Search - Jan & Dean :: Anthology Album

SOME GREAT MUSIC WITH SOME DISAPPOINTMENT

Doanld J. Barger | La Habra, California United States | 03/12/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Jan & Dean's Anthology has some wonderful songs on it with most in stereo. Very clean sounding songs. Also, very inclusive for the average Jan & Dean fan. It does not have "You Really Know How To Hurt A Guy" on it (as Dean didn't want to include it) and a couple others but the vast majority of the "Hit" songs you are looking for are here. However, be aware that tracks 22 through 26 are "LIVE" VERSIONS. Not studio tracks. That is somewhat disappointing. Still, CHEER ON SURF DUDES...the studio tracks that are included are very KEWL SOUNDING!!"

A lost treasure?

gtoherder | Tucson, AZ United States | 04/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am fortunate to be able to say I've enjoyed Jan & Dean since AM radio was the way to go and you played your records on a 'hi-fi'. In fact - my first version of this compilation was and is on vinyl LP records. Now that those have been played to death the CD format offers improved response and all the benefits of the less-easily damaged and more easily stored CDs. Technically, this format is excellent.But it's the music you should get this one for. Jan & Dean were always ready to poke a little gentle fun at the fads, passions and occasional absurdities of life. Which is not to say they were clowns at all, more like amiable, quick-witted guys who knew a joke when they saw one - even if it took a little longer for the rest of us to catch on.From the street-racing 'Little Old Lady From Pasadena' and the enthusiastic 'Drag City' to the humorous 'Sidewalk Surfin' they provided the background music to a generation emerged from the fifties and still unaware of the trials and problems awaiting them as the sixties would progress and then the decades pass by. America and the world have changed radically in the intervening years. Our innocence, at least my generation's innocence, is gone along with so much optimisim, self-assurance and maybe even a little hubris. But in the music of Jan & Dean, the Beach Boys and others a little of the flavor of those times is preserved. The sixties cannot only be defined by the war in Vietnam, the fight for social justice, hippies, psychedlia, etc; there were also frivolous enjoyments to be had, good times to share and a common hope and confidence.So have a ball, enjoy this collection then go root around; could be there's a Rat Fink tee-shirt buried away in the old rag pile, an old surfboard up in the rafters, who knows? But mainly, just have fun."

Nice Anthology Of All Of Jan And Dean's Hits!

Barron Laycock | Temple, New Hampshire United States | 07/17/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Life and fame were very good to Jan and Dean, at least for a while, when they started out as a Garage Duo making the tours of local recording studios. They quickly took advantage of the happenstance of the rise of southern California surfer music to catch a wave to the top with an early hit, "Linda". Later came "Surf City", and a raft of together, such as "Honolulu Lulu", "The New Girl In School', and "Sidewalk Surfing" (which robbed the melody and chord progressions from Beach Boy pal Brian Wilson's "Catch A Wave). Later came such popular numbers as "Ride The Wild Surf", "You really Know How to Hurt A Guy", and of course, "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena". In what is one of the most ironic twists involving their career, one of their biggest hits was with a song called "Dead Man's Curve", which chronicled a fateful race between a Jaguar XKE and a Corvette Sting Ray, which ends with the protagonist badly mangled in the crash. Just a year later Jan was himself badly injured in such a crash in his own Corvette, and suffered a number of permanent disabilities from it. Still, Jan and Dean performed for years later with rock and roll revival tours, and Jan still records, although in a very limited sense. This was wonderful music, and it still plays well. I listen to them often, and I'm sure you will too once you listen to this album of their collected hits. Enjoy"