1 comments about Big Band, Vol. 5.

1. As far as I can ascertain, this set contains the original recordings of each of these songs listed. What that means, is that many of the vocals and lyrics that we've come to know some of them to have (sing sing sing, etc) are not part of this CD. I think they must have been added later when people performed them. Some of the songs have lyrics, but many of them don't (as I'm sure some of these songs don't even have lyrics). I'm just pointing out that some songs that we've come to know with words to go with them do not have words here. But then again, it has Louis Armstrong singing "when the saints go marching in."

2 comments about Burt Bacharach's 60 Greatest Hit Songs.

1. It's hard to believe how many hits Burt Bacharach has written. This collection contains 60 of his "greatest hits". I use parentheses, while all the songs here were hits for Bacharach, they are not all the hit versions of those songs. Most of us know the Dionne Warwick version of "I'll never fall in love", instead we have Bobbie Gentry singing it here. Is this a bad thing? No necessarily. However, it may make you yearn for the hit maker versions.



2. A mixed bag : All of these tracks are good, but not all are by the artists most associated with the hit recordings one remembers. There is, not surprisingly, an emphasis on artists who recorded for EMI, such as Cilla Black and Shirley Bassey. Still, there is high quality music here and the performers (and performances) are generally first-class. Bacharach fans are accustomed to multiple interpretations of his finest material, so if you enjoy these artists you'll likely enjoy this set.

1 comments about Memories Are Made of This.

1. Despite the growing number of Dean Martin compilations out there, it is apparently impossible to assemble all of Dean's Greatest Hits onto a single CD package. This 3 disc compilation stands as yet another testament to that.
   
   I give this compilation 3 Stars simply because of the number of songs you get (47) for the money ($27).
   
   Contrary to the "Album Details," this CD does NOT contain "all his Greatest Hits." In fact, despite offering 47 songs, its amazing how many of Dean's classics are missing from this package ("Sway," "Powder Your Face with Sunshine," "Houston," "Innamorata," ...). I believe the bulk of the material on this CD is from Dean's early recording period (late Forties/early Fifties).
   
   Also, not sure what "Special De Luxe Packaging," means, as this set was pretty stripped down, if not cheap. There are 3 separate jewel boxes in a slip case. That's it. No liner notes or booklet, photos, nothing.
   
   Still, for those of us tired of purchasing the same songs over and over on the various Dino collections, this is a decent buy. In fact, one of the reasons I got this one was the hard to find "Rio Bravo" track (title song to the John Ford movie of the same name, starring John Wayne and Dino himself) and the Latin Lounge Classic, "Cha Cha Cha D'amour."
   
   This is NOT a good CD to purchase as an introduction to Dean Martin - or as a collection of his best work. Rather, the set functions best as a way for Martin fans to expand their catalogue with a lot of his lesser-known (but still good) songs.