Justo Roteta | Los Angeles, California United States | 07/13/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Although this is a great compilation of The Dramatics' recordings for Stax Records it should have included the full-length LP versions of "Toast To The Fool" and "In The Rain"--this is (almost) unforgivable because these two songs are among the group's signature tunes. This 16-track compilation, however, does give you a great retrospective of the music that made The Dramatics one of the premier Soul Harmony groups of the 1970s."
Not At All Original
Book & Music Lover | Louisville, Kentucky USA | 05/19/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This CD has one major flaw, that is if you are a real fan of the Dramatics. The flaw is with track # 16. This track is not orinigal. This is one of several post original versions of "Toast To The Fool". Sound quality is very good, and the selection is good until one gets to track #16, then one has this very big let down. The version everyone is most familiar with, is the version which only appeared on the 45, and the cassete version, of this very CD.
I hope this information will be passed on to Stax Records, and corrected, in future productions.
Maybe in future productions the 45 version can be included as well."
My first CD!
msdrams | Dramville | 02/09/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is the very first Dramatics CD I ever bought. I love it, I love it! Wee Gee Howard is on half the songs on this CD, and L.J. Reynolds on the other half. My favorite Dramatic is L.J., but I love the whole group. On this CD, you will get the best Dramatics hits from 1971-1974. My favorites include "Whatcha See", "In the Rain", "You Could Become the Very Heart Of Me", "I Dedicate My Life To You", "Toast To the Fool", among others. If you don't have this CD, then you don't know what you are missing out on!"
IT'S WEEGEE NOT LJ REYNOLDS
Dr. Larry Grimm | Chicago, Illinois USA | 01/15/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Let's give William "Weegee" Howard his due here. He is the lead singer on this album (not LJ), and the lead who sang the hits Watcha See is Watcha Get and In the Rain. His replacement, LJ Reynolds, also covered those tunes but with nothing like the effect created by Weegee. Another reviewer states that Ronny Banks asked Teddy Pendergrass to be the lead of the Dramatics. If he did, it was to replace Weegee after he left the Dramatics due to "ego conflicts." Either way, Weegee had the most passionate voice you could ever hear and he was often compared in his early days (1970) to David Ruffin. (By the way, the Dramatics served as back-up singers for Johnny Taylor before they cut their first record (Whatcha See). Listen to Taylor's tunes in 1968/69 and you will hear the Dramatics ("Jodie's got your girl and gone. Gotta get home cuz you work too hard....") Weegee had one hit, and one album, after he left the Dramatics (Hold on to Your Dreams). Sadly, he never was able to establish a stable life and he wasted one of the greatest voices to ever bless us. He wore himself out with his lifestyle and died a couple of years ago in New York (Weegee always lived in Detroit)."
Dramatically Great
Joseph Panzarella | West Islip, New York | 01/24/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"My all time favorite song by the Dramatics is "In The Rain", I still get chills every time I hear it, and ofcourse my other favorite is "Watcha See Is Watcha Get" brings me right back to that summer of '71. This CD was a bonus for me, up until I bought it I only had the two previously mentioned songs on 45 singles, this CD gave me a chance to appreciate more of their talent."