Beware
Alan Pearman | 11/14/2004
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Sorry but this album is not one you should have in your collection. Guy Mitchell was and is always at his best with the brilliance of Mitch Miller and the Columbia system behind him. These later re-recorded items do not in any way reflect the infectious toe-tapping hits or superb ballads which Guy and Mitch created in the 50's. Please, please spend a little more money and get the originals. Amazon has them and you'll be both better served and satified with the real sounds. Sorry to appear negative, but I grew up with and later came to know the man and it saddens me that newcomers to his music do not get the genuine article. Sure these are part of his work, but Stereo is not everything."
The re-recordings
Mr. A. Murray | Bexleyheath, Kent, England | 10/21/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The first reviewer (from Harpers Ferry)rightly notes that these are not the original recordings. They date from February 1982 when Guy was approached by the Dutch record company "Arcade" to re-record some of his old Hits. The recording took place in Nashville. The album, on its initial release, went straight into the Dutch Best Selling albums list peaking at #2. Curiously, two of the titles, "Music!Music!Music!" & "Side by Side" were not original Hits of his & he had not recorded them before. Why they were chosen for inclusion when there were other Hit songs of his which were omitted is a puzzle. These re-recordings have been reissued constantly over the years & other of the C.Ds currently available by him contain these same versions. It is usually easy to spot them when checking releases by the inclusion of the two "odd" titles mentioned. Some re-issues of these re-recordings omit these two tracks so making it impossible to be know which versions the C.D. contains - the 1950 originals or the 1982 re-recordings. The stereo sound on the re-recordings is good but, it has to be said, the backing (whilst competent) sounds pretty thin when compared to the 1950s originals. The back-up singers, in particular, sound pretty sparse when compared with the full-blooded chorus on the original recordings. Guy's voice, whilst still strong & recognisable, understandably lacks that certain lilt he had in his youth. This factor notwithstanding these versions should be of interest to any Guy Mitchell fan who lacks them in their collection."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1