24 Hours from Tulsa - Gene Pitney, Bacharach, Burt
I'm Gonna Be Strong - Gene Pitney, Mann, Barry
Only Love Can Break a Heart - Gene Pitney, Bacharach, Burt
That Girl Belongs to Yesterday - Gene Pitney, Jagger, Mick
True Love Never Runs Smooth - Gene Pitney, Bacharach, Burt
(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance - Gene Pitney, Bacharach, Burt
It Hurts to Be in Love - Gene Pitney, Greenfield, Howard
Mecca - Gene Pitney, Gluck, Johnny
Half Heaven, Half Heartache - Gene Pitney, Goehring, George
Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart - Gene Pitney, Cook, Roger [1]
Nessuno Mi Puo Guidicare - Gene Pitney, Beretta
I Must Be Seeing Things - Gene Pitney, Brass, Bob
Backstage (I'm Lonely) - Gene Pitney, Anisfield, Fred
Nobody Needs Your Love (More Than I Do) - Gene Pitney, Newman, Randy
Looking Through the Eyes of Love - Gene Pitney, Mann, Barry
Lips Were Redder on You - Gene Pitney, Meek, Joe
If I Didn't Have a Dime (To Play the Jukebox) - Gene Pitney, Medley, Phil [Songw
Somewhere in the Country - Gene Pitney, Cymbal, Johnny
Town Without Pity - Gene Pitney, Tiomkin, Dimitri
Princess in Rags - Gene Pitney, Atkins, Roger
Yesterday's Hero - Gene Pitney, Cleveland, Al [1]
Just One Smile - Gene Pitney, Newman, Randy
Maria Elena (I'm Going to War) - Gene Pitney, Bernstein, Leonard
Shady Lady - Gene Pitney, Gentry, Bobbie
3 CD set features 71 tracks. One of the most interesting and difficult-to-categorize singers in '60s pop, Gene Pitney had a long run of hits distinguished by his pained, one-of-a-kind melodramatic wail. Pitney is sometimes... more » characterized (or dismissed) as a shallow teen idol-type prone to operatic ballads. It's true that some of his biggest hits -- "Town Without Pity," "Only Love Can Break a Heart," "I'm Gonna Be Strong," "It Hurts to Be in Love," and "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa" -- are archetypes of adolescent or just-post-adolescent agony, characterized by longing and not a little self-pity. Sanctuary. 2005.« less
3 CD set features 71 tracks. One of the most interesting and difficult-to-categorize singers in '60s pop, Gene Pitney had a long run of hits distinguished by his pained, one-of-a-kind melodramatic wail. Pitney is sometimes characterized (or dismissed) as a shallow teen idol-type prone to operatic ballads. It's true that some of his biggest hits -- "Town Without Pity," "Only Love Can Break a Heart," "I'm Gonna Be Strong," "It Hurts to Be in Love," and "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa" -- are archetypes of adolescent or just-post-adolescent agony, characterized by longing and not a little self-pity. Sanctuary. 2005.
Thomas D. (RockerBoomer) from SOUTHAMPTON, NY Reviewed on 11/17/2010...
This is a 3 CD box set of 75 song tracks. The track listing above is incorrect. All the hits are here and then some.
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
CD Reviews
In-depth study of Gene's sixties music
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 07/05/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a very comprehensive collection of Gene's finest music from his peak years. All his British and American hits from the sixties and early seventies are here, including his American country hits with George Jones and Melba Montgomery. Gene's late eighties duet with Marc Almond (a re-recording of Something's gotten hold of my heart) is omitted. Also missing is Gene's original recording of Hello Mary Lou, a song he wrote for Ricky Nelson. Apart from those two tracks, everything else that matters is here.
In the sixties, Gene had many high-charting pop hits in Britain and America. Curiously, none of them reached number one, although he reached number two in both countries with different songs. He finally got to number one in Britain via that Marc Almond duet.
I'm gonna be strong was Gene's only hit to reach the top ten in both Britain and America. Gene's other top ten American hits to be found here are The man who shot Liberty Valance, Only love can beak a heart and It hurts to be in love. Gene's other top ten British hits to be found here are Twenty four hours from Tulsa, That girl belongs to yesterday, I must be seeing things, Looking through the eyes of love, Princess in rags, Backstage, Nobody needs your love, Just one smile and the original solo version of Something's gotten hold of my heart. With a total of seventy-five tracks this collection includes not just the essentials, but all the minor hits and even a couple of songs recorded in Italian.
In the year 2000 a fifty-track double-CD was released by the same label (Looking through Gene Pitney. It contained forty-six of the tracks that you can find her. The other three tracks on that collection are Hello Mary Lou, One has may name (with George Jones), Close to my heart and the duet with Marc Almond. This collection contains two extra George Jones duets (Louisiana man, That's all it took) and a duet with Melba Montgomery (Baby ain't that fine) instead of One has my name. Close to may heart, good as it is, cannot be regarded as essential. So that leaves Hello Mary Lou and the Marc Almond duet. If you consider these tracks to be essential, you may prefer the double-CD. Otherwise, you will find everything you want and much more in this compilation of Gene's music. Of course, if you just want a basic sixties hits collection there are plenty of single CD's to choose from."
Fantastic Selection from Gene
Claire M. Cameron | New Zealand | 08/20/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I LOVE this collection of music from Gene Pitney. There are 75 tracks! They are organised in chronological order which makes it easy to choose which of the three CDs to listen to (his style changes quite a lot over time, in my opinion). Any other CD of his greatest hits that I have seen or own only have a limited selection of music. It's actually incredible that these are all hits between 1962 and 1972. An added bonus is the poster type thing included which has photos and a history of sorts written by him in 2005. I don't know what it is about his music but I love it. It was very sad to hear of his passing."
The Best Collection Available
T. Dissinger | Jacksonville, AL USA | 10/01/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This 75-track collection is easily the best one available of Gene's work for Musicor. Some hardcore "Pitneyophiles" may quibble over the the selections of B-sides and album cuts but all in all this is the strongest set yet devoted to the best male vocalist of the 60's. I could have lived without the Italian songs and most of the George Jones tracks (especially since there are several good collections of those as it is) but I will survive.
The sonics are as good as every other CD put out in the last eight years or so of this material, especially considering this is often 40+ year old material on tape that may not have been stored under the best of conditions.
This set is a little expensive, but as usual it seems only the EU can put together an A+ collection of Gene's work. With an artist like Pitney, one CD just doesn't cut it. Plus this includes what may be the last set of liner notes that Gene ever wrote.
The only thing that will pass this set will be when somebody (Bear Family??) puts out a "Gene Pitney: The Complete Musicor Recordings" or something like that."