Search - Four Lovers :: Joyride

Frankie Valli's Early Years

F. Nava | 12/30/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is guaranteed to please any Frankie Valli fan--now you get a chance to hear what he did before his first big hit with the Four Seasons, "Sherry". If you like this CD, you might also like "Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons: The Fantastic First Years", which has most of the early Frankie Valli tracks that are not included here."

I truly, truly love you.

Johnny Heering | Bethel, CT United States | 05/28/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Four Lovers were an early incarnation of the Four Seasons. They had one chart single back in 1956, "You're the Apple of My Eye", which managaged to reach #62 on the national charts. This CD collects all 25 songs they recorded for RCA Records (all in 1956), plus six alternate takes. The group released five singles for RCA, plus an album that didn't include any songs that were released as singles. This is solid mid '50s rock and roll. It sounds a lot like the Four Seasons, but with a '50s rock sound, and Frankie Valli didn't use his falsetto voice as often on these recordings. Very enjoyable early rock and roll, although not as good as the Four Seasons classics that they started recording six years later.

"

A Great Find and Addition to a 4 Seasons Collection

F. Nava | Texas USA | 01/13/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What a great piece of history.



Do you want to listen to Frankie Valli and Tommy Devito before they formed The 4 Seasons? Well, it doesn't get any better than this.



Before the 4 Seasons, Frankie Valli tried his hand at some solo work. After not being able to break the big-time, he joined up with guitarist Tommy Devito and formed this group, the 4 Lovers. They made these recordings, and were even big enough to appear on Ed Sullivan.



There is a lot of doo wop and instrumental work here. There isn't anything different from other bands of the same genre, but what's important here is that you can see the greatness that is yet to come. Frankie has yet to sharpen his high falsetto vocals, but Tommy can really smoke them on the guitar--a talent that did not really shine through when they went on to the Seasons.



Nevertheless, these recordings stand out on their own, even without the 4 Seasons connection...but it's that connection that makes them all more important. Only a few short years later, Frankie and Tommy would meet up with Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi to form the 4 Seasons and make history.



But history had already started to be made with these recordings.



"