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Tokens All Time Greatest Hits a Winner

Timothy P. Brown | Ohio, USA | 01/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Everyone knows the Tokens for The Lion Sleeps Tonight. However, there were other songs they recorded that I could not find unitl NOW. This CD was released in 1998 and included I Hear Trumpets Blow (which I could not find since its release in 1966 - my thanks to BMG and Taragon for finally putting this song out on CD!). It also includes a Beach Boys collaboration of Don't Worry Baby and She Lets Her Hair Down recorded by other artists and used on commericials. The quality of this CD is EXCELLENT. The engineering and production on this CD is one of the best I have heard out of hundreds of CD's -no tape hiss or other distortions."

Stereo Note

Timothy P. Brown | 11/27/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The only thing I will add to the other comments is a stereo note. Most tracks are in true stereo, only track 1 and 9 are in mono. A stereo note on the back of the CD jewel box states the following:"Tracks 1 & 9 are mono from full track master tapes, tracks 10, 13-14 from 2 track stereo sources, tracks 2-8 are stereo from 3 track session master tapes; tracks 11-12 are stereo from 8 track session master tapes." The CD is produced by Taragon. They have established a well deserved reputation for obtaining the highest level master tapes in existence. This CD is no exception. However, "Tonight I Fell In Love" was recorded and released in true stereo and has been available in stereo in the past. So I'm not sure why it's mono here."

The Lion Is King

Zub | Forks Twp., PA | 12/26/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Though often incorrectly relegated to one-hit wonder status for their reworking of a Zulu chant that became the number one "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", the Tokens put nearly a dozen songs into the top-100 over a decade. The Tokens' unique harmonies punctuated by Jay Siegel's falsetto carried the self-penned, bouncy tunes "Tonight I Fell In Love" and "I Hear Trumpets Blow", as well as the plaintive Goffin-King composition "He's In Town", a bigger hit in the U.K. as by the Rockin' Berries, into the top 40. Beyond their own recordings, the Tokens had their own production company, Bright Tunes that had major success with other artists' recordings such as the Chiffons' "He's So Fine". They also had their own label, B.T. Puppy, that had significant chart exposure with the Happenings' string of hits starting with the reworked "See You In September". The multi-faceted skills of this group are evident in this collection that includes all of their charted singles plus a few non-charting ones garnered from the several labels for which they recorded. The small independent Taragon label has produced this superb compilation using original full-, 2-,3- and 8-track session masters. All tracks are in stereo except one and nine. An eight-page liner notes booklet provides a detailed history of the group along with detailed track information. While the number of tracks is slightly on the meager side, this is the best, bar none, collection of recordings from this vastly underrecognized group of performers. For more Tokens, BMG offers an excellent compilation, but while delving deeper into those RCA recordings, it is likewise limited to the work done there. While it does make a good complement to this collection, this Taragon piece heads the list for Tokens' CDs."