Browse by Catagory:
|
Very Best of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
Release Date: 2003-01-14
Sales rank: 174
2002 compilation packs a single CD with 20 classics recorded for Vee-Jay, Phillips, Curb/Warner, Private Stock, & RSO between 1962-1978. Remastered from original master tapes. Rhino. |
|
41 Original Hits From The Soundtrack Of American Graffiti
Release Date: 1993-06-22
Sales rank: 937
For those of us who grew up in the '70s, this drive-in compilation of '50s and '60s rock and doo-wop, complete with Wolfman Jack introductions, was our introduction to this music. There are 41 jukebox hits here, and every one of them is a classic of its time (although two tracks--"At the Hop" and "She's so Fine" are covers by the revival band Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids). In his 1973 movie, director George Lucas used the music (and the presence of mysterious deejay Wolfman) as the AM-radio soundtrack to one night in suburban California, 1962. The idea was to capture and sustain an end-of-summer, end-of-innocence mood that's in the air throughout the picture-- not as a shortcut to establishing a period (as in Robert Zemeckis'Forrest Gump). There's an awful lot of spontaneous energy in these tunes--from Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, to the Platters and the Clovers and the Del-Vikings, to the Crests and the Beach Boys--and also just a hint of melancholy that goes down very nicely with a burger, shake, and fries. --Jim Emerson |
|
Dirty Dancing: Original Soundtrack From The Vestron Motion Picture
Release Date: 1990-10-25
Sales rank: 3775
If film and music fans sometimes wonder why soundtracks are often little more than pastiches of past pop hits and chart flavors of the moment, it's largely due to the blockbuster success of releases like this collection from 1987's surprise Patrcik Swayze/Jennifer Grey romantic hit. The film's retro-romantic concerns came shrewdly wrapped in a (largely manufactured) dance craze conceit tailor-made for such pop chestnuts as the Ronettes' "Be My Baby," the Zodiacs' "Stay," and the Five Satins' "In the Still of the Night." Mickey and Sylvia once again argued that "Love Is Strange"--if not quite as strained as Swayze's own attempt at balladry, "She's Like the Wind." Eric Carmen's "Hungry Eyes" showcased the former Raspberries leader to good effect, but the real soundtrack sweepstakes winner here was the Jennifer Warnes/Bill Medley duet "(I've Had) The Time of My Life." That performance not only won the Best Original Song Oscar the following year, but became one of the era's most performed songs and a ubiquitous radio staple. --Jerry McCulley |
|
Dirty Dancing: 20th Anniversary Edition
Release Date: 2007-05-01
Sales rank: 2252
All original music from the film, sequenced as it appears in the original movie! Also contains previously unreleased bonus track, "Gazebo Waltz." Includes new artwork from Lions Gate 20th Anniversary DVD. 27 tracks on one CD! |
|
The Ultimate Rock & Roll Collection: The 50's
Release Date: 2001-10-09
Sales rank: 3678
|
|
The Very Best of The Drifters
Release Date: 1993-04-20
Sales rank: 4099
One of the best-known and best-loved R&B vocal groups of all-time, The Drifters were blessed with some great lead singers (Clyde McPhatter & Ben E. King), great songwriters (Leiber & Stoller, Pomus & Shuman) and great producers (Phil Spector, Bert Berns). Despite many personnel changes, they scored an amazing 11 top-20 records between 1959 and 1964, and are still on the oldies touring circuit today. This compilation album contains an excellent sampling of the group's pop classics and showcases their smooth harmonies. Features 16 total tracks including 'There Goes My First Love', 'Hello Happiness', 'Summer In The City', 'Like Sister And Brother', 'Like A Movie I've Seen Before' and more. RCA. 2005.A by-the-numbers, chronological collection that hits all the commercial highlights of the Drifters' Golden Era (1959-64)--after the frequently dazzling early records with Clyde McPhatter, but featuring the consummate vocal stylings of Ben E. King, Rudy Lewis, Johnny Moore, and more on 16 memorable hits. Among the pinnacles: "There Goes My Baby," the record whose unsettling, soaring strings launched the soul era; the romantic perfection of "Save the Last Dance for Me," "This Magic Moment," and the contagiously catchy, Latin-bouncing "Sweets for My Sweet;" and the eternally evocative cityscapes of "Up on the Roof," "Under the Boardwalk," and the stark, gritty "On Broadway." Sleepers include the heartrending Bacharach ballad "Please Stay," "I Count the Tears" (ripped off later on the Grass Roots hit "Let's Live for Today"), and "When My Little Girl Is Smiling," on which strings foreshadow the folk-rock movement. An ideal starter kit on these seminal uptown soul pioneers; those seeking further revelations (and there are plenty of them) are referred to Rockin' & Driftin': The Drifters Box. --Ken Barnes |
|
The Platters - All-Time Greatest Hits
Release Date: 2004-04-13
Sales rank: 5301
|
|
The Only Doo-Wop Collection You'll Ever Need
Release Date: 2005-01-18
Sales rank: 5991
This CD lives up to its name, offering 37 of doo-wop’s greatest hits and most memorable artists. Everyone from The Dell Vikings to The Platters and The Crests to The Mystics are included. This 2-CD set strikes the perfect balance for fans of oldies and doo-wop! |
|
Dion & Belmonts - Greatest Hits
Release Date: 1999-09-27
Sales rank: 3623
20 of the teen idol's biggest chart hits for the Laurie & Columbia labels from 1958-68, both with & without his group The Belmonts. All tracks are digitally remastered & include 'The Wanderer', 'I Wonder Why', 'Runaround Sue', 'Donna The Primadonna', 'A Teenager In Love' & 'Abraham Martin And John'. 1999 release. |
|
The Definitive Pop Collection
Release Date: 2006-09-12
Sales rank: 22445
This is a compilation of Franki Valli & The 4 Seasons' hits, including "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Sherry", and "December, 1963 (Oh What A Night)". |
|
|
|