Search - Various Artists :: Rock & Roll Greats

Not necessarily what you're expecting or willing to pay for

Ludwig | Milford, New Hampshire | 11/18/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This set has a lot of problems. To begin with the most obvious one, Track 2 (on Disc 1) is listed here and on the CD insert material as "I'm Walkin'"/Fats Domino. In fact, it's Fats covering "Kansas City" (also included, in the original Wilbert Harrison version, on Disc 3). Beyond that, while the set does feature original artists, it does not always feature the original single versions. In particular the Gene Vincent Be-Bop-A-Lula on this set is not the single version but some later rendition. Similarly, all of the Fats Domino, Brenda Lee, Everly Brothers, and Neil Sedaka material (6 tracks in all) are later live recordings, not the original hits. You may also be expecting Elvis' "Blue Suede Shoes", but what you'll get is Carl Perkins (ok by me and appropriate here, since it was originally his tune, but I can imagine others might be disappointed). It gets worse. The Isley Brothers "Shout" is listed here as "Shout Part 1", i.e. it's truncated. Similarly, the Neil Sedaka "Oh Carol!" is a clip cut out of a live medley. The digital transfers are decent, but unless your fine with all of the above, my recommendation would be to avoid this set & to generally be suspicious of "Goldies" titles: you get what you pay for."