feb. 3 plane crash). Until MCA rereleases The Complete Buddy Holly (which included EVERYTHING Holly recorded, including demos and some interviews over six CDs), the 50-track on The Buddy Holly Collection does a superb job of summing up Holly's career. This collection begins with two demos cut while he was still in his teens: the rockabilly "Down the Line" and country ballad-influenced "Soft Place in My Hear." In addition, there's the instrumental "Holly Hop" recorded in the Holley family garage in Lubbock (with overdubbing provided by the Fireballs). Holly's first studio recordings were produced by the legendary Owen Bradley and clearly shows the influence of country music on Holly's early recordings like "Blue Days," while "Love Me" and "Midnight Shift" point the direction Holly would go during the rest of his all too short career. Holly and the Crickets became the blueprint for self-contained groups--writing and recording their own music. With his trademark "hiccup" vocal style and impeccable guitar leads, Holly recorded numerous rock classics: "That'll Be the Day," "Peggy Sue," "Well...All Right," "Think It Over." But his album tracks are just as good: "Words of Love" (lovingly covered by the Beatles), "Learning the Game," "Wishing," "Crying, Waiting, Hoping," the list goes on and on. In addition to all the great music, the informative 28-page booklet has track-by-track notes and numerous photos. If your budget can afford only one Holly album, this is the one to get. ESSENTIAL
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good cd of essential Buddy, but missing a few key songs, June 3, 2003
This is a very good collection of Buddy's essential songs but I have to wonder why they didn't include his great cover of "Bo Diddley" as well as a couple more of the songs that were recorded as demos and later overdubbed and released after his death (such as "Love Is A Strange", "That Makes It Tough", "That's What They Say" or the raw demo version of "You're The One" which is a fantastic but pretty much forgotten track). I also believe "Don't Come Back Knockin'", "Last Night" and "It's Not My Fault" would have been stronger choices than "Look At Me", "Little Baby" and "You've Got Love". I can understand why only a few of his earliest recordings were included as most were not of very high fidelity. The three tracks included (tracks 1-3) help show the listener how his musical styles progressed and are good choices.I think the cd could use a remastering with today's technology. Some of the tracks sound a bit better on my vinyl copy of "The Complete Buddy Holly" which is the collection every serious Buddy Holly fan should own (I have the cassette tape version too but it has poor sound quality - a lot of hiss and not much high end and not recorded with Dolby™ noise reduction either. I recommend buying the record set if you can find it...it also includes liner notes missing from the cassette set). Sadly, "The Complete Buddy Holly" is not available on cd because of some squabbles over publishing rights so "The Buddy Holly Collection" is the most complete collection available on cd at the moment as far as I know. I like the fact that they put the non-overdubbed versions of tracks such as "Baby, Won't You Come Out Tonight", "I'm Gonna Set My Foot Down", "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man" and "Reminiscing" on this collection as the overdubbed versions lack the raw energy of the originals. Also, good choice to use the Norman Petty overdub versions of his final recordings as they sound more polished and less like demos than Jack Hansens' versions. So, even with my complaints I have to give this cd collection 5 stars because of what it DOES include which is most of Buddy's best.
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