Search - Turtles :: Save The Turtles: The Turtles Greatest Hits

The Turtles made some of the best pop records of the 1960's.

Paul Tognetti | Cranston, RI USA | 04/23/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It was a relatively short but highly successful run. Between 1965 and 1970 a five man group from Los Angeles known as The Turtles produced some of the biggest and brightest pop records of the decade. All told, The Turtles would place a total of 17 singles on Billboards "Hot 100 Singles" chart. Five of these would become Top Ten smashes. In 2009, founding members of The Turtles Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan regained control of their catalogue and decided to release a brand new collection of their hits on their very own label. "Save The Turtles: The Turtles Greatest Hits" offers up 20 of The Turtles biggest hits and best recordings. For Volman and Kaylan this project was quite obviously a labor of love.



The Turtles came out of nowhere in the summer of '65 with their debut single "It Ain't Me Babe". The song was written by Bob Dylan who seemed to be all the rage that year and it climbed all the way to #8 on the national charts. Most folks just presumed that The Turtles were a folk group and were a bit surprised that a number of the groups subsequent releases were pure pop. The group continued to release singles such as "You Baby" and "Can I Get To Know You Better" with varying degrees of success until early 1967 when they finally struck paydirt with a tune called "Happy Together". This would prove to be their biggest and best remembered record. "Happy Together" spent a total of 3 weeks as the #1 song in the land. Over the next couple of years the group would continue its highly successful run with 3 more Top Ten hits including "You Showed Me", "She'd Rather Be With Me" and a personal favorite "Elenore". All are included in this fine collection. Also included on this disc are several more of the groups most popular tunes including "She's My Girl" , "You Don't Have To Walk In The Rain", and the lush and lovely "You Know What I Mean" from the late summer of '67. As the 60's drew to a close interest in The Turtles seemed to wane. The Turtles disbanded in 1970 but Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan re-emerged in 1972 as Flo & Eddie. They are still performing today and have managed to keep the music of The Turtles alive for all these many years.



All 20 of the selections on "Save The Turtles: The Best of The Turtles" have been lovingly remastered under the personal direction of Mssrs. Volman and Kaylan from the original master tapes. As I recall the fidelity on those original White Whale 45's that I purchased back in the day left a lot to be desired. Great music and fond memories at a very nice price. Highly recommended!"

Great Turtles Compilation- Excellent sound!

E. R. Brenneman | Elkhart, IN USA | 05/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got the new "Save the Turtles" collection last weekend. I thought the remastering sounded great! It's hard to believe that all those songs are roughly forty years old! With the remastering they sound like they were just recorded.



I remember a Captain Beefheart interview i once read where Beefheart talks about the first time he actually saw a Van Gogh painting up close in an art museum. He told the interviewer that the colors were so vibrant and the paintstrokes so vivid, it looked like Van Gogh had just painted it, went down the hall to go to the bathroom, and then came back to take another look at it. I had the same feeling listening to your songs on "Save the Turtles." It sounded like you'd just recorded them, went down the hall to go to the bathroom, and then came back to have another listen.

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60's Rock

D. Barber | Tacoma.Wash. | 06/22/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"We old timers (I'm 55), can't help being a bit nostalgic about the 60's. OK, it was a time of Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, I Got Love In My Tummy (a real song), but it was also a time of unforgettable standards like: House Of The Rising Sun, A Whiter Shade Of Pale, Satisfaction, and For What It's Worth. Don't remember For What It's Worth? Yeah, you do, try playing it.



Say what you will, some of these lightweight rock bands from the golden age of rock made some real gems, catchy tunes that have never lost their timeless appeal.



The Turtles made some nice little pop hits. I bought this album for the sake of sheer nostalgia. One nice thing is that when you go back and review a greatest hits style album you often find a diamond in the rough you haven't heard before. On this album it's a tune called Me About You. A quirky little tune that I think would make a great commercial jingle for say, Coca-Cola. I'm going to keep adding to my collection of golden oldies, I like them. If you like 60's stuff, you'll probably enjoy this album."