Search - Perry Como :: Essential 60's Singles Collection

Most original and best quality CD of the year!

townsend@istar.ca | Nova Scotia, Canada | 12/12/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The title of this compilation is a bit of a misnomer because some of the tracks included here are really feature releases from Perry's RCA Victor albums. In addition, there are at least as many 60s singles not included here and many of them more deserving of the term "essential" than some of the tracks chosen here. Hopefully, they will emerge within a follow-up second volume . The really good news here is that all of these tracks have been re-mastered from original first generation sources and every one of them is in real stereo, many for the very first time ever! The pick of this collection is surely Perry's original single version of "The Father of Girls" which is released here within an album compilation for the first time in North America ( it had previously been released in the UK ) and for the first time ever in stereo. Many ardent Como fans don't even know that Perry re-recorded the vocal track of this song for release within the album "Look To Your Heart" in 1968 and that the original recording has remained unreleased for all these years. Up to now, the re-release of this song has always been the album version ( except that one instance in the UK ) and this has been a real shame because his performance of the original is particularly poignant. Another gem within this collection is the original flip side of "Delaware", a very touching performance of "I Know What God Is" that greatly benefits from the quality of this release and it's first album release in real stereo. If you remember these songs from the 1960s, then you'll be delighted with what you hear from this collection. Some of the songs have slightly different mixes than the original release and, in one instance, there's an alternate `take' which was never released before. But none of the differences are really material and only serve to offer a little fun for Como fans in determining which they are. This is the most original mix of Perry Como hit singles ever released on compact disc, the quality of engineering is better than anything BMG has done themselves, and that is due to one very simple reason: the recording engineer who assembled these tracks has taken considerable effort to ferret out the original first generation tapes to re-master these recordings as they should be, straight clean and simple! BMG has a great deal to learn from this third party record label! If you buy this set and like it, please write to the label and tell them because we need more recordings like this and not just by Perry! By supporting the independent labels who do good work, such as this, we'll get more of them."

The Electic Mr. Como

townsend@istar.ca | 11/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album brings together tunes that remind us of all the forces that shaped and continue to shape "Pop" music. As the informative notes tell us, television fueled a demand for novelty tunes like "Delaware" that appealed more to Mr. C's sense of business than his artistic impulses. Also included are numbers that owe much to 1950's Rock ("You're Following Me," "You Looked Back"); Latin melody and instrumental arrangement("Coo Coo Roo Coo Paloma," "Forget Domani"); the chord structure of Country Western ("Meet Me at the Altar," "Here Comes My Baby," "Sunshine Wine");and Blues("Dream on Little Dreamer.") Then, there are the wonderful tunes like "Seattle" that defy easy reference to "pure" forms. Common to all of these tracks is the theme of love developed by the mellifluous voice of the artist. Clearly, "Nashville Sound" requires not a southern accent but only a certain chord structure and the lovely sincereity that Perry brings to all of his work. But even if you're a fan of neither Rock nor Country, you will still be delighted by the poignant "The Father of Girls" and "I know what God Is," two songs reminiscent of his early ballads. If not for the work of Mr. C(and this album in particular), I would have to scramble through many CDs while teaching my brief Pop Music unit as part of U.S. History class. For while Pop music draws on many of the "pure" forms, no artist except Perry has produced so many charted singles reflecting its eclectic nature."

Great sound, great singing!

Lee Hartsfeld | Central Ohio, United States | 12/23/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Perry Como's art was an understated one, and the singer's ability to make the song, not himself, the center of attention might explain Como's effortless versatility. This diversely-styled collection never stops being interesting, from Burt Bacharach's "Don't Be Cruel"-esque "You're Following Me" to the delightful, lightly-rocking "I Looked Back," the latter featuring an odd but very effective bridge among its many charms. There is also the theme from the old TV show "Here Come the Brides" ("Seattle") and a stunning exercise in Como-style mega-legato, "The Father of Girls," which Como raises from the potentially maudlin to the genuinely moving. The remastered sound is magnificent. May Mr. Como live forever in digital!"