Big Ones [Import] [Limited Edition]

Track Listings

1. Walk on Water

2. Love in an Elevator

3. Rag Doll

4. What It Takes

5. Dude (Looks Like a Lady)

6. Janie's Got a Gun

7. Cryin'

8. Amazing

9. Blind Man

10. Deuces Are Wild

11. Other Side

12. Crazy

13. Eat the Rich

14. Angel

15. Livin' on the Edge

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Limited edition Japanese only pressing of the Aerosmith's 1994 album, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. Universal. 2005.

Tracks:

Walk On Water
Love In An Elevator
Rag Doll
What It Takes
Dude (Looks Like A Lady)
Janie's Got A Gun
Cryin'
Amazing
Blind Man
Dueces Are Wild
The Other Side
Crazy
Eat The Rich
Angel
Livin' On The Edge

Amazon.com

Few comebacks in rock and roll history have been as amazing as that of Aerosmith. Their triumphant return to the charts in the '80s not only rekindled the band's earlier success, but also significantly surpassed it. With their top 20 hits "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)," "Ragdoll," and the top 10 power ballad, "Angel," the group proved they had even more fire left in their fight than anyone could have imagined. Leaving behind its reckless lifestyle, the band sacrificed none of their rowdy rock and roll. "Ragdoll" and "Love in an Elevator" built upon Aerosmith's raunchy blues approach to hard rock, complete with singer Steven Tyler's howl in the best form of his career. Big Ones includes these rockers along with the spooky Grammy-winner "Jamie's Got a Gun," and the slower but still hard-edged "Crazy." Other high points of the new and improved band are reflected in "The Other Side" and the anthem "Eat the Rich." --Steve Gdula

Customer Reviews:

fast delivery.......2007-06-08

Received sooner than expected and was in perfect condition!!! One of my favorite CD's of all time...

Big enough, not the biggest.......2007-05-25

This is a good comp album of Aerosmith's stuff from the mid-80s thru early 90s. It's the stuff people who were kids in the 80s will remember from the radio. Very good album for that age group. The stuff from the 70s isn't here. If that's what you're looking for, you'll have to get a different disc. This disc is good rock and roll.

Great 80's/Early 90's Collection.......2007-05-22

First and foremost, "Big Ones" is not a definitive Aerosmith collection. What it is, however, is a great collection of tunes culled from their second successful run that started in the mid-80's and ran its course through the early 90's. There are bigger, better, and more complete collections of their hits out there, but for a quick roadtrip, this is the perfect album. It includes "Dude (Look Like A Lady)," "Janie's Got A Gun," and "Amazing." It also has the wonderful "Rag Doll" and one of the best hard rock ballads, "Angel." A couple of new tunes are also thrown in, but they can't even begin to overshadow the rest of this album.

Naturally hardcore fans will want a more extensive collection of Aerosmith's hits. In most cases, if you're that much of a fan you've probably got most of their albums anyway. For people who just want a decent helping of the band's hits though, this album is perfect.

A Clasic.......2006-08-07

All the hits in one CD great I invite to all of you Aerosmith fans to buy this album.......enjoy

"Great Ones".......2006-06-07

Thats what this CD should be called! I have had this CD for many years now and I never get tired of it! This album consist mostly of Aerosmith's top singles released up to 1994. I have to admit that I wish that "Walk this Way" was on the album, but what can you do? I enjoy compilation CDs because every song is great! One of my favorite songs is on the album- "Livin' on the Edge", I think that this song is one of those classic s tunes that you can just jam out to while you are driving in your car. Another favorite of mine is "Amazing". Its another classic. I can remember the video so clearly, from when I was like 9 years old and watching MTV with my sisters. I love Aerosmith's sound. I have never heard a voice like Steven Tyler and Joe Perry is an amazing guitarist. I don't think that there is any other band out there that sounds similar to Aerosmith, they are in a genre all on their own. I am amazed at Aerosmith's ability to continue to rock out and continue to put out great music over so many years. I recommend this CD especially to someone that is just discovering Aerosmith, They will be able to hear some of the classics and "oldie but goldies" from them. If you buy this CD I hope you will cherish it for many years, like I have.

Average customer rating:

SHE LEFT US TOO SOON..DAMN!
Gotta Love It!
MAMA'S BIG ONES: Merle Haggard Says, "Buy `Em."
LOST brought her back into the spotlight
Too bad Mama could not have lived on

Mama's Big Ones: The Best of Mama Cass
Mama Cass
Manufacturer: Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Dream A Little Dream: The Cass Elliot Collection
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Dream a Little Dream of Me: The Music of Mama Cass Elliot

ASIN: B000002PCH
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

It's Getting Better
Dream A Little Dream Of Me
Make Your Own Kind Of Music
Words Of Love
New World Coming
Move In A Little Closer, Baby
One Way Ticket
The Good Times Are Coming (From The Motion Picture 'Monte Walsh')
Easy Come, Easy Go
Don't Let The Good Life Pass You By
Ain't Nobody Else Like You
A Song That Never Comes

Amazon.com

She wasn't the cute one, but, damn, she certainly could sing her ample rear off. Featuring only one track with the Mamas & the Papas--the hit "Words of Love"--this unfortunately titled collection spotlights Elliot's solo career, from the ancient Tin Pan Alley gem "Dream a Little Dream of Me" through Top 40 treats like "New World Comin'" and "Make Your Own Kind of Music" (recently covered by Paul Westerberg). Actually, only 5 of the 12 tracks can be considered big ones--but that voice was simply perfect pop and pure ear candy. Pity she left when she did. --Bill Holdship

Customer Reviews:

SHE LEFT US TOO SOON..DAMN!.......2007-05-07

Cass Elliot, alongside Karen Carpenter, Janis Joplin and Florence Ballard, are some of my favorite female singers who left us too damn soon.
Her voice is amazing, she had it all, but for god's sake, why did she had to die so young? Maybe God needed another angel? Simply beautiful!

Gotta Love It!.......2007-02-18

Mama Cass has always been a favorite of mine and I believe that I had this LP in the 80's. It is just as good as I remember and my (relatively) untrained ear thinks the recording is just fine. Enjoy!

MAMA'S BIG ONES: Merle Haggard Says, "Buy `Em.".......2006-10-06

Despite this collection's title, MAMA'S BIG ONES, which is obviously a double entendre and an invitation for every low class reviewer to crack a bunch of cheap MAmMAry gland jokes, I refuse to stoop that low. I will not succumb to the temptation because the music found here deserves better; it should not be subjected to rude remarks from some plebeian guttersnipe. I'm going to address it with civility and good taste because I'm a high-minded individual who never sacrifices a million dollar opportunity for a ten cent laugh. It's not like I'm a dog which is governed by instinct; I'm a man and I have self-control and the power to make choices. And I choose to keep this review principled. It's as simple as that!

"MAMA" CASS ELLIOT was, of course, a member of that fine Pop choral group of the late `60s and early `70s, The Mamas And The Papas. She was a part of team Mama, if memory serves me well. Mama Cass had limited vocal range but a "sweet" voice and she really knew how to put a song over, how to caress a melody. Ah yes, remember when music had melody? Several of the twelve songs on this compilation are culled from The Mamas And The Papas archives. How good were The Mamas And The Papas?...

From 1972 to 1986, I had a real good friend named Andy - as loyal a friend as I ever knew - but Andy was something of a character. He listened to NOTHING but Country-Western (unusual in L.A.) and I don't mean stuff like Dwight Yoakam and Garth Brooks - not THAT kind of Country! Heck, Andy couldn't stand those "longhaired hippies" Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson! No, I'm talkin' REAL hard-core Country-Western like The Sons Of The Pioneers and Hank Williams (the dead one!) Andy was certain that Merle "Okie From Muskogee" Haggard was god. His most famous saying was: "You know what Merle Haggard says...%#&! `em!"

Through the years I'd try to turn Andy onto some more contemporary music - try to get him into the 20th Century a little bit - but he was having none of it: "Check it out, Andy, these guys are good. They're called Thin Lizzy."

"You know what Merle Haggard says...%#&! `em!"

One night while we were cruisin' Mulholland Drive in his 1954 Chevy truck (Andy rebuilt the engine himself), I quietly slipped a Mamas And Papas Greatest Hits cassette into his player, afraid that Smith And Wesson's greatest hits would be playing next (Andy was usually armed and dangerous), but.....nothing. No gun, no "Merle Haggard says"...nothing. I left the tape in the truck when he dropped me off that night and faster than you can say, "I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee", Andy was a dyed-in-the-wool Mamas And Papas fan. Merle was still god, of course, but the Mamas and Papas were angels.

It was The Mamas And The Papas that finally brought Andy up-to-date: From there he discovered the very, very early, pre-disco Bee Gees, and then Loggins And Messina. One day in 1983, while quaffing Lone Star beer (you know what Merle Haggard says about the makers of Budweiser) and watching MTV, Andy showed no small amount of enthusiasm for a Journey song. That's when I knew that things had gone too far and I threatened to play him Samuel Colt's greatest hits next. But hey, if MAMA (and her band mates) could reform a lost cause like Andy, just think what she'll do for you!

There's not a song on MAMA'S BIG ONES that I don't like. And despte the comments from a couple of other reviewers, the sound quality on my copy is perfectly fine. (Maybe they got discs from a bad batch?) Aside from Mama's lovely voice and memorable melodies, there's some real sweet lyrics found here, too; words to live by. And none sweeter than those from DON'T LET THE GOOD LIFE PASS YOU BY:

Did you ever lie and listen to the rain fall?
Did you ever own a homemade apple pie?
Did you ever watch a child while he was praying?
Just don't let the good life pass you by
Did you ever hold a hand to stop its trembling?
Did you ever watch the sun desert the sky?
Did you ever hold a woman while she's sleeping?
Friend don't let the good life pass you by
Man was made for loving not for buying
Gold can't give the things we really need
Just look my friend there's happiness in living
Somewhere between broke and being free
Did you ever see the funny side of losin'?
Did you ever sit right down and have a cry?
Did you ever take the time to help your neighbor?
Just don't let the good life pass you by

In closing, let me just say that I have been enjoying this Mama Cass compilation for fourteen years and I'm sure that you too will find MAMA'S BIG ONES to be hugely entertaining. How huge?
Thirty-eight, Double D. Dang it! I almost made it. I got SO close!

LOST brought her back into the spotlight.......2006-09-14

After her song "Make Your Own Kind of Music" was featured on the second season of LOST I couldn't get it out of my head. VERY talented woman. I'm only 25 but I already knew her from her dominant presence in Mamas and Papas but she continues to amaze me...

Too bad Mama could not have lived on.......2005-11-27

This is great and time to feel upbeat CD by the one and only Mama Cass. These songs give you the kind of feeling that you just can't find in much of today's music. Like so many songs of the era, there is a kind of hope and happiness for the future even though things were not necessarily that great during that time with the Vietnam War and the social unrest. I have never felt that Mama Cass has received the recognition that she deserved, but obviously she does live in history or we would not have this compilation of her best. Of course, there is an obvious lack of the rest of the Mamas and Papas, but ole Mama did very well on her own. The obvious stand out of the CD is "Dream A Little Dream of Me" which definitely should be always listed as a classic song. This song shows the ability that she had and could have developed if only she would have had more time. Other notables are "Make You Own Kind Of Music", "The Good Times Are Coming", and "Ain't Nobody Else like You." So, you are probably asking why I am only giving this CD three stars. Well, it is good, but I am a hard reviewer and I cannot put this into the five star categories. That category only exists for what I consider the very best. This is a good CD, but obviously not the best. However, I am very glad I have it in my collection and you will too if you enjoy the upbeat and positive music of this golden era and the magic voice of Cass.

Average customer rating:

so big
Great CD
Best childrens songs!
so happy hap's here!
Top Notch Music for young kids

So Big - Activity Songs For Little Ones
Hap Palmer
Manufacturer: Hap-Pal Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000690AD
Release Date: 1994-10-15

Tracks:

So Happy You're Here
Five Little Monkeys
I'm a Pretzel
So Big
Rock and Roll Freeze Dance
Baby Chickie
When I'm Down I Get Up and Dance
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Album Description

These easy to learn activity songs are designed for pre-school and primary grade learners. They tap children's natural desire to move, sing and make-believe. From a tiny chick curled inside an egg, to the vigorous movements of a galloping pony, a full range of images and movement possibilities are explored. While clapping, stamping, turning, reaching, falling, throwing, catching, bending, twisting, crawling, walking, hoppping, running and soaring, the whole child is engaged in developing movement skills, enriching language, experiencing basic math and science concepts, and stimulating imaginative powers.

Customer Reviews:

so big.......2007-05-21

I thought this cd was not bad, there are some great songs to use with your own kids, but I teach a mommy and me class, and I found this a little too repetitive and slow. Nice for really young ones.

Great CD.......2006-01-07

I wasn't sure if I should buy this CD because there are no samples available, but I did and it turned out to be a good buy. Hap Palmer sings good songs and has a soothing voice. My daughter is 21 months and likes the CD. My nephew is 5 years and loves the song Rock and Roll Freeze Dance. I recently purchased another Hap Palmer CD and I'm excited to hear it.

Best childrens songs!.......2005-09-08

My children love this cd. During our move recently this cd was misplaced and my children miss the songs. These songs are fun and silly. I even enjoy singing with my kids. The singing is not cheesy or irratating to an adults ears. If you don't have this cd you are missing out on the best cd for children.

so happy hap's here!.......2004-01-18

Hap Palmer's calming voice and catchy lyrics are infectous. Children can easily pick up the fingerplay directions in these songs.
Every song has educational & fun potential. A teacher/parent could use this cd to encourage gross motor skills, listening/following directions, learning body parts, etc, or just plain having a blast!

The titles are of the songs are easily remembered by kids ( I'm a pretzel, Jack in the box...) and soon you'll be fielding requests for their favorites!

Whether you teach or have kids or even babysit this cd is great addition to your collection.

Top Notch Music for young kids.......2003-04-18

I bought this tape to use with a pre-school class. Sometimes CD's do not meet my expectations. Not true with this one. It is excellent and I use it a lot.

Average customer rating:

Brian is back with 14 songs and a raspy voice
brian is back!
Brian is back!
superb reissue of two albums that really go well together
Near rock bottom...and a big comeback

15 Big Ones/Love You
The Beach Boys
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004W55M
Release Date: 2000-08-15

Tracks:

15 Big Ones: Rock And Roll Music
15 Big Ones: It's OK
15 Big Ones: Had To Phone Ya
15 Big Ones: Chapel Of Love
15 Big Ones: Everyone's In Love With You
15 Big Ones: Talk To Me
15 Big Ones: That Same Song
15 Big Ones: TM Song
15 Big Ones: Palisades Park
15 Big Ones: Susie Cincinnati
15 Big Ones: A Casual Look
15 Big Ones: Blueberry Hill
15 Big Ones: Back Home
15 Big Ones: In The Still Of The Night
15 Big Ones: Just Once In My Life
Love You: Let Us Go On This Way
Love You: Roller Skating Child
Love You: Mona
Love You: Johnny Carson
Love You: Good Time
Love You: Honkin' Down The Highway
Love You: Ding Dang
Love You: Solar System
Love You: The Night Was So Young
Love You: I'll Bet He's Nice
Love You: Let's Put Our Hearts Together
Love You: I Wanna Pick You Up
Love You: Airplane
Love You: Love Is A Woman

Amazon.com

Touted by a highly suspicious media blitz ("Brian is Back!"), 1976's 15 Big Ones caught the nostalgic wave generated by the surprise success of Endless Summer and Spirit of America, the double-album compilations of the Beach Boys' mid-'60s, summer-music prime, and rode it close to the crest of the charts. One doesn't have to get much further than the tepid (albeit top 10) cover of Chuck Berry's's "Rock and Roll Music" to realize that band founder/original creative spark Brian Wilson may indeed have been back, but sounded like he was working under duress--if he was working at all. With a covers-heavy tack best described as a parody of the band's original trademark sound, wed to some of the mid-'70s worst production trends, it's an album that shows just how much the public still yearned for the band's classic sound, even if their faith ended up being "rewarded" by the likes of Mike Love's embarrassing "Everyone's in Love with You" and "T.M. Song." Conversely, Brian was definitely back for '77s Love You, an album that's become something of a critic's darling, if only because it hews so bravely to the strange musical vision that seeped from Wilson's then-troubled mind. Brian's synth-heavy production managed to be at once dense and minimalist, while the songs remain some of the most consistently loopy concoctions the band ever recorded. While his vulnerable romanticism is also on display, it's Wilson's playful sense of humor that dominates, from strange odes to "Johnny Carson" and the "Solar System" to innocent romps like "Ding Dang" and "Mona." A quarter-century later, it's an album that can still both surprise and delight. Both albums are digitally remastered on a single disc. --Jerry McCulley

Amazon.com

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Customer Reviews:

Brian is back with 14 songs and a raspy voice.......2007-01-30

On Love You - Brians voice takes some getting used to here. He went from a sweet falsetto to a raspy croak after 3 years of heavy drug use. However he is back in action with loads of new songs and a mediocre Brian is better than no Brian.

brian is back!.......2005-10-02

15 big ones was the return of brian wilson to the producers chair & major involvment in the studio,some fun in the sun songs are on the album with 1/2 oldies,1/2 originals,just sit back and lie in the sun!"love you"is brian back in full form bb fans have come to love this album.From "roller skating child" to "solar system" the album reflects brian's genius and sense of humor.

Brian is back!.......2005-07-28

Triumphantly,Brian Wilson is back with his Beach Boys bandmates! It is 1976,and the Beach Boys are now 30ish,bearded and "Beach Men". The girls will never forget how handsome they all were a decade earlier. One of the 15 BIG ONES is a cover of Chuck Berry's ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC,earlier covered by The Beatles. THE BEACH BOYS LOVE YOU was released in 1977,a year after 15 BIG ONES. I vaguely remember,as a child in the 70's,seeing the Beach Boys on American Bandstand performing RARM. These are the group's fifth and sixth non-compilation albums,respectively,on the Brother label,a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Fans were very happy when Brian rejoined his bandmates. For several years,beginning in the mid-60's,he was battling depression and drug addiction. So he put on a few pounds,big deal! He's back!

superb reissue of two albums that really go well together.......2005-05-02

Now here's a damn great reissue--take these two quirky albums that make an ideal pairing and put them together on a single disc; remaster them exquisitely; and add solid, informative liner notes. Not counting the "Endless Summer" & "Spirit Of America" compilations, the Beach Boys hadn't put an album out in well over 2 years when "15 Big Ones" appeared in July of 1976. With those two aforementioned compilations having been surprisingly huge commercial successes, it seems that Mike Love felt it was high time to try and capitalize on that success, so he cooked up the "Brian Is Back!" campaign, and "15 Big Ones" was released, its title referring both to the 15 songs on the album as well as the 15th anniversary of the Beach Boys. Consisting largely of `oldies' covers, "15 Big Ones" has been badly over-criticized over the years--it's actually a heck of a lot of fun. Also, it really does point the way to the cult classic "The Beach Boys Love You"--the Moog bass that`s so prominent on "Love You" crops up on the cover of "Chapel Of Love", and the loony, off-kilter, gospel-flavored "That Same Song" is a definite sign of things to come on the later album; in other words, the presence of Brian Wilson, who receives the production credit for the album, is strongly felt. However, despite the fact that Brian was going through a notoriously bizarre/ troubled period, "15 Big Ones" is a feel-good album all the way--the somewhat disco-fied version of "Rock And Roll Music"; the harmony-rich surf-rock throwback "It's OK"; the plodding, synth-string laden "Chapel Of Love" with great lead vocals from Brian; the energetic version of "Palisades Park" with spirited lead vocals from Carl; Al Jardine's's lively riff-rocker "Susie Cincinnati" (left over from the early `70s); and the aforementioned "That Same Song" are all a lot of fun. Even Mike's religion-themed "Everyone's In Love With You" is still respectably tuneful and by all means listenable, despite the corny lyrics, and the brief "TM Song" is highly amusing with it's mock-argument intro leading into the main song portion. "Had To Phone Ya", was previously done by Brian's then-wife Marilyn and her sister Diane (aka Spring) in the early '70s--the version here is elaborately-arranged and engagingly tuneful, with Mike, Carl, Al, Dennis, & Brian all sharing the lead vocals, although Carl sounds painfully bored. Like I said, I don't think this album deserves such a bad rap--if you're in the mood for giddy fun, you'll find lots of it on "15 Big Ones".

That said, "The Beach Boys Love You", released in April of 1977, is even MORE of a blast. Brian's pretty much in total control here (or totally out of his mind, depending on how you look at it). In addition to producing again (with Carl credited as the `mixdown producer`), Brian receives sole writing credit on 11 of the 14 tracks (although it's long been rumored that Brian's notorious shrink/ guru Eugene Landy helped with a lot of the lyrics), & Brian also played the lion's share of the instruments, including the technically rudimentary drumming. Indeed, the album was thought to be released as a Brian Wilson solo album entitled "Brian Loves You". Also, it's almost beyond all belief how much Brian's voice had changed over the course of the decade--as if you needed a reminder, the album contains the Al Jardine-Brian Wilson composition "Good Time" with a lead vocal from Brian recorded in the early `70s which explains why it lacks the hoarse, lower-register tone of his vocals on the rest of the album (goes to show what drugs can do). The resulting album is, on one hand, extremely primitive, but at the same time, Brian's incredible songwriting ability and his ear for harmony remain on full display. On `Side 1' of the album, Brian is basically living in a fantasy world, offering up rousing, irresistibly fun songs like the stomping album-opener "Let Us Go On This Way" (written by Brian & Mike); the lustful "Roller Skating Child"; the 4-chord, Phil Spector-style "Mona"; a tribute to "Johnny Carson"; the ultra-catchy, highly amusing "Honkin' Down The Highway" (the version here restores the drum intro that was missing on the old Caribou CD release of "Love You"); and the brief "Ding Dang" (written by Brian & Roger McGuinn) with its delirious party atmosphere. `Side 2' then, in somewhat similar fashion to 1965's "The Beach Boys Today!", is the `ballad side', offering up such gems as the waltzing, wondrous, & gloriously silly "Solar System"; the tender "Let's Put Our Hearts Together" (with lead vocals from Brian & Marilyn); the brilliantly tuneful ode to babies "I Wanna Pick You Up" (with lead vocals from Dennis & Brian); and the casually anxious "Airplane" which ends with an "I-can't-take-it-anymore" boogie-woogie coda. "I'll Bet He's Nice" is a strong piece of material, although I prefer the demo version that appears on the "Brian Loves You" bootleg opposed to the overproduced version here. The album closer "Love Is A Woman" is kind of half-baked, but it does have a vibe startingly similar to Leonard Cohen's "Death of a Ladies' Man" album, which, tellingly, was produced by Phil Spector and came out the same year.

Overall, there's an absolute wealth of unique and terrific music to be found on this two-fer. No, this isn't "Pet Sounds", but if you're truly interested in the eclectic genius of Brian Wilson, i.e., a serious music listener, this disc ranks at must-have status.

Near rock bottom...and a big comeback.......2005-03-23

The Beach Boys last two albums before "15 Big Ones" had been huge selling collections of their 60s oldies so the band took it as their cue to record a collection of halfbaked oldies cover tunes while trying to boost the touring by telling the world excitedly "Brian's Back!". (Brian's body may have been, but his melodic mind was elsewhere.)

The 2nd album on this twofer disc is the far more satisfying, though quirky, "The Beach Boys Love You". A look at the crazed expression in Brian's eyes in the insert photo (with his wife Marilyn in the tiara) reveal the mad genius at work here.The songs run to "out there" subject matter like late night talk host Johnny Carson and celestial bodies ("Solar System").

HIGHLIGHTS:
Let's make it "3 Big Ones": Though short, the 'missing you on the road' tune "Had to Phone Ya" has a gently swinging melody (the clarinet is key) that charms. I'll risk the wrath of the "Mike Love is Satan" club by pointing out that "Everyone's in Love with You" is a very good ode to Transcendental Meditation, combining a decent melody, an OK if not great lyric, and probably the best group vocals on the disc. "That Same Song" sounds like a lost showtune from a musical about the evolution of song. It's no classic, but it's hummable and worth a hear.

If you can get over some of the odd subject matter, "Love You" has some winsome ditties here buried in deceptively simple arrangements. "Let us Go on this Way" finds Brian flashing back to high school days and signaling that he cares about his music again. (The emphatic "Yeah!" says volumes) "Johnny Carson"'s 'Who's the man that we admire?' coda will run through your brain for awhile after hearing it. "The Night was So Young" has sparks of vintage Brian (listen to "Is somebody gonna tell me..why she has to hi-i-i-ide??"). "I'll Bet He's Nice" is another one that sticks with you, with a nice handclap fade. "I Wanna Pick You Up" is Brian's tender ode to his daughters. (The "little baby go to sleep" harmony at the end is spine-tingling)

VALLEYS:
"Big Ones" is the worst BB album to feature Brian Wilson: Mike Love cancels out his meditation highlight with the completely wretched "TM Song". It's plagued by a ridiculous "mock fight" intro (followed by the spoken "It's time to meditate..."), an asinine lyric, and awkward tempo changes. It's abysmal in every way. "Palisades Park" is rendered here in a slowed-down midtempo with country-tinged guitar and completely minus the drum wallop of the Freddy Cannon original. "Susie Cincinnati" is a lame attempt at an updated "409" with a protagonist who's homely but good with a gearshift. "Blueberry Hill" starts great, with an understated Mike vocal and a bongo lope reminiscent of Elvis Presley's version of "Blue Moon" but completely falls apart once the whole group comes in. The singing on "Chapel of Love" is ragged, as is the harmonizing on "Just Once in my Life" (Brian's fault..Carl sounds OK), desecrating two Phil Spector classics. Dennis sounds raw on "In the Still of the Nite".

There are only a few egregious moments on "Love You" thankfully:
"Ding Dang" is really just a fragment, not a song...maybe it would have worked better with a tiny musical link to make it an intro to "Roller Skating Child"? "Let's Put Our Hearts Together" is a passable lyric, but Brian's wife is no singer and Brian himself sounds a little weak here. "Love is a Woman" 'tell her she smells good tonight' is part of the lyric. 'Nuff said.

BOTTOM LINE:
"Love You" is one you should have if you appreciate their 70s output so buy this and program out most of the "Big Ones" tracks. If you only really like the "sun and fun" stuff, you probably won't care for this one...you'd be better off skipping this and getting the "Keepin' the Summer Alive/The Beach Boys" twofer which has some of their last chart hits and probably the most 'classic' sounding latter day Beach Boys tune "Getcha Back".

Average customer rating:

Weird and Wonderful Experience...
5 Stars is Underrated, They Deserve 7
I have to confess that...
Who Would've Thought......
Big hits, near misses.

The Best of Dramarama: 18 Big Ones
Dramarama
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000347E
Release Date: 1996-10-29

Tracks:

Anything, Anything (I'll Give You)
Scenario
Emerald City
Steve & Edie
It's Still Warm
Wonderamaland
No Regrets
Last Cigarette
Haven't Got A Clue
What Are We Gonna Do?
Train Going Backwards
Classic Rot
Work For Food
Incredible
Senseless Fun
7 Minutes (More Or Less)
Sincerely
Goin' Blind

Amazon.com

"Rock and roll's a loser's game," goes a Mott the Hoople line borrowed for an epigram for this best-of. It invokes the story of this New Jersey band on two levels. First, these guys were smart enough to draw on slightly left-field influences while remaining sufficiently modern to gripe about the FM stranglehold of "Classic Rot." Second, like Mott's Ian Hunter, they bet big and lost big. This collection of semi-hits and obscurities might well have been titled "Work for Food." Singer John Easdale wrote that song for Hi-Fi Sci-Fi, the outfit's 1993 swan song. Imagining himself a few years past his minor stardom, Easdale sang of pushing a shopping cart full of Dramarama memorabilia, aluminum cans, and his baby blanket. The song roared with power chords, bitterness, and resignation, flipping the rock cliché "keep on rollin'" onto its side. Girls who don't count sleeping with the radio on as being alone, non sequitur rhetorical questions, promises of everything, all tied up with bashes and riffs and madly catchy hooks--these are the stuff of Dramarama songs. Typically, 18 Big Ones comes a day late and a dollar short--maybe the same buck Easdale passes to a street-corner denizen in "Last Cigarette." But it also stands as testament to the fact that, whatever else, Dramarama lived up to its end of the bargain. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews:

Weird and Wonderful Experience..........2007-05-19

I don't own this greatest hits album, yet I feel that I can assign it the 5 starts it surely deserves... As others have mentioned here, I first heard Dramarama on the Rodney on the ROQ radio show on KROQ, in LA, in the late eighties. (That was the best show, and I miss Rodney!) Anyway, I grew from childhood into adulthood with this band. I saw them play live 7 times - amazing. I met them once at the Edge in Palo Alto when I was college, and they game me and my friends free tickets to see them the following night at Slim's in San Francisco - how cool. So the other night, I was searching online to see if the new episode of The Office was available for download yet, and my search term was simply "office". Among the results was "Box Office Bomb" - Dramarama's second album. I clicked on it, knowing that I already owned it, and then checked my CD shelf - I lost this album years ago, and actually had forgotten about all the good songs on it. I bought another copy and realized I still remember all the lyrics. If you don't have this one, get it. I just needed to share this, as I've been listening to it all week, and it's really made me realize that this was one of the best bands ever. Oh yeah - here's what I originally meant to tell everyone. If you like Dramarama, be sure to pick up the Bent Backed Tuplis album "Lookingthrough" - the "Bent Backed Tulips" are in fact Dramarama's answer to a record label who would not let them release certain material as "Dramarama". It's them, and it's really good. I just saw a few used copies here on Amazon, so hop to it!

5 Stars is Underrated, They Deserve 7.......2006-10-22

I bought this album soleley for "Anything, Anything." I heard it on the radio and thought, 'wow, a new band. They must be awesome.' And to my surprise, it was at least a decade old. I'd never heard any of these songs before and at first I wasn't really feeling it because they weren't as upbeat as "Anything, Anything." But as I kept listening, I began getting all kinds of fantastic riffs and hooks stuck in my head for days. And then you start listening to all the lyrics, and you think, 'wow, they're really clever. And soon you become addicted to this album. I mean, you could eat, sleep, breathe this album, it's that good. 7 Minutes (More or Less) is hands down my favorite, because it's always some obscure song at the end of the album that becomes near and dear. Even if you've never heard of this band, don't recognize any of their songs, maybe only like 1 or 2 of them even, just buy it. It's one of those fantastic CDs that only has room to grow on you until eventually you're ranting and raving over how incredible their music is and how you can't get enough and you're trying to persuade perfect strangers that this is one of the greatest bands ever, upset because no one's heard of them and they should have.

I have to confess that..........2006-04-11

I am ready to give my wife away to anyone who can bring this band in my city for a gig.
My favorite band of all time.

Who Would've Thought.............2006-03-15

Who would've ever thought that these guys would have a best of compilation. Well deserved for this band that put out great albums in the late '80's and early '90's. I think they should've included "70's TV" and their great version of Mott's "I Wish I Was Your Mother", but let's not nitpick. "Anything, Anything" is one of the greatest rock songs of all time and I never tire of hearing it. I hope some of Dramarama's music sticks around and doesn't eventually fade into the abyss of obscurity. I'm still smoking that "Last Cigarette"

Big hits, near misses........2005-08-29

"Dramarama? Who are they?"

"Um, 'Anything, Anything'? 'Last Cigarette'? Maybe you heard 'Haven't Got a Clue' on MTV?"

"Oh, _them_..."

Yeah, them. At their best, Dramarama combines great guitar work, infectious rhythm, and clever lyrics with a wit and sense of irony you almost never see in the post-grunge pop/rock top-40 world.

At their worst... Well, the irony and cynicism sink into whininess, exaggerated pathos, and/or absurdity, and instead of an effective hook you get an overly simplistic musical line that gets hammered into the ground.

"Hey! You gave the album four stars! What's with the-"

Well, I want to be honest here. There's maybe one or two songs that grated on me after a couple of playings. Everything else is perfectly listenable, and half a dozen or so of the eighteen are flat outstanding, including the aforementioned "Cigarette", "Anything", and "Clue". I've paid more than $10 for albums that contained less music I liked. If you want some good, solid rock with strong guitar and higher than usual intelligence, this is a good addition to your collection.

Average customer rating:

Great compilation from a now underrated band
A good compilation plus three new songs
Not bad collection of Canadian hard rockers
4 1/2 stars--fine summary of band's career
Loverboy STILL rocks!

Big Ones
Loverboy
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Wildside
Lovin' Every Minute of It
Loverboy
The Cars - Greatest Hits
Building the Perfect Beast

ASIN: B0000026WK
Release Date: 1989-10-11

Tracks:

Working For The Weekend
For You
The Kid Is Hot Tonite
Lovin' Every Minute Of It
Lucky Ones
Hot Girls In Love
This Could Be The Night
Ain't Looking For Love
Turn Me Loose
Notorious
When It's Over
Too Hot
Take Me To The Top
Heaven In Your Eyes

Customer Reviews:

Great compilation from a now underrated band.......2006-06-22

During the peak of arena rock in the late-70's through the mid-80's, bands that were on the cusp of stardom for several years such as Styx, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, would finally get their just due as their albums would spawn several hit singles as well as successful tours. After their hit making days were over, classic rock stations would provide an outlet for them and would in effect make their music timeless. However, when programming directors were assembling their playlists, a few bands would fall through the cracks. One of the best bands was Loverboy, a hard rock quintet from Canada. Led by their talented and photogenic singer Mike Reno, the band were all over the radio during the first half of the 1980's as albums such as Get Lucky and Keep It Up would be enormously successful. Their sound, which equally balanced synthesizer and guitar, produced a string of hit singles that were accessible to both pop and hard rock music fans. Sadly, their music is rarely heard these days and outside of their native Canada, they've become almost a footnote in music history. Released in 1989, Big Ones contains most of their hit singles and shows why Loverboy has become the most underrated band of the arena rock era.

Right from the memorable synth hook of the opening track "Working for the Weekend", the band's catchy sound is on full display. This track has become their signature song, like "Tom Sawyer" is to Rush, and is one of the best songs of the era. The hit singles "Turn Me Loose", "Hot Girls in Love", and "Lovin' Every Minute of It" are all great hard rock songs complete with memorable hooks. Lesser hits such as "Lucky Ones" and "Notorious" rock a little harder but are just as catchy. The band also had a knack for the power ballad, the best one being "When It's Over", a track that is passionate without being cheesy. The huge hits "This Could Be the Night" and "Heaven in Your Eyes" come off sounding like prom themes and are an acquired taste. The lesser known singles "Take Me to The Top" and "The Kid Is Hot Tonite" are also very good. Like a lot of greatest hits albums, previously unreleased songs were also added to the collection. However, the tracks "For You", "Ain't Looking For Love", and "Too Hot" are all very good and on par with their hits. Although the band would later release another compilation with more tracks called Loverboy Classics in 1994, it's not as consistent as Big Ones. In closing, Big Ones is an outstanding compilation from one of the best arena rock bands of the 1980's.

A good compilation plus three new songs.......2004-07-02

While Loverboy Classics has more good songs on it, this CD has three songs recorded with their late 80s lineup. "For You" and "Too Hot" are great songs that you won't find elsewhere. A lot of good songs are not on this CD, so if you really love Loverboy you need to get Classics, Temperature's Rising (which has 7 songs not on Classics) and this CD, or else just buy every recording Loverboy ever made, because all have great songs on them.

Not bad collection of Canadian hard rockers.......2004-03-09

Canadian rock during the 80's: there's Bryan Adams, Rush, Glass Tiger, and the Toronto-founded Loverboy. When it comes down a definitive single by them "Turn Me Loose" is definitely a candidate, with its pulsing bass, chugging guitar, and the hunger apparent in Mike Reno's voice when he says "I gotta do it my way or no way at all" which more or less sums up the fierce mindset of the protagonist.

The other is the hard-hitting guitar and synth workout of the anthemic "Working For The Weekend" from Get Lucky, of which this is the best single from one of their best albums. Three other songs from this album are the hard rock hoochie-coo of "Lucky Ones," the pounding "When It's Over" and the not-too impressive "Take Me To The Top."

Of the songs that I heard when I became aware of them, the first one, "Lovin' Every Minute Of It" and its pounding tribal rhythms, synths and chanting, sported some backing vocals that make it sound more like Def Leppard. Yes, the song was written by a certain Robert "Mutt" Lange, although it lacks the lustre of his later works, it does have his signature. The other single from the Lovin' Every Minute Of It album, the synth ballad "This Could Be The Night," was clearly trying to capitalize on Reno's duet with Heart's Ann Wilson on "Almost Paradise" (not on this compilation) and made the group sound more like Foreigner. Still a memorable ballad. And as if that weren't enough, they repeated the formula on their contribution to Top Gun, "Heaven In Your Eyes," which is the best of the hard rock ballads, what with the hard-hitting power vocals and guitars in the chorus.

"Notorious" from their last studio album, was quite a kicker, produced as it was by Bruce Fairbairn and co-written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. Their last stab at greatness was enhanced by a video featuring a bevy of beauties representing girls who were "every mother's nightmare, every schoolboy's dream." Although I find the belted wish of "I want to be your slave" a bit demeaning.

The Bob Rock-produced "For You" and "Ain't Looking For love" are harder-edged numbers with more emphasis on guitar and power vocals in the chorus. Ditto for "The Kid Is Hot Tonite," from their first album, is what the early Cars would sound like if they had the hard-driving guitars in the chorus. The keyboards could easily fit on a Cars album. Mike Reno's intense vocals and Paul Dean's hard guitars encapsulated the power formula of Loverboy, and what made it work. After that, it was a matter of whether the song itself was good.

The exclusion of "Dangerous" from Lovin' Every Minute Of It or "Almost Paradise" might make this incomplete to some. Still, a worthy compilation of a band that in a timely manner broke up right at the end of the 80's, leaving behind one brand of 80's hard rock.

4 1/2 stars--fine summary of band's career.......2004-02-17

Loverboy was one of the many fun hard rock bands of the 1980s. While they weren't my very favorite, they were up there enough for me to have all of their old albums on cassette. I got this collection when it came out in 1989 simply to have most of their hits on CD. To me, it is still the best "best of" collection (of the three they have now). Most people, it seems, prefer "Loverboy Classics: Their Greatest Hits"; but I don't agree for a few reasons.

First of all, I actually like all three new tracks on "Big Ones". "For You" is an emotional yet very rocking anthem that to me should have been a big hit. "Ain't Looking For Love" is a melodic anthem through and through. "Too Hot" flat out rocks--and it was a very minor hit (just barely in the Billboard Top 100, I believe) at the very end of the 1980s. All of these songs stand up in quality to the previous hit material the band released. The other collections have no new material.

Second, "Classics" really doesn't have anything more on it than this collection that you need. It has three more tracks off of "Get Lucky", which to me is overkill. 7 of the 9 tracks on "Get Lucky" are on that album--and "Get Lucky" is an album that any Loverboy should have anyway and is still actually available. The other two tracks on "Classics" that aren't on "Big Ones" are the non-hit ballad "Destination Heartbreak" (by far Loverboy's worst ballad and one of the weaker ballads of the genre as a whole) and the admittedly classic movie love ballad "Almost Paradise"--which isn't a Loverboy song. (Since my wife has the "Footloose" soundtrack, no need for me to have it anyway.) If "Classics" had added, say, "Queen Of The Broken Hearts" and "Love Will Rise Again", then maybe you'd have a truly complete collection. As it stands, that collection is unnecessary if you bought this one first.

I recommend this one anyway. It is a good summary of the band's career and includes the three stellar new (at the time or release) tracks in place of "Lucky Ones" overkill. Buy this and "Lucky Ones"; then try to find the other original albums if you still need more Loverboy. This collection is definitely worth the listen for a slice of fun 1980s mainstream hard rock.

Loverboy STILL rocks!.......2002-06-03

Good selection of their hits... although I think I saw a copy in Europe withouth the "black tape" over the... uhhhh.... nipular regions! (Then I might consider 5 stars!)

I saw them in concert in a small venue in '98... they still sound great! I haven't heard if they're still touring now though. (sigh) The 80s.... (sorry... flashback there...)

Great Big Fun for the Very Little Ones
Average customer rating:

Tom Chapin is Great Big Fun

Gram loves Tom Chapin music!

Iowa Dad

focuses on lives of pre-school aged children

Horrible CD,

Great Big Fun for the Very Little Ones
Tom Chapin
Manufacturer: Music Little People
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music
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This Pretty Planet

ASIN: B00005Q3AJ
Release Date: 2001-10-02

Tracks:

Bubblin' In The Bath
Uh Oh, Accident
State Laughs
Camling
I Would If I Could
The Parade Came Marching On
You'll Be Sorry
Zag Zig
Jumpalong Jake
Big Rock Candy Mountain
Ask Someone Who Knows
Happy Birthday
Sailing To The Sea
Blanketville
Bedtime Round
Together Tomorrow (with Judy Collins)

Amazon.com

What's the measure of a good children's record? Probably the sing-along factor and educational levels, plus how much it doesn't grate on parental nerves with continued play. Within those criteria, Tom Chapin's Great Big Fun for the Very Little Ones falls somewhere between a good and great record. There are more truly memorable sing-alongs than most young kids' records can muster, including "Uh Oh, Accident," "Zag Zig," and "Jumpalong Jake." Equally enjoyable tunes that educate without talking down to the audience are multiple: "I Would If I Could" proves to be a sound way to reenforce "don't" messages about jumping on the bed, knocking people down, painting on the walls, and other normal miscreant behavior. "You'll Be Sorry" is a warning song to dogs that also works for kids, and "State Laughs" teaches geography while using lots of playful rhymes. Chapin's performances, framed by simple instrumentation that highlights his messages and lyrics, are rich and engaging. And with songs like "Cameling," "Sailing to the Sea," and the classic "Big Rock Candy Mountain" to spur young imaginations, Great Big Fun scores big time. --Martin Keller

Customer Reviews:

Tom Chapin is Great Big Fun.......2007-01-12

I LOVE this album!! My own children grew up on Tom Chapin's music. My son (who is 19 now) attributes his own interest and talent in music to Tom Chapin's "musicality." Tom's music is engaging and fun and poignant. My husband and I always enjoyed listening to the songs when my kids were young. We also really enjoyed going to Tom's live concerts when we lived in Illinois.

Every time I have to get friends a baby gift of some kind, I buy a Tom Chapin CD for them, and I feel confident that I have given them something really valuable!

Gram loves Tom Chapin music!.......2007-01-09

I raised four daughters on Tom Chapin music! Although I've found many other options for children's music, nothing compares to Tom Chapin's. In this CD, you can feel that the music has the heart and mind of a pre-schooler-Catchy, involving music that little ones [and OLD ones] can easily and gleefully learn. I can't run bath water without the "bubbling, bubbling" music coming into my head! This CD will be of more value to your young child or grandchild than a roomful of toys.

Iowa Dad.......2004-05-14

My family and I are extremely pleased with this CD, and we highly recommend it as being far from a "horrible CD" as one reviewer here states.

One song mentions things like an aunt who "spanked his bottom" when a boy misbehaved, but the song does not say that is what should have been done--a far cry from advocating violence toward children. Regarding the reference to "stupid," there is a lyric where Chapin says he swung his hammer and hit his thumb and says, "Uh oh, acci-dumb," and there is nothing that encourages anyone to call anyone stupid or dumb.

If you've seen Tom Chapin in concert (as we have), there is no mistaking that this gentle man cares deeply about kids and others, and his lyrics and songs are positive, positively silly, fun, or thoughtful, and they are never mean or hurtful.

Some songs on the album are geared more toward the younger kids (preschoolers or early school years), but the songs are simple without being simplistic, and Chapin's wordplay is clever and fun. I would gladly listen to the original lyrics and melodies of Chapin's work 1000 times over rather than listen to a collection of songs by a purple dinosaur twice--and so would my kids, who were 5 and 2 and 1/2 when began listening to Tom Chapin a few years ago.

Personally, we prefer the birthday song on this CD over the traditional "Happy Birthday," and we've taken to singing it on our birthdays since it is definitely a song of love.

The song "Bedtime Round" is a treat for any parent who has put up with the bedtime pleas for one more story, one more hug or kiss, and one more drink of water when it's long after the time for kids to be asleep, as it captures the child's persistence and the parent's patience in handling the requests.

Finally, the grownups here dearly love "Together Tomorrow," a heart-tugging song if you've ever had to part with people you love and care about.

We've bought other Chapin CDs and given several as gifts, but this one is clearly our family favorite (though we've not heard them all yet!).

focuses on lives of pre-school aged children.......2002-09-08

We first borrowed this from the library and our 1.5 and 4.5 year old loved it, and surprisingly both my husband and I enjoyed it as well. We have listened to Raffi over and over and over and to Disney soundtrack tunes for over 4 years now and we were in need of something fresh. (Our 4.5 year-old was starting to groan when I put Raffi on as he has all the songs memorized.) We are happy to have found Tom Chapin's music and we bought this CD. It has rescued us from boredom on long car trips, the humor and catchy tunes have us singing along. I don't find any of Chapin's music annoying or grating on the nerves (as some other recordings for children are). This is a great one to play when boredom sits in, after playing other music for a while we put in Tom Chapin and this CD when we need a burst of energy. We refuse to install a TV in our car despite regularly traveling 500 miles in one day for our frequent car travel so we rely on music, talking, and reading for entertainment in the car.

Some of Chapin's other CDs focus on issues relating to school and social issues that go on in school. This is a collection of some pre-published and new material that is all geared toward the audience of kids not yet in school. I suggest this for kids starting in the toddler years. Of course even kids in school will like this music but what makes it unique is that it is all suitable stuff for toddlers and up.

We liked this CD so much we have since purchased other Tom Chapin recordings. What I have found is that his CDs repeat some tunes, each CD is not a completely new work. I guess this is titled for "very little ones" because there are no songs about going to school as there are on other CDs. This CD has 16 songs which is considerably longer than some of his other works so this is a bargain.

In "uh oh, accident" the child has accidents in which he labels them in various rhyming ways, i.e. hit thumb with hammer, calls himself "accidumb" that is the worst thing in that song, other descriptions are "it went squish..uh oh accidish". In "I would if I could" which is a about a toddler or child pushing his limits with swiping, painting the wall, jumping on bed, etc. In this story there is never a mention of spanking or hitting. There are joking references of the child singing and labeling his behavior, such as saying his "parents flip when he strips in the park..which I've done"; he mentions they scowl and even yell when he tells his mothers age. ... Also in case you are wondering "You'll be sorry" is about a dog not a child and it is about silly things like if the dog chases the skunk he'll be sorry. Jumpalong Jake does mention very quickly spanking and yelling.

This song features a four lovey-lovey feel-good calming songs such as "Happy Birthday", "Blanketville", "Bedtime Round" and "Together Tomorrow".

The progression of songs starts off energetic with happy sing-along style and it wraps up with lullaby-type calm and quieter music. I advise listening to the sound snippets here on Amazon.com to see if this music is a style you are interested in.

Addendum: I saw Tom Chapin live with our family and we had a great time. The sound quality was excellent, just like on a CD. He and his bandmates interacted with the audience and illicited audience participation so it was much more than just listening to the songs exactly as he plays them on these recordings. Go see him live!

Horrible CD,.......2002-08-15

I bought this CD before I heard any of the lyrics. It looks like a happy CD and is marketed as a "Multiple Grammy Nominee" with titles like State Laughs and Bubblin' in the bath. But when I played the CD words like Stupid were used as well as advocating Spanking, and Whacking the children. All of this was convienantly wrapped up in jovial, snappy music. I am going to throw away this CD. I don't want my child listening to songs that advocate hitting him or using such negative words like stupid. This is a horrible CD.

Tracks:

Two Hearts, Two Kisses
Ain't That A Shame
At My Front Door (Crazy Little Mama)
Gee Whittakers
I'll Be Home
Tutti Frutti
Long Tall Sally
I Almost Lost My Mind
Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)
Chains Of Love
Don't Forbid Me
Why Baby Why
Love Letters In The Sand
Hernadine
Remember You're Mine
There's Goldmine In The Sky
April Love
A Wonderful Time Up There
It's Too Soon To Know
Sugar Moon

Tracks:

If Dreams Came True
Gee, But It's Lonely
I'll Remember Tonight
With The Wind And The Rain In Your Hair
Good Rocking Tonight
For A Penny
Twixt Twelve And Twenty
A Fool's Hall Of Fame
(Welcome) New Lovers
Walking The Floor Over You
Moody River
Big Cold Wind
Johnny Will
I'll See You In My Dreams
Quando, Quando, Quando (Tell Me When)
Speedy Gonzalez
The Main Attraction
Beach Girl
Little Honda
As Tears Go By

Album Description

UK compilation for the former teen idol whose sales rivaled Elvis Presley's in the years immediately prior to the British Invasion. The first mid-price compilation to feature virtually all of his 50's and 60's British and American chart hits. Digitally remastered and packaged with an eight page booklet with comprehensive notes and illustrations. 40 tracks in all. 2000 release. Slimline double jewel case.

Album Details

An Extensive Collection of Recordings by the Man that Became the Antithesis of Elvis Presley's Swagger in the 1950's. Boone was Demure, Poised and Sang Each Note Given Him Perfectly. He Emerged from Ted Mack's Amateur Hour (The American Idol of It's Day) and was a Popular Favorite on the Arthur Godfrey Show. His Initial Career was Built on Covers of R&B Tunes Like "Ain't that a Shame" (His First #1 Hit), "Long Tall Sally" and "Tutti Frutti". By the End of the 50's, He Had his Own TV Show and Authored Self Help Books for Teens and was Riding High. Much to the Chagrin of Purists, Boone's Versions of These Songs Are Wider Known Than the Originals. His Years of Success were Usurped by the Arrival of the British Invasion, When He Fell Out of Pop Favor. His Chart Successes Are Well Documented on These Two Discs.

Customer Reviews:

No More Mr. Nice Guy.......2007-07-11

Okay folks, if you know anything about Pat Boone, you'll et a chuckle out of this title.

This is the stuff that the crown prince of cool is best known for-wacky covers of R&b songs in the 50s that some people actually beleived was real rock &roll until the real thing came along (black artists not being welcome on most stations during the early years of R&B). If you've seen the (in)famous 50s clip of our man doing Tutti Fritti with his jerky, non-rhythmic dancing, then you get the idea.

His attemtps to do "Aint That a Shame," "Tutti Frutti" with cleaned up lyrics (pretty little Suzy s the gal for me), "At My Front Door," and a tune more befitting to his corny style "Gee Whillikers" which is a catalog of the most cornball fifties suburban slang. This stuff with fill you with disgust or have you roll over with laughter.

With that said, I personally like Pat Boone. "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (the faux-metal album) and "We Are Family" (an atrocious set of duets with REAL soul singers including James Brown!) shows that he has a sense of humor about his geeky image and doesn't mind poking fun at himself. Listen to this and you'll see why.

benny scott , belgian fan of the 50's music.......2005-02-18

Great compilation !!!
Most important fact : these are the ORIGINAL MONO RECORDINGS
of most of Pat's great hits ( with the exception of April Love,
in stereo on the CD, but exactly the same version as on the original 45 PM in mono. This means that the song was recorded in stereo but originally released in mono, but was not re-recorded in 1959 ! )
Today most of Pat's big hits are released in the re-recorded stereo-versions of 1959. Only the German " Big Bear Family " company issued a boxed set " The Fifties Complete " containing also all the original mono and stereo-re-recordings of 15 songs.
This double CD " Pat's 40 Big Ones " was probably issued with the permission of Big Bear Family Records.
A REAL MUST for all Pat Boone fans who want the original recordings in true mono !!

'Twixt Rock and Elevator Music.......2005-02-05

I hope this will be more objective than most reviews, because while I have no special interest in Pat Boone, I've never been in full agreement with the rock-critic types who only grudgingly give a nod towards pure pop music and pop vocalists.

I'm not thrilled that Boone and fellow Dot artists the Fontane Sisters, among others, essentially stole the glory from hard-working black acts also trying to get hit records and make a little money. In fairness, however, the real opportunist was Dot founder Randy Wood, who had better ability to get his records played and distributed than the smaller labels for which such acts as the Charms, El Dorados, and others toiled. I think it's unfair to expect a young artist, in the excitement of being handed a potential hit song to sing, to sit and ponder who out there might be upset at their record's potential success.

However, not even the rock "cognoscenti" (love that word) deny that Boone and the more-respected Ricky Nelson helped rock 'n' roll get past the overreaction of ultraconservative politicians and other oddballs convinced (or pretending) that this stuff was actually "devil's music."

Musically, the first few remakes here rock more authentically than those cognoscenti led me to expect. I wish the liner notes identified the sax player and drummer who help propel "Two Hearts, Two Kisses". If you can separate "Ain't That a Shame", "Tutti Frutti", and "Good Golly Miss Molly" from the legendary Fats Domino and Little Richard originals, you'll find some genuine excitement in these versions and that Boone has an actual feel for this music. He is also the only act to get Roy Brown's "Good Rockin' Tonight" (a #1 R&B hit for Wynonnie Harris in 1948) on the Hot 100 during the rock era.

Unfortunately, as these two discs go on, Pat and the backing musicians tone it down, even on the "fast" ones (check "Why Baby Why"), putting Pat squarely (pun not intended but not regretted) in teen-idol territory with Frankie Avalon and Fabian. The gooey romantic ballads that come to predominate ("Love Letters In the Sand", "April Love",) are well-made Adult Contemporary before there was such a thing as Adult Contemporary. Critics REALLY hate "Speedy Gonzales," Pat's last Top Ten. Decide for yourself if the song is really racist or if he (and Mel Blanc as the title character) are merely describing one person who happens to be of Mexican descent.

There are also a couple of surprises toward the end of Disc Two: "Beach Girl" (#72, 1964) and "Little Honda" are not-bad takes on the surf movement of the time, with participation from surfmusicmeisters Terry Melcher and (future actual Beach Boy) Bruce Johnston. But then there's the last track, a version of "As Tears Go By" that anticipates the 1997 "In a Metal Mood" CD by 33 years and ends this collection with an unfortunate thud.

An earlier review compared Boone to Bobby Vinton, Barry Manilow, and Air Supply. Actually, Pat Boone appears to be more in line with Perry Como and Andy Williams, technically-gifted crooners with slight nods towards rock. While it's true Manilow initially won fame for a bunch of romantic hits, lumping him in here seems as severe an overgeneralization as that which the otherwise-fine review sought to avoid on Boone's behalf. Manilow writes, produces, and arranges much of his own material, and has demonstrated a much broader range than what appears here. And in no way has he had the generically handsome, all-American image of Pat Boone. Pop lovers unite: don't let the rock snobs divide and conquer by tricking you into blurring the distinctions between our pop heroes.

As it seems that U.S. discs exclude the Little Richard remakes as well as the Johnston-Melcher songs, this looks like the best Pat Boone set available. Also, the booklet has very good liner notes (with the exception noted above) and plenty of pictures that will please Boone fans.

Don't-a Forbid Me.......2004-10-12

That's one example of how recording artists, and many of them, used the early Elvis style; Pat Boone did. And he even used the unusual style of country singer/songwriter Floyd Tillman when he did Tillman's "I Almost Lost My Mind" (Ivory Joe Hunter had the definitive version). And elitist or not, it has not been a mystery that record producers took recordings by black artists into their own studios to try to duplicate the sound (never worked) but the white versions got the airplay. (I could cite 20 examples here). It's hard not to like Pat Boone and he had some good stuff that belonged to him, "With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair", "Moody River" and "Love Letters in the Sand", but Mr. Nice Guy's renditions of the earthy "Tutti Fruitti" and "Long Tall Sally"....come on now. Loved "Speedy Gonzalez" (you never see him in old cartoons anymore, politically incorrect). You really don't hear Pat Boone on the oldies stations either, not even the stations covering the late 50s, early 60s. He was just too clean, too uncool, but he had a successful career and not just in music. So don't cry for Pat. Ooga mooga.

More than just a balladeer.......2004-06-05

People remember Pat for his love songs and the novelty up-tempo Speedy Gonzalez. But rock'n'roll - surely not?

Actually, Pat's earliest hits were covers of songs by Little Richard and Fats Domino. In those days, people tended to buy records according to race, so it was common practice for singers to cover songs first recorded by somebody of a different race. So it was that Pat achieved major American hits with his versions of Ain't that a shame (Fats Domino), I'll be home (The Flamingos), Tutti Frutti, Long tall Sally (both Little Richard) and I almost lost my mind (Ivory Joe Hunter). Of course, Pat's versions lacked the rawness and energy of the originals, but they established him as a major pop singer in the fifties. They are certainly worth hearing and all of them are included here.

After all those covers of R+B songs, he switched his attention to the ballads he is now remembered for. Love letters in the sand, Remember you're mine, April love, A wonderful time up there, Sugar moon, If dreams come true and I'll remember tonight were all huge American hits. Later hits were smaller, but they are also included in this set. In 1961, Pat's career took off again with Moody river, but there was to be only one more major hit - Speedy Gonazles.

Apart from all the hits, there are a few interesting non-hits, like Little Honda. Pat recorded this when he discovered that the Beach boys were not going to release their original as a single, but was foiled when somebody else had the same idea and they had the hit instead.

So, this is an interesting compilation that includes all the obvious hits, most of the minor hits and a few interesting non-hits. You can get all the obvious stuff on a single CD, but it is interesting to explore further than that. As such, this set, which includes comprehensive liner notes, is ideal.

The Gifted Ones
Average customer rating:

Could IT Have Been Better??...

One of the best ever!

Two of the best in the Jazz world collab on a pleasing CD!

The Gifted Ones
Count Basie with Dizzy Gillespie
Manufacturer: Ojc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000000Z27
Release Date: 1996-03-19

Tracks:

Back To The Land
Constantinople
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St. James Infirmary
Follow The Leader
Ow!

Amazon.com essential recording

This 1977 date joins two jazz giants with contrasting approaches: Gillespie's explosive bop trumpet virtuosity and Basie's laconic piano style. The bare-bones quartet format--with the sterling rhythm team of bassist Ray Brown and drummer Mickey Roker--does nothing to conceal the differences, but it sets up a comfortable middle ground that accommodates swing and bop nuances alike. Differences apart, the co-leaders share infectious warmth, a deep feeling for the blues, and an absolute compulsion to swing. Basie's understatement triggers some of Gillespie's most thoughtful playing of his later career, developing long, intricate solos that combine harmonic exploration and direct, speechlike inflections, often with the distinctive burr of a harmon mute. The settings--two Gillespie tunes, the ancient "St. James Infirmary," and a series of impromptu collaborations--are casual, doing nothing to encumber the musicians in a session they're clearly enjoying. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

Could IT Have Been Better??..........2005-07-31

two great masters from different perspectives play on a bluesy moody set of songs ..stripped down and spontaneous...a real jam permeates the air..Not pure swing not pure bebop just a unique hybrid worth it's title...both are gifted indeed and it shows..Worthy of inclusion in one's collection.
Pairing these two giants should have made sparks fly,they do in a sublime way...

One of the best ever!.......2005-05-03

I consider this album to be one of the best jazz albums ever. Now, I know that is saying a lot because over the years there have been some awesome ones, but this album just grabs me and I forget the world when I listen to it. The version of "St. James Infirmary" is so full of feeling as both Basie and Dizzy take turns at making their instruments moan with the pain of death.

Two of the best in the Jazz world collab on a pleasing CD!.......2001-06-19

I stumbled across this disk through recommendations. When, I saw it had Dizzy and Baise together on the same CD. I thought dang it must be good! I've never even heard of a collaboration between the two untill now. On the CD Ray Brown keeps the rhythm simple and upbeat with his amazing talent on that instrument. Mickey Roker is on drums, to me on the album it seems he is holding back something. The drumming is good but its like he's scared because he's in the same room with the two of the greats. That's just me, tho. If you want some good drummers check out Krupa, Tony Williams, or Philly Joe Jones. They will knock you out.

Three of the songs on the CD, Back to the land, You got it, and Follow the leader, are all written by diz and baise. They are great kicking tracks that will make you feel good and get up out of your chair and start dancing. They also have an interesting intrepration of "St. James Infirmary." Diz's playing on the cd seems as good as ever and Baise just kicks back, and lets his fingers on the piano do the talking. It would have been alot better album if they had someone like philly joe jones on the drums. Other than that, the playing is great and goes right into my Jazz collection of greats. So check it out already!

Make Some Noise
Average customer rating:

Magic Banana!

Children's music that adults will really like

Make Some Noise
The Quiet Ones
Manufacturer: Not Big Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B0009XL5IE
Release Date: 2005-06-23

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Make Some Noise
Polar Bear
Ultrafoot
Magic Banana
I Remember Purple
Invisible Trousers
You Can't Hide Your Bike
Constellations
Park By Myself
Secret Tunnel
How Fast Can You Run?
My Keyboard
Fizzy Milk

Customer Reviews:

Magic Banana!.......2007-07-05

We ALL love this album. Could Magic Banana be the best song ever written?!? Possibly......

Children's music that adults will really like.......2005-09-15

In my former youthful life, I was a huge fan of the band Muckafurgason, an extremely witty, clever, funny and talented indie band that played the downtown NYC circuit from 1994-2002. You can imagine how excited I was when I learned that two of the members, Andy and Chris, were recording a children's album as The Quiet Ones. Just released, "Make Some Noise" is an awesome alternative to mainstream children's music like the Wiggles or Barney.

Andy told me that when he had his daughter Cecily three years ago, it was hard for him to find music for her that didn't drive him up the wall so he and Mucka bandmate Chris wrote some songs that were aimed at kids but wouldn't offend parents. When I asked him who their influences were, he politely said, "BAD kids music and good grown-up music."

What sets The Quiet Ones apart from typical children's music is that they're not condescending and preachy (like Barney). Andy says, "We don't feel the need for every song to have an educational/moralistic message. Not that we're against that, and we do a little bit of it in passing. But the emphasis is more on fun and fueling kids' imaginations."

With titles like Magic Banana, You Can't Hide Your Bike, How Fast Can You Run? and Invisible Trousers, you get an idea of the humor and appeal of their songs.

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Dragyyn [Live]

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Call Of The Unknown (Selected Pieces 1972-1986)

1. Walk on Water
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