Search - Gary Puckett & Union Gap :: Gary Puckett & Union Gap - Greatest Hits

The 70's style love ballads began with Gary Puckett

Thomas Lapins | Orlando, Florida USA | 03/25/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gary Puckett and the Union Gap weren't the hippest group, they didn't rise to the level of "supergroup", and they had only six hits. But what they did have was massive talent: Puckett's powerhouse, deep throated, smooth vocals; serious songs with well written lyrics; and some of the most sophisticated arrangements to come out of the 60's. They were at the cutting edge of the music that was yet to come in the 70's: that middle of the road, high quality, endless string of love ballad after love ballad. The texture of Puckett's voice always took you on an emotional ride into your lovelorn dreams and desires. "Woman, Woman" from the first to the last note doesn't let you escape this young man's cry'n, break'n heart. And GPUG didn't stop with this their first smash hit. Hot on its heals was "Young Girl" (I remember my mother and aunt talking about how provocative the lyrics were, pretty tame by today's standards) and their third smash hit "Lady Willpower" (As a young boy, I did wonder why all his songs were always bleeding with such bad luck about some woman he was either being rejected by or he was pushing them away with one hand while holding onto them for dear life with the other). Two other songs on this cd which I thought quite good were "This Girl Is A Woman Now" and "Over You" (my other big favorite after "Woman, Woman"). All in all, six songs on this cd are classics, including "Don't Give In To Him" but the rest of it is, well, not greatest hits material, to be kind. But so what, the hits make this swooner's voice worth the price of the cd. The songs instantly bring me back to the late sixties; but they sound as good today as they did thirty-some years ago, and that says a lot when you think of all the hits that sounded great thirty-some years ago, and are unlistenable today."

Five Greats Out of Ten Songs is Not Bad!

rodboomboom | Dearborn, Michigan United States | 07/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The other reviewers have captured my reaction as well, we all have loved the throaty, unique lead voice and the love ballads that they turned out which still play on the Oldies stations.I concur that the other songs are not much more than respectable versions of BeeGees and Diamond hits, but not that one has to turn the volume down or anything.They fill in the Gap and continue to give enjoyment to many."

Another Gary Puckett Greatest Hits?

Lonnie E. Holder | Columbus, Indiana, United States | 08/02/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It seems like there are at least a dozen "Greatest Hits" or "Best of" collections by Gary Puckett, and this one is probably not one of the better ones. I think that each of the collections include the real hits of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, "Woman, Woman," "Young Girl," "Lady Willpower," "This Girl Is a Woman Now," and "Over You." After that each of the collections includes "stuff."



The "stuff" on this CD includes "To Love Somebody" by the Bee Gees. Gary Puckett's voice is an excellent match for this cover of the Bee Gees' classic. There is a cover of "Kentucky Woman" by Neil Diamond in this collection. I know the remaining songs, "Let's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance," "Could I," and "Daylight Stranger" have all appeared on other Gary Puckett collections.



Gary Puckett has an excellent, mellow voice. When his voice matches the material the result is outstanding. However, there are a lot of Gary Puckett collections that exist, and this one is very short, under a half hour. If you are only interested in the top 40 hits, nearly any of these collections (including this one) will give you those. Then you have to decide which of the other songs on the collection you want as well.



My rating is not so much for the material on this collection, which is okay, but for the fact that there are better collections available and it seems as though Gary Puckett has been repackaged too many times with the same core material. The numerous collections should be pared down to a couple. One collection should have half dozen songs or so and the other collection could be like "A Golden Classics Collection," which has an incredible 27 songs. Choose wisely!

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