Search - Various Artists :: Fantastic, Volume 1: Original Hits, Original Stars

Not So Fantastic Remake

Plastic Salmon | 04/14/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This reissue of K-tel's 1973 album presents 10 of the songs found on the original set, which contained 22 songs. These songs were popular in 1972 and early 1973, such as the timely "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Around The Old Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando and Dawn; the story songs "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence, "Free Electric Band" by Albert Hammond, and "Back When My Hair Was Short" by Gunhill Road; and a couple of instrumentals: a haunting novelty "Hocus Pocus" by Focus, and a hard-rocking "Rock N Roll Part 2" by Gary Glitter. There are a couple of soul songs: the rhythm-and-blues "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers and a dance track "Armed and Extremely Dangerous" by First Choice. There is one country & western hit: "L.A. Freeway" by Jerry Jeff Walker. Finally, there is Raspberries "I Wanna Be With You."



The choice and variety of selections on this album is good, but include only 10 of the 22 songs found on the original album, which is less than half. Although there is K-tel's "Fantastic Volume 2" derived from that same original album, it also contains only 10 songs. Together, they still don't complete the entire initial set. When the album was released in 1973, it included 22 songs compressed onto a vinyl disk with a 60-minute capacity; and the only way to make that possible was by editing out portions of some songs. A better remake of that album would include the 22 songs in their full-length form on a compact disc, which has an 80-minute capacity. This type of disc should be able to accommodate the 22 songs. Such a remake of this album would have earned 4 stars.



Overall, this product in its current edition receives 3 stars. If it were possible to give detailed ratings, the "song variety" gets 4 stars but "completeness" deserves only two stars."

Guilty as charged

A. Jones | Oakland, CA | 01/07/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, all you nay-sayers. Of course this album is silly-silly-silly. But something has to be said for the nostalgia factor, a powerful marketing tool in the entertainment industry to reel people like me into the past, at the precise time, and buy whatever they want me to buy. How did they know that this compilation became the cornerstone to my pre-adolescent musical library, and is by far the most impressionable disc for my broad (and much improved) musical taste? I dunno, but good job, you guys. Good memories, bad memories, and the good music and the bad music to go with it! Not to say I want to go back to 1972, but it takes me there and back .... twice. Ahhhh, we'll never be in 7th grade again, ... except for those who had to repeat it. So if there's any other oldster out there who cares to riddle my four-star ranking of this piece of history, I just have one question for ya: How many of you can honestly say you have never, EVER watched "Wonderama" in its entirety? You know who you are!"