Search - Frank Yankovic :: Greatest Polka Hits

A decent re-release

Bill Smythe | Chicago | 04/16/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"From his 1940s heyday until the late 1960s, Frankie Yankovic was with Columbia records. Then, from 1968 to 1970, he recorded five albums with RCA. This CD contains 23 of the 44 tracks originally released on the first four of these five LPs. It's good stuff, and it's recent enough so that the sound is decent. The five tracks (3,7,13,16,22) from the first LP, Polka Variety, do not sound quite as good as the others, and two or three of the five seem to have been "enhanced" with a little extra reverb. RCA has chosen to include mostly the polkas, rather than the waltzes, from these vinyl classics. This is unfortunate, because in some ways the waltzes Frankie recorded during this "between-heydeys" period were actually superior to the polkas. I hope RCA will produce a Volume 2 of this CD, including all the remaining titles from these LPs, especially Beautiful Rose, St Bernard Waltz, LeeAnn Waltz, Those Were the Days, and Chip on Your Shoulder. Then, perhaps at a reduced price, there could be a Volume 3, an exact re-release of Frankie's fifth RCA vinyl, Polka Time, which for some reason is not represented on this CD at all. The current CD, which includes some very nice liner notes summarizing his life and 1998 funeral, makes me yearn for more, and yearn for the best."

Memory Lane

D. Kern | NY USA | 11/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These mostly Polish songs come from a long time ago and must have been originally on 78's. The combination of titles was pleasing and the quality of the recording is great. It's nice to have rebirths of old hits."