Search - B.J. Thomas :: B.J. Thomas - Greatest Hits

Country-flavored pop with real "feeling"

John A. Kuczma | Marietta, GA USA | 06/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"From 1966 to 1977, B J Thomas turned out one beautiful song after another, enjoying tremendous success on both the pop and country sides of the house. This excellent collection includes everything from 1966 through 1975, featuring 13 top forty hits, 5 top tens and two number ones, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" and "(Hey) Won't You Play Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song." B J wasn't a mainstream rocker and, to his credit, he didn't try to be. He knew where his strength was and stuck to it; gentle, catchy melodies, heart-felt, insightful lyrics and a dramatic, genuine delivery that gave his music more power than any number of guitars, keyboards or amps could provide. The closest he got to true rock was 1968's number five charting hit "Hooked on a Feeling," which six years later became a mainstream rock hit for Blue Swede.B J's songs were bittersweet but hopeful, tugging at the heart but leaving a quiet smile on the lips. Songs like "I Just Can't Help Believing", "Most of All" and the marvelous "Rock and Roll Lullabye" reveal a reverence for love and love of life that were almost naive but, through his songs, became very real and very believable. Even songs like the profound and powerful "No Love At All" glow with an emotional sincerity that was becoming rare as the pop/rock movement became increasingly more commercialized and prefabricated.The only way that Rhino could have improved on this collection would have been by including 1977s "Don't Worry Baby", a very good cover of the Beach Boys single. But, that's nitpicking. As always, their mastering is excellent and the sound quality spectacular.B J Thomas' Greatest Hits is a wonderful collection of gentle, appealing music that will delight the ears and warm the heart. Don't miss it!"

+ 1/2 Stars...Hooked On B.J. Thomas

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 05/29/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"His most famous song, the Bacharach-David "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" (his first hit after a year off the charts) was the No. 1 song of 1970 and probably the song B.J. Thomas is most identified with. It would go on to sell over a millions copies, as did two of his other hits--"Hooked On a Feeling" (which would sell another million copies when Blue Swede returned it to the charts in 1974) and "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song."His other hits are here, too: the Hank Williams weeper "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," the upbeat "I Just Can't Help Believing" and the best song the Beach Boys never recorded, "Rock And Roll Lullaby." [According to the liner notes, they had Brian Wilson signed up to sing background, but when he didn't show they went with a soundalike group to marvelous effect and ended up with perhaps the finest song of his career.]The only hit missing from this collection is 1977's Beach Boy cover "Don't Worry Baby." [Evidently Rhino couldn't swing a deal with MCA.] But each of his other thirteen Top 40 hits are here, including the gospel-influenced "Mighty Clouds of Joy," which would point the way for Thomas' born-again Christian albums which would earn him five Grammys in the late Seventies and early Eighties. But the songs on this collection are the ones that defined his career and belong in any serious music fan's library. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED"

Great Album - Poor Sound

zugzwang | 10/15/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This album contains a decent selection of B.J. Thomas hits and rarities. They are the authentic, original versions, not re-recordings that you'll find on some of the B.J. Thomas low-priced CDs.



My gripe with this CD is that the sound quality is poor - so poor that I don't enjoy listening to it. The volume is low, headroom is cramped (no bass or treble) so it has a dull, muddy sound. This is not at all like Rhino, who can usually be counted on to issue a first-rate mastering job."