Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons on CD

I had that record way back when, Darryl. I don't think I've seen/heard it in more than 40 years, though. It may be a good one.

 

Has the early '80s live double album on Warner Bros. Ever been on CD? Is it any good? I've never heard it.

 

I had a few 4 seasons vinyl albums when I was a teen.
Those are long gone.
Would remember covers over titles.

Darryl

 

Just picked up this 2fer.



Darryl

 

Who ever has those mono tapes needs to license them out. The mono 45 versions should be heard in all their glory.

 

This is what the reissue CD of "Reunited Live" on CURB looks like and as usual, Curb made it look like some damn cheap reissue, which it is, price wise!



One of the added "studio" tracks on that "Live" album, was a great little tune called, "Spend The Night In Love", with lead vocals by mid '70's members, Gerry Polci & Don Ciccone, heard here ...

 

Here are "some", but not all, of my "4 Seasons" collection on CD ...

 

I remember passing several times on one of the ACE 2fers (can't recall which one) several times.
The day I went back for it...it was gone.

Darryl

 

Thanks. I'm a-gonna order it ...

 

Do any of you Four Seasons fans have this 2-disc set, Jersey's Best: The Very Best Of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons? It appears to be a Rhino UK only release and, while the 3-CD/1-DVD box set Jersey Beat: The Music Of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons is more comprehensive, the 2-CD Jersey's Best comp seems to feature mostly mono versions of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons' biggest hits. At least according to some of the Amazon UK reviews - disc 1 is mono, disc 2 is stereo. Can anyone vouch for the sound quality?

If it's any good, West End Jersey Boys cash-in aside, the 2-disc set is a steal at a very reasonable price!

 

I passed on this while in London (as I already had most of the tracks).
Thought it was a cash in.

Darryl

 

Yeah, but it's songs like "Beggin'", "Tell It To The Rain" and especially, "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", that I want in MONO on CD and they are all on disc 2!

 

I wonder how Rhino decided which tracks to release in mono or stereo on the Jersey's Best 2-CD set? I think it's sequenced chronologically, cause the early hits seem to be on disc one. Those are the ones I'm most excited to hear in mono. But if the later songs on disc two were also available in mono, why not make the whole kit and kaboodle a mono affair instead of this split mono/stereo business?

Are the early hits easy to find in mono on CD or is this Jersey's Best 2-CD set something special since it collects many of the mono hits, in one place?

 

I believe that most, but not all, of the original multi-track tapes and mono masters are long gone. I'm not sure which songs still exist on tape in mono and I don't have that UK 2-CD set, but I find it hard to believe that RHINO used anything other than what was used on the US 3-CD set, for sound, but I could be wrong?

Naturally, RHINO currently controls whatever still exists in regards to master tapes, that are licensed to them from Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio, who as a D/B/A (doing business as), own those master tapes now.

The better part of the long out of print UK CD on ACE, called "Edizione D'Oro" was in MONO, except for 5 songs. As I look at that CD right now, I didn't realize that "Beggin'" was in MONO on that CD, so that takes care of one of the songs that I wanted in MONO. Glad that I pulled this one off of the shelf today or I may have not realized that fact?

 

Somebody, (NOW SOUNDS?) should do a complete overhaul of the pre Four Seasons through their latter work. Some of this stuff is available but it's a mess trying to get some of it in good quality. The Bear Family Four Lovers set is worth checking if you've never heard it. These guys were huge and seem to be slowly slipping away except for a few of their hits. Sad to see this happen to such a large and good set of recordings. I'll buy em' if they are done right.

 

I couldn't agree more! I'm just starting to get into/discover the hits of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. I mean, of course I've heard the oldies radio staples, but I'm really unfamiliar with their recorded output outside of a handful of songs. That said, I don't own anything by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. I looked into the Jersey Beat box set but it delves a bit deeper than I think I want to right now. So, I'm taking a chance on the Jersey's Best 2-disc, 30-track collection, if mostly for the fact that the early hits are in mono. Whether that means original mono 45 mixes, remains to be seen and determined by better ears than mine.

I previewed The Very Best Of Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons as a single-disc introduction to their music but the early songs sounded weird in stereo. We'll see if Jersey's Best is everything I'm hoping it'll be.

 

Try to listen to a couple Four Lovers tracks on youtube or somewhere. They are Frankie Valli before the Four Seasons. It's an older, more doo-wop style of music but I like it a lot. He did quite a few recordings before the Four Seasons and some of it has never been rereleased to my knowledge. I'd like a complete set of all his work done by Bear Family but other than the 1 CD of the Four Lovers, done a long time ago, nothing has appeared. These guys are just too good to disappear. I'd like to see AF do a release with Steve mastering it. Hits, album tracks, anything because they have a huge amount of good recordings to pick from and I'd bet it would sell well. Hope someone with some ability to make things happen reads this and wants to follow up.

 

I recall many years ago, seeing two single disc "Rarities" releases from Rhino in stores. Can anyone elaborate on the content and SQ on those? I know that they're long long out of print, and rarely seen for sale anywhere used.

 

I have Vol. 1. Still looking for Vol. 2.

Darryl

 

Saw this only once & didn't pick it up.





Darryl

 

I've had Rarities Vol. 1 and 2 since they were released. Not too impressed with Vol. 1 (mostly album tracks I already had) but Vol. 2 has some great stuff - both sides of the 1971 UK Warners single, "We Can Work It Out" from the All This and WWII soundtrack, 2 really good songs from the (underrated, IMO) "Helicon" LP and some stray late-period Philips singles...

 

Picked these up recently...







(not sure if I also have Vol. 1)

Darryl

 

Nothing beats nice 45 RPM and LP discs from Vee-Jay. And they are challenging to find nice condition copies of. On Philips material, there are Philips reissues into the early 1970's. Those may be easier to find.

 

Picked this up today.

Darryl

 

Wow, thats a heckava collection. Sounds like a lotta fun listening!