Selected CD Reviews: Unforgettable Collections

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Saturday, 12 December 2009 21:55

Written by Lloyd Carroll

Michael Jackson
The Definitive Collection
(UME)
Universal Music Group holds the rights to the Motown Records catalog, so the term “definitive” here is a bit deceiving since it does not include any Michael Jackson recordings made after 1975. When Jackson left Berry Gordy’s company to join Epic Records, he went onto record the biggest selling album of all-time, 1983's Thriller. Of course it was at Motown that Jackson’s wondrous talent first discovered, initially singing with his brothers in the Jackson 5, then by slowly branching out to solo recordings.

Jackson’s young exuberant voice was a key reason that the Jackson Five’s first four singles (“I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There”) went to #1 on the pop charts. Sure, tales of puppy love in Top 40 songs are as old as the hills, but Jackson and his brothers made you forget that it was a pop cliche.

While nearly all of the songs here are old friends, it is fun to hear the tracks that didn’t get that much play at the time of their release or subsequent on oldies stations. You can put the lively “I Wanna Be Where You Are,” Michael’s superb take on Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and “Farewell, My Summer Love,” a tune that Motown kept in their vaults until after “Thriller” came out, in that category.

It is ironic then that Universal Music Enterprises had this CD on their release schedule even before Jackson’s untimely passing last June.

Gary Lewis & The Playboys
The Complete Liberty Singles
(Collectors Choice)
Gary Lewis & The Playboys will never be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. While snooty Rolling Stone critics would scoff at even the idea of including Gary Lewis and his bandmates in the same breath of such artists as the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and U2, this two-disc collection shows that Lewis and Company made solid contributions to pop and rock.

Yes, Lewis, the son of Jerry Lewis, never possessed a great voice. The liner notes make it clear that his producer, Snuff Garrett, had to overdub his voice numerous times on nearly every recording and that he frequently had singing assistance from an uncredited Ron Hicklin, a well-respected L.A. studio musician. Hicklin was the American equivalent of England’s Tony Burrows who seemed to sing on every British hit not made by a super group in the late 1960s and early ‘70s.

Lewis’ limited vocal abilities actually proved to be an asset as he provided an everyman’s touch to breakup songs as “This Diamond Ring,” “Sure Gonna Miss Her,” “Paint Me A Picture” and “My Heart’s Symphony,” and it made it easier for the listener to identify with him on upbeat fare as “Green Grass,” a song that trumpeted the impending arrival of spring, “Count Me In,” and “She’s Just My Style.”

What is often overlooked by rock music historians is the level of sophistication in the Playboys’ records. Garrett consistently utilized the famous “Wrecking Crew” for his studio musicians who were led by keyboardist Leon Russell, guitarist Tommy Tedesco and legendary drummer Hal Blaine. These are the same folks that Brian Wilson turned to for countless Beach Boys recording sessions. The string, brass and woodwind work on Lewis’s hits were quite sophisticated for the time and could be described as pop symphonies.

Sweet
The Sweet Anthology
(Shout Factory)
A ‘70s quartet that could have been considered the British equivalent of the Grass Roots in that they made catchy hit singles but were considered lightweights by the pop cognoscenti, Sweet turned out a set of rockin' singles that made them more than just that. This 32-song collection basically confirms the general consensus that the band is a guilty pleasure.

Thanks to the work of producers Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, songs such as “Fox On The Run,” “Ballroom Blitz” (a tune that inspired Forest Hills’ own, the Ramones), and the nonsensical ditty “Little Willy” (which sears your brain with its hooky bass line and hand claps), made Sweet memorable. “Little Willy” was a big hit in both here and the UK but it was bigger there because the term had naughty connotations that it didn’t have on this side of the Atlantic.

Thanks to lead singer Brian Connolly’s cheerful vocals, one Sweet tune that has stood the test of time and has impressed even the band’s detractors is 1978's “Love Is Like Oxygen,” a song that would not sound out of place on an Electric Light Orchestra or Queen album.

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