Early 60's East Coast Rock At it's Best.

The youth of America had a musical divide in the early sixties. While the west coast soft beach harmonies of the Beach Boys were in full swing, the youth of the east coast was stomping to the harder edged harmonies of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Frankie along with Bob Guadio, Tommy Devito and the late Nick Massi, hailed from Newark New Jersey and went on to become one of the most important vocal groups in history. Between 1962 to 1966, the Seasons charted 23 times, making them the most popular group in that states history[sorry Springsteen fans]. Their influence can be heard every time you hear a 1970's Bee Gees tune or Billy Joel singing "Uptown girl". Frankie Valli's trademark falsetto voice is as unmistakable as Dylan's whine or Joe Cocker's growl. This collection is a must for anyone who does not own a Four Seasons cd. It contains 16 of the their highest charting hits from 62-68, like "Lets Hang On", "Sherry", "Big Girls Don't Cry", "C'mon Marianne", "Opus 17" and 'Rag Doll" to name a few. Also 1970's Seasons hits like "December 1963 Oh What A Night" and "Who Loves You" are here as well. Making this set essential is the inclusion of all of Frankie Valli's top solo hits, like "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", "My Eyes Adored You", "Swearin To God" and "Grease", making this the only single disc available to include all of his solo hits. This is as perfect as a single hits disc can get and I highly recommend this to anyone young or old, who would like to relive their past or experience a ledendary vocal group for the first time, that was second to none during their hey-day. For a more detailed overview of their career "In Season" the two disc Anthology is recommended. This review is dedicated to the late Nick Massi, whose bass playing and vocal arrangements will always be in season.

Solid 20 Track Overview

All of the Four Seasons Top 10 hits, as well as Frankie Valli's solo Top 10's are included on this quick and easy to digest sampler. Rhino's 1988 1 disc Anthology digs deeper in to the Four Seasons catalog by including 25 songs and only one Valli solo, but by focusing on their big hits this makes for a tight and more useful compilation. The liner notes are 2003 up-to-date with photos and Billboard chart info for each song. The group was inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. This is the best place to start your Frankie Valli and Four Season collection.

Excellent collection of a great group

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were hugely successful in America, where they had a long string of major hits, especially in the sixties. They were less successful in Britain but still managed seven top ten hits including a number one. Here you can find all the classics. From the sixties, there are Sherry, Big girls don't cry, Walk like a man, Rag doll, Let's hang on and many others. From the seventies, there are My eyes adored you, Who loves you, December '63 Oh what a night (their only British number one hit) and Grease. Two obvious omissions from the seventies are Night (a track recorded for Motown) and Silver star ( a UK top three hit), but you can't include everything by such a successful group.

Aside from their own hits, covers of their songs were also successful for others. Four of their songs were UK number one hits for others. Their versions of Silence is golden (Tremeloes) and The sun ain't gonna shine anymore (Walker brothers) are not included, but you do get their original versions of Bye bye baby (Bay city rollers) and Working my way back to you (Detroit Spinners).

This is an excellent single CD collection of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, one of the best American groups of the sixties and seventies.