Greatest Hits, Volume 1

by

Frankie Valli

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The Four Seasons were the fourth biggest singles group of the sixties, only the Beatles, Supremes, and Beach Boys were bigger. When Frankie Valli went solo, it must have seemed like a no-brainer that he'd be a huge star. He started releasing singles in 1966 with some success -- including the lush, string-filled smash "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (#2 in 1967). However, by 1969 his career had faded.

Fortunately, Frankie was one of a handful of sixties male acts whose careers were resurrected in the mid-seventies, along with Neil Sedaka and Paul Anka. Specifically, he hit with the gorgeous ballad "My Eyes Adored You" (#1 in 1975). He followed that hit up with several others, including the disco-fied "Swearin' to God" (#6 in 1975) and "Our Day Will Come" (#11 in 1975) a dance-tinged remake of the sixties hit by Ruby & the Romantics. In addition, he had the biggest hit of his career with the title song from the movie adaptation of "Grease" (#1 for 2 weeks in 1978).

All of these songs are on "Greatest Hits," as well as two moderate hits -- "To Give (The Reason I Live) (#29 in 1968) and "You're Gonna Hurt Yourself" (#39 in 1966). The only miss is "Soul," which sounds like an early, cheesier version of "Fame."

I love Frankie Valli's falsetto, and many of these hits use his gorgeous vocals to magical effect. However, this collection could have benefitted from being organized chronologically, as his sixties hits sound extremely different from his mid-seventies singles. Listening to the danceable seventies music and then jumping back to a melodramatic sixties hit is a bit jarring. Frankie really had two careers, and this CD should have reflected that more explicitly. Also, the liner notes are sparse, with only writing and publishing credits listed for each song. The music is great, but the collection could have been a tad better.