Drifters recommendations?

To my embarrassment, I don't have any Drifters (the 59-65 edition of the group) on CD. Can anyone recommend a good-sounding, well-chosen 1- or 2-disc collection? (I don't want to spring for the box set.) As far as I can tell, the most promising options are:

(1) the late 80s 2 CD "All-Time Greatest Hits" on Atlantic
(2) the early 90s "Very Best" on Rhino
(3) the Collectables twofer of the original "Up On The Roof/Under The Boardwalk" albums
(4) the UK releases on Sequel

BTW, I know that there are differences between the mono and stereo versions of some of these songs but I can live with either.

Any thoughts?

 

I'm not a Drifters expert, but I love the All-Time Greatest Hits & More. Of course, how much you like it will probably depend on how much you like the Drifters in that time period. If you're not sure or less than thrilled, The Rhino Very Best may do the trick for you.

I'll let somebody with more knowledge speak to the sound quality of both these discs, but I dig the former, and if memory serves me well, the latter does the trick as well...

Shalom, y'all!

L. Bangs

Late Edit: I should probably add that I don't have nearly the problem many do with the 'Rhino sound', so if you do, you may just want to ignore the above! Cheers!

 

The UK releases on Sequel are the best sounding & most complete & logical presentation. Same thing goes for the Coasters. They do Atlantic much better than Atlantic!

 

I have the Drifters box. A bit too trebly, but the selection is great.

 

I'm a big Drifters fan, so picked up the 3-disc Rhino box. It's called "Rockin' & Driftin." Selection is stupendous. Sound is typical Bill Inglot, though I've heard him do worse.

 

The Rhino box also throws in a few solo hits from Ben E. King and Clyde McPhatter for good measure.

 

Yea, That classic "Bill" sound and way too much mono...

 

I'm happy with the 2 CD-The Drifters 1959-1965 All time Greatest Hits And More...40 songs...Atlantic-7-81931-2...UPC-0 7567-81931-2 5. I'm not sure if it's still in print?. If your into "Stereo" Drifters this is a great package.

 

These are both very good. The Rhino is one of Inglot's better ones, not too bright at all. I first had the 2 CD set, which is mostly stereo, but did not care for the stereo mixes on the biggest hits (not that they're bad, but I guess I was just used to mono mixes from compilations). Got the mono Rhino and was very happy.

 

Re: Re: Drifters recommendations?

The Mono's are readily available. The Stereo is nice for effect. I too enjoy the original single versions. I'm glad to have both!

 

Thanks for the helpful comments everybody!