Trini Lopez - The Very Best of +Album Reviews

If I'd a hammer

02/01/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love the song. I was may be 3 or 4 when I danced with my oldest sister; a beatiful woman. Now, I listen to it, and feel my sister is still dancing with me. She passed away recently."

Trini Lopez: A 1960's Contemporary icon.

Anthony Accordino | Massapequa Park, New York United States | 11/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you grew up in the sixties, there is a pretty good chance Mom or Dad had a Trini Lopez LP or two playing on that old magnavox stereo console that we all had in our living rooms. Frank Sinatra himself was an admitted Trini Lopez fan and he helped get the wheels moving for Trini's career. What we have here is a collection of some of the best folk/contemporary sing alongs ever waxed. Not only will adults like it, but children will enjoy the hell out of most of these songs as well. Not every great song Trini made during the sixties is here, but there is enough on this collection to make this the best career overview available. Songs like "If I Had A Hammer", "Michael", "This land Is Your Land","Bye Bye Love" and "Walk Right In" bring back instant memories of this forgotten legend who deserves to be recognized for his many contributions to popular music."

Good Collection for Fans

Westley | Stuck in my head | 10/29/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Trini Lopez got his start touring with Buddy Holly before being discovered by Frank Sinatra in the early 60s. Sinatra took Trini under his wing and signed him to the Reprise label. However, Trini's music sounds nothing like Sinatra or his Rat Pack colleagues; in fact, it's rather difficult to classify. I like to refer to Trini's music as "folk: go-go style," as he reminds me of a combination of Johnny Rivers and the Kingston Trio. A perfect example is the lead-off song, "If I Had a Hammer," a cover of the Pete Seeger-written classic that was a #10 hit in 1962 for Peter, Paul, & Mary. Trini's version was, somewhat shockingly, an even bigger hit in 1963 (#3) and sounds very different - like it was recorded at a kicky cocktail party.

He scored a second hit with another Peter, Paul, & Mary song - "Lemon Tree": it peaked at #20 and is Trini's second biggest hit. Much of this CD is comprised of covers of hits from the 50s or 60s, including "La Bamba" (#22 for Ritchie Valens in 1959), "Bye Bye Love" (#2 for the Everly Brothers in 1957), "Walk Right In" (#1 for the Rooftop Singer in 1963), and "Kansas City" (#1 for Wilbert Harrison in 1959). Other remakes are more rock-oriented versions of traditional folk songs, such as "Michael" (#1 for the Highwaymen in 1961), "This Land Is Your Land," and "You Are My Sunshine." I enjoy some of these songs; however, after awhile, this CD's reliance on remakes becomes somewhat oppressive.

Trini did record some originals, such as the fantastic "Sad Tomorrows" - a real highlight of this CD. Perhaps my favorite song, though, is a cover of a Sinatra signature tune - "Fly Me to the Moon." Trini's version is quite fun, and I actually bought this CD for that song. I have to admit that I have not subsequently become much of a Trini Lopez fan. However, this collection is a pretty good synopsis of his career and includes his biggest and most memorable hits. On the downside, the liner notes are skimpy, consisting primarily of an over-the-top essay by Neil Norman. If you're a fan, however, then you may want to add a star to my rating, as this CD is a solid greatest hits collection.

"

One In A Long Line Of "Best Ofs" That Also Misses The Mark

09/03/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Add GNP/Crescendo to the long list of companies which seemingly love to frustrate the heck out of completist collectors by promising the "best of" an artist - and then fail to deliver a complete package.

I realize, of course, that for some artists with literally hundreds of hit singles it's flat out impossible to please everyone with a single disc containing just 20 to 30 tracks. But Trini only HAD thirteen Billboard Pop Hot 100 hits together with five that scored only on the Adult Contempory (AC) charts. So, how difficult would it have been to include Jailer, Bring Me Water [# 94 Hot 100 in 1964], Are You Sincere? [# 25 AC/# 85 Hot 100 in 1965], Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now [# 6 AC/# 93 Hot 100 in 1967] and Sally Was A Good Old Girl [# 30 AC/# 99 Hot 100 in 1969], instead of the insipid renditions of Bye Bye Love, What Have I Got Of My Own, You Are My Sunshine, and Hurtin' Inside?

It's also interesting to note that NOT ONE B-side of those thirteen Hot 100 hits is included either. However, the other nine are all here for the man whose style drove record shops crazy in that they never quite knew where to place his records - in the pop or folk sections.

Yes, his first hit, If I Had A Hammer, came straight out of Peter, Paul & Mary [who'd had a # 10 with it the year before], but Trini didn't sing it in the accepted "folk" style. Instead, with Don Costa's production, he performed it at the club where Costa discovered him, PJ's in Los Angeles, and with an enthusiastic crowd hand-clapping and yelping in the background, his clear, ringing vocal and rhythm guitar licks took it to # 3 Hot 100 AND # 12 R&B early in 1963.

So successful was that record that he and the Reprise label maintained much the same formula on a string of other hits like Kansas City (# 13 AC/# 23 Hot 100 in late 1963), La Bamba Part 1 (# 9 AC/# 86 Hot 100 in summer 1966 and a re-make of a song he first did in 1963 but which did not chart then), and Lemon Tree (# 2 AC/# 20 Hot 100 in early 1965). Enormously popular in South America and Europe, Trini would maintain a club career long after the hits dried up in 1968 when Mental Journey (# 18) and Malaguena Serenade (# 24) could only score on the AC charts.

One missing hit might have garnered this 4 stars in this collector's opinion - but SIX? And NO B-sides? Come on, folks, get with the program!"

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