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 Great compilation of Frankie's music Apr 03, 2009
This British set is compiled from Frankie's recordings that are now owned by Sony, beginning in 1951. All the songs that charted in Britain are here except for a few minor hits, as well as re-recordings of some of his earlier Mercury hits. It is worth pointing out that Frankie often re-recorded his old hits to take advantage of technology that was improving rapidly in the fifties, and I'm not sure if all the later hits are original recordings. The original release dates given in the track listing are sometimes several years later than the date that the song hit the charts. People who must have the original recordings may decide not to buy this set on that basis, but those people will have to check any Frankie Laine compilation carefully.
Record sales charts only started in Britain in November 1952, before which there were only sheet music charts; however, Frankie's American chart success began in 1947. Among his early American hits (on Mercury) represented here by re-recordings are That's my desire, Mam'selle, Shine, That lucky old sun, Mule train and The cry of the wild goose. The last three of these all made number one in the American charts. Frankie had plenty of lesser American hits on Mercury, so dedicated fans will want a compilation of his Mercury recordings to get those hits as well as the original recordings of the ones featured here via re-recordings.
Frankie switched labels in 1951 and his records were then released on Columbia in America, but on Philips in Britain. His early American hits for his new label included Jezebel, Rose Rose I love you, The girl in the wood (a belated UK hit in 1953, having been an American hit in 1951), Jealousy, The gandy dancer's ball and When you're in love, all featured here. With the launch of the UK charts, High noon, Sugar bush (with Doris Day) and many other singles charted in both countries, though none of Frankie's wonderful duets with Jo Stafford charted in Britain and they're not featured here either, though they can be found elsewhere. Despite those records failing to chart, Frankie's solo recordings were very popular in Britain, often charting higher than they did in America. I believe, Tell me a story, Where the winds blow, Hey Joe!, Answer me (later revived by Barbara Dickson), Cool water and A woman in love (not to be confused with other famous songs titled Woman in love) were among the biggest UK hits and you'll find them all here.
The first CD of this set mainly focuses on Frankie's cowboy songs, with the love songs dominating the other two discs. As an introduction to Frankie's music, this is brilliant. I already had the cowboy songs on a couple of Bear Family compilations (On the trail and On the trail again) so I'm pleased att the way this set was compiled. If I play this soon after I play the other two compilations, I can simply skip the first CD to avoid repetition. Where Frankie's music is concerned, my next task is to look for a compilation of his Mercury recordings, but meanwhile this set has all the songs that really matter, even if some of them are re-recordings.
Good Collection for the $$ Oct 29, 2008
While many of the Mercury & early Columbia recordings are indeed re-recordings, there are a several gems in this collection that are not only the original Columbia recordings, but they're hard - if not impossible - to find on CD. "Hawk Eye," Granada," "The Kid's Last Fight," "Hummingbird," & "I Believe" to mention a few. All originals. "High Noon" & "A Woman In Love" are among the Columbia remakes. "Love Is A Golden Ring," mentioned in another review is the original Columbia recording (with the Easy Riders), at least on the set I have. The rerecordings aren't bad, though, they're just not the originals. For the price and for the hard-to-find songs, it's a pretty decent set.
Good collection covering decades of Laine's career. Jun 12, 2007
Frankie Laine was one of the best when it came to the themes for many westerns. This collection of three CDs contains other good styles which show facets of his career I was not familiar with. I am a long-time fan of his theme songs, but this collection was enjoyable throughout.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 " NOT THE ORIGINAL VERSIONS" Apr 06, 2007
Stay away from this set if you want the original versions for these are all later re-recorded versions. I bought this mainly for one song called " Don't Make My Baby Blue " and was throughly disgusted when I heard it. I have the original on a 45 record and believe me the cd version is definitely different. None of the songs on this set are the original.
A classic even when he's dead by now R.I.P. Mar 11, 2007
I'm a collector of music, no matter time or type, but this collection of Frankie Laine is the only one that contains all the classics, including Blowing Wild. Maybe this song is not classic for everybody, but in Chile you consider it in the Top 5 of Frankie.
If you have to choice only one CD of the late Frankie Laine, this is it!. This is the one!. No more "greatest hits" that includes "all", except the one you want or you need...
Good Choice...!!!
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