Search - Buddy Holly :: Very Best of

Comprehensive - but as a compilation, it's ill-conceived (an

Colin Spence | Formby, UK | 05/11/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"My 3-star rating reflects my opinion of this album as a compilation - it has nothing to do with the quality of the music or the album's sound quality.



This 50-track/2-CD compilation features all of Buddy Holly's big hits, plus a wide selection of some of his minor hits, B-sides and a dozen or so album only tracks. Although not re-mastered, the sound quality is pretty good (just a little 'muddy' here and there) and, as best as I can tell, the songs are the original versions. However, as a compilation, I feel it is ill-conceived; my reasons for saying this are two-fold - completists will either, seek out a variety of Buddy's other albums or, go for the 2009 60-track/3-CD 'Memorial Collection' (currently, $10 cheaper); whereas, those who simply want a convenient collection of his best known songs will choose another, less expensive compilation. A compilation I would recommend is the original 36-track(*see footnote) version of The Very Best of Buddy Holly(and the Crickets) - to all intents and purposes, this is the same album as the one being reviewed, except that the last 14 tracks on CD2 are not included (I think these are mainly album only tracks). The album had been discontinued, but it is available once again priced at c.$15.



Unusually for a 1950s rock 'n' roller, Buddy wrote and arranged many of his songs; he also played lead guitar and a number of other instruments. Some of his songs are notable for their innovative (at that time) arrangements and playing - including the pizzicato strings on 'It Doesn't Matter Anymore' and the 'fade-in/fade-out' drumming on 'Peggy Sue'. I never thought Buddy was a fantastic singer, but he was good enough and he always made the most of what he had; his vocals could be quite idiosyncratic - notably his 'hiccup' phrasing which can be heard on 'Rave On' and a number of other songs.



1957 and 1958 were Buddy Holly's most successful years but, in the months just prior to his death, his popularity in the US had started to wane, and after 1958 his chart successes diminished drastically. However, in the UK, he continued to have more than a dozen minor hits (including some re-releases) right up until 1964 and beyond. As in the US, Buddy was immensely popular in the UK also and, even to this day, he is remembered with much affection by his fans. En route to the next gig of a scheduled tour, his chartered light aircraft crashed, at around 1am on Tuesday 3 February 1959, in a frozen field near Clear Lake, Iowa - 'the day the music died'. He, together with the Big Bopper ('Chantilly Lace'), Ritchie Valens ('La Bamba') and the pilot, suffered serious multiple injuries and they must have all died instantly - Buddy was 22 when he died.



*Note on discography : The 36-track compilation was originally released in the UK (Universal Music TV) in 1999, and this includes an additional track at the very end - 'Not Fade Away'; the 2004 re-release (MCA-UK) does not include 'Not Fade Away'.



** Update (Aug 2010) - originally on sale at c.$40, now available for "