The latest music collection from the TimeLife Musics spans 8 CDs and collects 120 jukebox classics from the 50s era. However, there is one problem, most of the songs here don't come from 50s period as advertised on TimeLife webpage. Instead, this collection is a mix bag of classic hits from late 50s and, more than half, from 60s period. The songs are put in random order through out the collection. Despite the under-advertisement, the song selections here are indeed great and varied, from rock & roll to R&B. There are many big hits from the wel-known artists including The Every Brothers' "All I Have To Do Is Dream", Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry", Neil Sedaka's "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen", and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons' "Sherry". Many of the teen idols from the period are also presented, such as Mark Dinning's "Teen Angel", Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Girl", Bobby Vee's "Take Good Care of My Baby", and Dion's "Runaround Sue". There are also a selection of R&B and doo wop musics, such as Ben E. King's "Stand By Me", Jerry Butler & the Impressions' "For Your Precious Love", The Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)", and The Fleetwoods' "Come Softly To Me". This collection also contains many one-hits and jukebox gems including The Ad Libs' "The Boy from New York City", The Toys' "A Lover's Concerto", Mickey & Sylvia's "Love Is Strange", and The Ray's "Silhouettes". There are some weak points in this set. The selection of some artists, such as Elvis Presley and The Beach Boys, are unneccessary since there are so many collections for these artists already. Some artists seems to be given more favors than others--there are 3 songs from The Orlons all on the same disc! Some songs from the same artist should be taken out to give room for other great records. For some reason, the selectors pick the non-hit "The Girl's Alright With Me" for The Temptations instead of their his such as "My Girl", and Jerry Butler's version of "Let It Be Me" instead of the more wel-known The Every Brothers' version. Another obvious weak point in this collection is that it contains too little of instrumental hits from the period. In fact, only one song, Santo & Johnny's "Sleep Walk" is presented. Beside all those comments, this is a fine collection of jukebox favourites from 50s and 60s period for listeners who want the enjoyable set of oldies musics.
Here is another kicker, this set can be bough as 4 separated double-CD sets or you can buy them whole as a box. And if you buy the box set, you will receive a double-CD , Street Corner Symphonies, as a free bonus gift. Not only it does contain some big hits such as The Sihouettes' "Get A Job", The Elegents' "Little Star", The Marcels' "Blue Moon", and Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs' "Stay", it also contains many gems including The Crests' "16 Candles", Shep & the Limelites' "Daddy's Home", The Penguins' "Earth Angel", and Randy & the Rainbows' "Denise". So if you consider to buy all the main set, you should go for the box set. |
