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Have I the Right: The Very Best of

Import

4.4 out of 5 stars 164

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Audio CD, Import, April 27, 2004
$21.70 $19.99

Track Listings

1 Have I the Right
2 That's the Way
3 Is It Because
4 Something Better Beginning
5 Colour Slide
6 Once You Know
7 Without You It Is Night
8 I Want to Be Free
9 It Ain't Necessarily So
10 Our Day Will Come
11 I'll See You Tomorrow
12 Eyes
13 Can't Get Through to You
14 It's So Hard
15 She's Too Way Out
16 I Can't Stop
17 Oooee Train
18 Love in Tokyo
19 Totem Pole
20 My Prayer

Editorial Reviews

20 great tracks from the British invasion era band that had a number one hit in 1964 with 'Have I the Right'.

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 11.81 x 0.39 x 11.81 inches; 3.53 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Emi Europe Generic
  • Original Release Date ‏ : ‎ 2004
  • SPARS Code ‏ : ‎ DDD
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ January 20, 2007
  • Label ‏ : ‎ Emi Europe Generic
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00005YUGB
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 164

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
164 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2019
I'm a senior citizen now but I clearly remember the hit title of this album. One of my favorite songs. The rest of the album I don't remember, but the music is still very good.
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2018
I will never understand why the Honeycombs weren't more successful. "Have I the Right" is not their best song (at least in my opinion). This track is filled with hidden gems. Wonderful songs, wonderful group, a bunch of talent here!
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Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2017
The British Invasion was going strong again after a bit of a summer lull, with eleven titles in the October 10, 1964 Billboard Top 50. Among these were a second wave of new groups the Animals, Manfred Mann, The Nashville Teens and the Honeycombs with the Kinks soon to follow. Have I the Right crackled through radios everywhere with its intense vocal, pounding beat and odd organ-like sounds. It was a song you simply could not ignore. What's more, they visually stood out with their female drummer Honey Lantree, a very rare thing in all of 60's rock (and beyond). Many thought her a gimmick but she wasn't. She not only played drums well but was the only drummer on all their recordings and never had to be subbed by a studio musician unlike many other members of pop groups.

The group, from Surrey, was put together by Martin Murray, the manager of a hair salon and Honey, his salon assistant. He's the guy with the glasses who looks like maybe their manager stepped in because a regular bandmate didn't show up. He always seemed to be having a great deal of fun on stage. They added Honey's brother John on bass (he's the big guy), young Alan Wood on lead and singer Dennis D'ell (Dalziel) whose voice was unique, to say the least. They began playing local clubs and came to the attention of new songwriting team Alan Blaikley and Ken Howard who became their managers and brought them to producer Joe Meek's home studio to record.

It was there that the Honeycombs' unique sound was created. I don't know what the band sounded like before their discovery but as recording artists they basically became a project of Blaikley-Howard-Meek. Ten of the songs on the disc are by Blaikley-Howard and three by Meek. Meek was unique at the time by having his own home studio. He made recordings and shopped them to labels rather than working for a label in their studios. He had his own sound and liked to use a lot of echo, reverb and special electronic effects on his productions.

To understand the Honeycombs' sound you should listen to the 1962 hit, Telstar by the Tornados. That was Joe Meek's biggest hit to date. On it he used a clavioline, a forerunner of the analog synthesizer that produced high vibrato sounds, whistles, bells and chimes and any number of other sounds. Though not given credit here I'm pretty sure it was used on most of their songs, especially Is It Because, Colour Slide and Once You Know. I don't think any organ at that time could make all the odd sounds you find on the Honeycombs' tracks.

The other major component of their sound was vocalist Dennis D'ell. He had a strong tenor voice, loud and clear. His delivery was very sharp and cutting with added roughness at times much like Gene Pitney. But unlike Pitney his voice had a vibrato or warble that made it hover around notes rather than hold them clearly and steadily. His voice was also higher than Pitney's though he could modulate downwards for slower numbers which also lessened the warble. The result with the added echo and production effects of Meek made for very intense, often over-the-top songs. It all works best on the big, fast numbers. This 20 song collection givesNot everyone is going to like his voice , especially on song after song. He's a bit of an acquired taste. I wasn't totally sold on him at first but after listening a few times I really enjoyed it all. Though it's not music I'd put on often, it's very fun and not like anyone else in or out of the British Invasion.

In the end the Honeycombs were one-hit-wonders with Have I the Right being their only hit; though it was, at least, a major international hit. This 20-song collection surveys most of their career of two years and shows what the band (and Meek) could do. Admittedly there are a few odd omissions like Please Don't Pretend Again, the B-side of their big hit. And it's true that an alternate version of I Can't Stop (their U.S. follow up to Have I the Right). If a label is going to use an alternate take on a greatest hits collection it should be a bonus track with the single version also included.

The highlights include the upbeat That's the Way, which includes vocals by Honey, the Telstar-like Colour Slide and the fast Is It Because. Surprises include a cover of Ruby & the Romantics Our Day Will Come (by Mort Garson & Bob Hilliard - the booklet says "unknown") a version of Gershwin's It Ain't Necessarily So with a bit of Chopin in the bridge (had to be Meek's idea), an instrumental titled Totem Pole and My Prayer, one of the Platters big hits and an earlier hit for both Glenn Miller and the Ink Spots. Again the booklet says "unknown" but it was surprisingly written in the 1920's by Georges Boulanger, a composer from the world of cafe orchestras and salon music.

This disc it a lot of fun if you give it a chance. It is released on Parlophone (now part of Warner Brothers) using all the original masters and beautifully engineered sound. Still, it won't be to everyone's taste because of it's unique sound. If you really want only Have I the Right it's readily available on most British Invasion CD's and as a single song mp3.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2021
great
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2013
I love just about all 1960's music. I bought this CD mainly for the recording of "Have I the Right." The rest of the songs on the CD are good, too.
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2020
The song, I CAN'T STOP is not the original tune. The original has a fast beat, but the one on the CD is slow. I was disappointed.
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2015
I loved listing to this awsome audio cd the great music of 1960s lives on!!!!.thank you.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2015
I bought this for one song, 'Have I The Right?' which was a No. 1 song in 1964. They never had another hit, but that one song is one of my favorites of all time. It's for my collection.

Top reviews from other countries

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Alan Draper
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential 1960s Music
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2024
Every comprehensive collection of 1960s pop should include some tracks by The Honeycombs and this CD is as good a compilation as any. It covers many of their Joe Meek-produced tracks from 1964/1965. Songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley were Meek's clients in this case and they composed many of the songs featured on this CD. Following on from The Honeycombs sessions with Meek, the songwriting duo brought in their new 'golden boys', Dave Dee & The Bostons (later known as Dave Dee, Dozy, Mick & Tich). However they didn't get on with the legendary producer at all and after suffering violence, courtesy of Meek's equally legendary temper, the sessions fell apart. A great shame, as The Honeycombs performed several of the Howard & Blaikley songs that DDDBM&T later recorded and their versions with Meek producing have something special about them when compared to the DDDBM&T versions and the difference is Meek's unique production, giving them some real grit. Also on this Honeycombs compilation are several standout Joe Meek compositions, showing how ahead of his time the producer was. Fascinating!
Werner Küster
5.0 out of 5 stars Oldies bur Goldies - Spezieller Sound der 60er des vorherigen Jahrhunderts
Reviewed in Germany on May 21, 2021
Ein überaus spezieller Sound der HONEYCOMBS, mit einer der wenigen Schlagzeugerinnen der damaligen Bands. Die Zeit des Beat, des Umschwungs in der Musikgeschichte. Ein spezieller Guitarensound, scharf angespielt mit allen Tricks der damaligen Musikscene. Leider gab es zu dieser Zeit meist die Singles, als 45er Schallplatte, nun überarbeitet in sehr guter Qualität als CD. Eine Band die leider keinen langen Bestand hatte, aber dies gab es in UK und den englischsprachigen Bereichen sehr häufig. Bekanntester HIT "Have I the Right", TOP OF THE POPS. Sehr speziell ist diese Musikrichtung, aber ein absoluter Leckerbissen für die alten Fans.
José Antonio Coimmandant
5.0 out of 5 stars Have I The Right (Very Best Of The Honeycombs)
Reviewed in Spain on December 14, 2020
Uno de los grandes grupos de la movida pop británica de los años 60 que interpretaron unas preciosas canciones y que anecdóticamente tuvieron una mujer como batería, algo inusual en aquella época.
Kinks
3.0 out of 5 stars Très bonne compilation de leur carrière
Reviewed in France on March 21, 2017
"The Honeycombs" est un groupe britannique des années 1964-65 qui a connu une courte de période de succès avec la particularité d’avoir un batteur féminin. La plupart de leurs morceaux sont des compositions du duo connu « A. Blaikley- K. Howard » qui a œuvré notamment pour Lulu et les groupes « The Herd » et « Dave Dee, Dozy Beaky, Mick & Tich ».
Le CD commence par leurs quatre hits, le sommet avec « Have I the right » (#01 UK) en 1964, « That’s the way » (#12 UK) en 1965, « Is it because ? » (#38 UK) en 1964 et « Something better beginning » (#39 UK) en 1965 qui est une composition de Ray Davies membre des Kinks. Pour mémoire, en France, le succès des Kinks « You really got me » était couplé avec « Have I the right » pour constituer un excellent super 45t que j'avais acquis à l'époque. Les morceaux suivants sont tous plaisants notamment le remarquable « Without you it is night », la reprise de « It ain’t necessarily so » est bonne mais incomparable avec celle fantastique des Moody Blues, celle de « Our day will come » est également une bonne découverte. « It’s so hard » aurait pu faire un autre hit. Le CD se termine par un bon instrumental « Totem pole », qui fait très Shadows et une bonne version de « My prayer » des Platters.
Un CD fort agréable à écouter.
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Chris White-McGinlay
3.0 out of 5 stars Sound not great
Reviewed in Australia on October 20, 2019
Sound quality not great.