Decent set for new fans...but diehard fans should avoid this
Thomas J. Diehl | Rensselaer, NY United States | 01/10/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is on AIM records from Australia, and appears to be a legitimately released cd with a bar code on the back and company information listed within, including who did the mastering and who wrote the (inaccurate) liner notes, but no songwriters or publishing information can be found, neither can licensing information. The liner notes, while well written, are inaccurate.
CD 1 is about 36 minutes long, cd 2 is about 57 minutes long. They should've either cut a few songs and made it a one cd collection, or added more songs to fill the cds out more (especially cd 1).
The songs (with stereo notations) are:
CD 1:
1. Mountain of Love (S)
2. Say You (S) sounds like an NR'd disc dub
3. Right Or Wrong (M) sounds like an NR'd disc dub
4. Hello Pretty Girl (M) This one sounds like they NR'd the song and turned the treble a bit too high.
5. One Kiss For Old Times' Sake (slight E)
6. A Little Bit Of Heaven (S but not as wide as on some other cds)
7. I'll Make All Your Dreams Come True (M with record scratches over the intro like most other cd sources)
8. When Liking Turns To Loving (S) sounds NR'd and dubbed from a disc
9. Happy Summer Days (S, not as wide as some other cd sources)
10. I Really Don't Want To Know (M) sounds NR'd and a little heavy on the treble
11. One More Mountain To Climb (M) (this one still has never shown up on cd in stereo but the only place it was ever mono was the original 45, but this is also a disc dub)
12. My Babe (M, single version, disc dub, as found on other cds)
13. I Want To Love You For What You Are (S, not as wide as on some other places)
14. Kiss Away (M, alternate take) (cd lists this as "Kiss The Hurt Away (Kiss Away)," Kiss The Hurt Away was the title of one of Ronnie's Country hits for Decca Records in 1972, and this cd is part of the "AIM Country Legends Mid-Price Series" however the cd plays Kiss Away, one of Ronnie's hits for the Diamond record label. This alternate take has been available on many cds in stereo, but only one low budget 20 track vinyl LP on Playback Records from 1985 in mono, which is why I don't know why it is mono here).
cd 2:
1. Walkin' My Baby Back Home (M, NR'd disc dub, treble was lowered)
2. I Can't Stop Loving You (M, NR'd disc dub, treble was lowered)
3. It's The Talk Of The Town (M, NR'd disc dub, treble was lowered)
4. They Can't Love Like You and Me (S)
5. Cry (M or slight E, there are dropouts throughout the song, disc dub)
6. She Only Makes Me Love You More (S, loud and bright (too much treble, not enough bass), but not stereo on cd elsewhere, definitely a disc dub)
7. All Of Me (S, disc dub and NR'd, not on cd in stereo elsewhere)
8. Tell The Lady I Said Good-bye (cover says "Tell The Lady I Had To Say Goodbye) (M, NR'd disc dub, treble was lowered)
9. Back From Baltimore (S, album version, NR'd)
10. If I Cried Every Time You Hurt Me (M [not centered completely], Diamond label version, scratches heard throughout the song, too much treble on this song)
11. Wheel Of Fortune (M, NR'd disc dub, treble was lowered, and it sounds like there were a lot of dropouts before it was folded to mono, where scratches were removed possibly).
12. I Won't Cry Anymore (M, NR'd disc dub, treble was lowered, and it sounds like there were a lot of dropouts before it was folded to mono)
13. Keep It A Secret (S, NR'd disc dub with some dropouts)
14. I Had To Lose You (S, not in stereo elsewhere on cd, disc dub)
15. Autumn Rhapsody (M, NR'd disc dub, treble was lowered, and dropouts can be heard from where scratches were removed)
16. I Need You Now (S, NR'd, this fades early...on vinyl, this was stereo only on one greatest hits lp from 1982 and then on cd in 1988, and now it is common in stereo)
17. If I Live To Be A Hundred (E, disc dub)
18. The Little White Cloud That Cried (the cover lists this as The Little Cloud That Cried) (M, NR'd disc dub, treble was lowered, and it sounds like there were a lot of dropouts before it was folded to mono)
19. What's Wrong With My World (S, stereo debut on cd, this was never in stereo on vinyl, and a few months ago made it's stereo debut thanks to Digital Musicworks International. This one sounds better than the version that can be found on itunes, though it's mixed the same. This is the main song to buy the cd for, the mix is nice and wide. While this one only stopped at #131 on Billboard's charts, its still a great song. However, this version ends quickly during the fade out, I don't know why they quickly faded this one early.
20. Years Of Tears (M, NR'd disc dub, treble was lowered) there are lots of scratches heard throughout this song.
A lot of the songs on this set seem to fade quickly, cutting off the ends of many songs. I guess it was to avoid [more] record noise being heard). Also, some of the mono songs do have stereo record noise heard, as Diamond never used the best vinyl for their singles or albums...
Ultimately, what saves this cd set is the stereo cd debut of an original Diamond single side from 1969, plus some other LP sides from 1965 being on cd in stereo for the first time. If you only like a few of Ronnie's songs and don't have any of his cds, this would be ok for a starter collection, but if you have other cds, this would be good only if you're a diehard fan.
"
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1