Search - Engelbert Humperdinck :: Greatest Songs

Solid album of hits geared toward the casual fan

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 04/04/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Greatest Songs gives us ten great hits from Engelbert Humperdinck. Engelbert sings beautifully on this album; but I do wish they had included an extra song or two. A total of ten tracks just seems mighty skimpy. However, the sound quality is excellent and the artwork is very well done.



"Killing Me Softly With Her Song" shows us Engelbert front and center; I love his strong masculine voice that still manages to belt out numbers with great sensitivity and panache. The musical arrangement works well for "Killing Me Softly With Her Song;" and Engelbert never sounded better, either. "Can't Smile Without You" is a tender love ballad about a man who wants to be close to his one true love. Engelbert delivers this with all his heart and soul; the flute arrangement enhances the natural beauty of this number as well.



"Something" is a beautiful cover of this classic love song by George Harrison; and Engelbert does it great justice with his sublime rendition! George would have been proud; and "Something" doesn't miss a thing--it's all THAT good.



"Close To You" is another tender love song that Engelbert aces quite easily; he sings this so well and you can also hear the operatic qualities of his fine voice. The strings are used very well on "Close To You," too. "Love Is All" is a stunning ballad that Engelbert caresses with his excellent voice; he delivers this with so much grace and style. The backup chorus also works very well for "Love Is All."



"My Cherie Amour" gives us Engelbert doing a spectacular cover of this Stevie Wonder song; Engelbert bats this straight out of the ballpark and I'm very impressed by Engelbert's performance on this number. "My Cherie Amour" is a very pretty number and Engelbert never sings a superfluous note!



"Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" gets a slightly slower tempo than I'm used to hearing; but it all holds its own very well and the strings are used to great advantage on "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head." Engelbert's voice remains a remarkably fine tuned instrument as always.



The CD ends very well with Engelbert performing "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight." This live track shows how well Engelbert could establish a strong rapport with his audience; I love it! Engelbert is full of energy and enthusiasm; I wish I had been there!



Engelbert Humperdinck fans won't be disappointed although they could have included an extra song or two; this is a slight disappointment. This CD might well be beast geared toward the casual fan who wants just a sampling of Engelbert Humperdinck's artistry. More diehard fans will certainly want a CD more substantial than this one.

"

This CD contains all old songs compiled from previous albums

L. Hampton | USA | 07/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"that Engelbert released over the years and it is nice because many of his earlier albums are no longer available unless you hunt them down on Ebay for a great price. Yes these songs were also other singer's but Engelbert does them in his style which I prefer to listen to as the man can sing.

If you must have everything Engelbert sings, then add this if you don't have his older albums from early 70's."

Beautiful songs, never sung better

Alejandra Vernon | Long Beach, California | 12/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Most of the songs on this CD were made famous by other people, but being as incredibly biased as I am, I think they sound even better with Engelbert's wonderful versions; "Killing Me Softly With Her Song" (Roberta Flack) is terrific, as is George Harrison's "Something." Always a marvelous interpreter of Burt Bacharach's compositions, there are two here given the distinctive Engelbert touch, "Close to You" (The Carpenters) and from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "Raindrops are Falling on My Head" (B.J. Thomas).



My favorite track is "Love is All," which is prime, emotional Engelbert (and sounds of fairly recent vintage), and I've loved the melodic "My Cherie Amour" for decades. The big surprise is Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," lasting 7:50 minutes with some audience participation, and recorded at a live concert in Japan. It is given a big band treatment at an up-beat tempo, and makes me imagine how good a "Engelbert sings Dylan" CD would be.

There is only a song list and no other info in the foldout insert or indication of when the various recordings were made, the overall sound is quite good, and total playing time is 36'19."