Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
1962 - All About Our Music, August 22, 2003
I think those who are critical of the music of this era should lighten up a bit. This album particularly demonstrates the incredible diversity of the musical palate. Sue Thompson's "Norman" is a really hummable, polka-type, toe tapping song. Kenny Ball's "Midnight in Moscow" has a distinctive dixieland flair yet sonehow manages to invoke images of Moscow indeed. While I certainly am a big Connie Francis fan, her entry in this collection is argueably somewhat mediocre. The innovative foot stomping beginning to "Sherry" by the Four Seasons compliments the falsetto voice of Frankie Vali. I think those of us who grew up in the 60's were really spoiled by the incredible mix of our popular music. Sure, it's not Gershwin but then again at least it's not Snoop Doggy Dog.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Those times were not so bad . . ., April 30, 2005
I was thirteen 1962, and I remember all these songs perfectly. Back then American Bandstand was on every day after school and to a 13-year-old it was all just soooooo cool--and, most interesting by today's standards, a lot of the kids on the show could actually dance. I mean, DANCE, not just gyrate. Chris Montez--"Let's Dance" was the only decent thing he ever did, and it was terrific. "Sherry" changed me from a passionate falsetto-loather to a huge fan, at least of Frankie Valli's. As the instrumental selections show, in those days you could actually have a hit without a single lyric--and, given the quality of lyrics throughout pop history, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. "Midnight in Moscow," by the way, is the tune of "Moscow Nights," a wistful love song so universally popular and emblematic to Russians that the two opening lines used to be used on Radio Moscow to mark the time--the first line for the hour, the second for the half-hour. Sure, we were ready for the Brit invasion, and what a great thing it was. But don't discount the good things that were done. This is a good collection.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Correcting the Blather of the North, February 16, 2005
I don't understand how somebody who has never HEARD of charted hits can simply state that and yet become a top reviewer. Ignorance counts? Gene Pitney followe "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" with the hit here, "Only Love Can Break a Heart". The Four Seasons and Bobby Vinton had their first hits which are included here. Connie Francis' "Don't Break the Heart..." went to #1. "Lovers Who Wander" was unremarkable but "Hey Baby" (used in the movie "Dirty Dancing") had the blues harp work of the estimable Delbert McClinton and was a big springtime hit. "The Stripper" speaks for itself. And indeed we were ready for the British Invasion. Frank Ifield's "I Remember You" was a hit (not in this selection). The Beatles song, "Please Please Me" was first released. It bombed. And it was below zero in Duluth, the rock capital of America, knocking out radio waves for most of the year.
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