Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thank You Buddha Records!, March 20, 2000
Wow! I almost didn't buy this collection after reading other amazon reviews and how similar it was to the Rhino CD, but boy good thing I did. First off, this compilation is not only cheaper than than the Rhino package, but sound wise it blows the doors off the Rhino package. Did Rhino take their compilation from old records? This thing sounds amazing, I don't know any other way to describe it. The package says it was taken from the original master tapes for the 1st time and boy does it show. I can't say enough about the sound because being a long time fan, I have always been dissapointed with the way that their CD's have sounded. Great liner notes from Ben Edmonds of Cream & Mojo magazine with lots of information I never knew. I hope Mojo has a big feature planned soon. As far as the tracks go, yeah it's the best of the Lovin Spoonful what more could you want? Don't be fooled friends, this is the must own Spoonful package! Let's hope Buddha reissues the entire LS catalog this way.
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Spoonful of Magic, January 25, 2003
The Lovin' Spoonful seldom makes anyone's short list of great sixties bands. Their legacy has been cheapened by Buddah Record's exploitation of their back-catalog in an endless stream of ill-conceived "greatest hits" collections that are of abysmal quality. But that's not all... In the summer of 1966, guitarist Zal Yanovsky and bassist Steve Boone were arrested for marijuana possession in San Francisco. In exchange for immunity, Yanovsky and Boone assisted the police in setting up Bill Love, manager of the popular 60's comedy improv ensemble, the Committee. The Lovin' Spoonful became a "nark" band and were forever banished from the musical underground. It's unfortunate because the Spoonful and John Sebastian's music may never be examined on it's own terms, without regard to the band's pariah reputation in the 60s.It was John Sebastian that was the focal point of the Spoonful. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Sebastian had a keen melodic ear and the lyrical talent of a tin pan alley master, like Ira Gershwin. Sebastian brought the best traditions of American folkways to Top Forty radio. "Wild About My Loving" is a variation on a song played by the legendary Mississippi Sheiks an African American ragtime and blues band. "Nashville Cats" sings the praises of yellow Sun records from Nashville. "Jug Band Music" is about, well, jug band music. Sebastian certainly broadened the scope Top 40 music playlists. In addition, Sebastian songs like "Summer In the City" and "Daydream" were in the best traditions of American tin pan alley songcraft. After ill conceived several tries, Buddah Records has finally released a complete remastered collection of the Spoonful's greatest hits. Within this context, the Spoonful rise about the "nark" band fiasco, to deliver the goods. Sebastian and the Spoonful had pretty much run their course by 1968 but left a stellar string of hit singles. Sebastian was offered a fourth slot in Crosby,Stills and Nash, which he declined and went on to be the whimsical tye-dyed poster boy for Woodstock. He wrote the theme to the "Welcome Back Kotter" television show which probably assures him that he will never have to work a day job. He is still a regular on the tour circuit and still a delight on the concert stage (I saw him in Boston a couple of years ago.)
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hall of Famers get an anthology worthy of their talents, April 30, 2000
By A Customer
One of the truly worthwhile things about the Internet (and Amazon's review forum) is that music lovers can exchange ideas, trivia, opinions and remembrances about their favorite artists. So it has been fun for me, a lifelong Spoons fan, to read others' contributions here. Like Peter Castanos, I am also a devotee of Bill Inglot and Rhino. They will always have my thanks and admiration for the CDs they issue. But I always thought Rhino's Spoons anthology sounded pretty rough. It was clear to me after I heard it that Rhino did not have access to the original tapes, and I think Inglot did the best he could with what he had. So, this new Buddha collection is the one to buy. Like Peter, I A-B'd the two. But unlike Peter, I think the sound on this one is much more than a slight improvement over Rhino's effort. I can hear nuances in Joe's singing and drumming, Zally's guitar licks, Steve's bass lines and piano playing, and John's singing and strumming that I've never heard before. As with Sony's remastered Byrds CDs, listening to Buddha's remastered Spoons CD is akin to hearing the songs for the first time. If your CD collection lacks music by the Lovin' Spoonful, and the band's hits are all you desire, then get this CD. It's essential listening. I'm still going to buy all the original Spoons CDs if and when they're released because the band created too many other good songs ("Fishin' Blues," "Butchie's Tune," "Let the Boy Rock and Roll," "Boredom" to name but a few) to stop with this hits collection, but this one will stay in my CD player till then.
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