Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So many wonderful songs, October 28, 2000
It's a tragedy that most people under forty don't even know who Perry Como is and few have ever been exposed to his music. This album will introduce to some marvelous music, sung by the inimitable Perry Como. As a fan of Perry, Sinatra and Bing Crosby, comparisons to their voices is inevitable. Perry modeled himself closely after Bing and the influence clearly shows. His voice wasn't as deep and his range wasn't as great, but his voice was more mellifluous and mellow, particularly as he aged. All of Perry's great 40's and 50's hits are included here, as well as two stellar songs from the 70's, "And I Love You So" (my personal favorite) and "It's Impossible." Como injected so much pathos and emotion in both these songs. He learned how to use his vocal instrument more effectively as he got older. My only regret is the omission of Perry's last great song, "Wing Beneath my Wings," one of the great swan songs in American music. Perry Como's music is timeless and anyone of any age can enjoy it. No one else sang quite like him with that beautifully restrained, sweet, gentle style. I've seen Perry in concert several times and he was a beautiful man, inside and out. His voice mirrors his soul and this is a superb collection.
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"It's Impossible" to pass up Very Best of Como...., November 2, 2003
RCA's The Very Best of Perry Como is a wonderful 21-song set which covers nearly 30 years of this barber-turned-crooner's career. I purchased this album one year after its release in July of 2000, and although I do love Como's voice and smooth delivery of such songs as "Papa Loves Mambo" (a Billboard Top 10 hit in 1954), I am fond of this record for sentimental reasons. When I was a girl growing up in Florida, my stepfather and I would either watch one of Como's TV specials or listen to his recordings on a record player. When I listen to "Some Enchanted Evening" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific," I remember watching Como perform this classic ballad on our black-and-white TV, my stepdad (a Navy veteran who served in the Pacific in World War II) at my side.
As I said earlier, this CD is a retrospective of Como's long and successful career, starting with the 1940s Swing Era hit "(A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba) Dig You Later" to his sweet, romantic "And I Love You So" from the 1970s. Some of my favorite tracks include Slim Willet's "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes," "Because," and an English language cover of Armando Manzaneros "Somos Novios," better known as "It's Impossible."
If you like Perry Como or want an album of easy listening music with one of the great talents of the genre, The Very Best of Perry Como belongs in your music library. I heartily recommend it.
Betty June Moore
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best All-Time Greatest Hits, Pure Gold, Yesterday & Today!, July 26, 2000
This new compilation must surely be the CD all of Perry's many fans have been waiting for! Twenty of the twenty-one songs are repeated from BMG's last "Greatest Hits" package, all but seven are repeated from the popular "Yesterday & Today" box set, whilst ten of the twenty-one tracks, almost half the album, are from Perry's 1958 RCA Victor album "Como's Golden Records" itself generally available on CD for many years. Also replicated here are the majority of songs from "Pure Gold" and "All Time Greatest Hits" for anyone who may have missed these packages. Perry's unforgettable 1958 classic "Catch a Falling Star" leads the pack with over thirty-six other CD releases, followed closely by "Prisoner of Love" with thirty-four and "Till the End of Time" with thirty-two. On average, all of these songs have been released within Como CDs alone more than twenty-two times each, a total of four hundred and twenty-nine times. It's remarkable that BMG continues to be successful selling essentially the same songs over and over. They must be aiming for honourable mention in the Guinness Book of Records! And once again, BMG has printed Perry's picture in mirror image as they did for their recently released Christmas "Greatest Hits" package. BMG may not always be competent but at least they're consistent! This compilation is proof once again that the folks within BMG can't see the forest for the trees.
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~ Bing Crosby
~ Andy Williams
~ Andy Williams
~ Tony Bennett
~ Nat King Cole
See all 21 tracks on this disc
by Perry Como 
