Search - Various Artists :: Greatest Hits 1957

Excellent compilation!

G. Carver | 01/17/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an essential snapshot of the times as they were in the year of 1957. This compilation contains the original studio recordings as envisioned by the artists before their agents and management forced them to redo the tracks to cater to the majority taste, which is far from infallible. Take "At The Hop", for example. The version with which most people are familiar is blurred by heavy compression and excessive reverb; on this compilation, the mixing of the original recording is tight and crisp and allows you to hear each of the singers individually. This album also emphasizes the slow due process of turning a studio recording into a radio hit. "Mountain of Love", while recorded in the studio in 1957 and thus is a perfect representation of the people's voice of the time period, had to be shopped around to various record labels before finally being released to be aired on the radio three years later.



I would type more but it would only serve to embarrass other reviewers who thinks they know what they're talking about, so suffice to say that this is a must-own. I've received this CD yesterday morning and I must have listened to it eight times already. All the tracks flow nicely from song to song and makes a great candidate for road trips. I highly recommend this. :)"