Frankie Laine - Frankie Laine's Greatest Hits

good--as far as it goes, that is (three and 1/2 stars)

Frankie Laine's Greatest Hits is a fair to middling CD that is currently out of print. This may not cause too much of a problem, though, because it's hard to take just twelve numbers and refer to them as Frankie Laine's "greatest hits." This is certainly not a complete package and that disappoints me. However, the sound quality is very good and the artwork is very thoughtfully done.

"Moonlight Gambler" starts the CD; and Frankie Laine sings this like the pro he always was! Frankie's uncanny sense of timing enhances his performance and the percussion helps to mark the beat, too. "Jealousy (Jalousie)" is a beautiful ballad when Frankie Laine sings this with all his great sensitivity; and the brass helps make the melody very pretty. "Jealousy (Jalousie)" is easily a highlight of this album; Frankie sings it all THAT good.

"High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)" puts Frankie Laine squarely in the spotlight; and he certainly doesn't shy away from that position! Frankie does this up right and he never sings a superfluous note. "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)" shines beautifully when Frankie sings it. In addition, Frankie Laine performs "Your Cheatin' Heart" with a lot of passion; his heartfelt emotion on "Your Cheatin' Heart" sounds wonderful and this country flavored ballad works so well.

"I Believe" showcases Frankie Laine's fine ability to deliver a song right alongside the best of them; the background chorus enhances the melody and they bolster Frankie's performance as well. "Jezebel" gets a fine treatment from Frankie Lain and the guitar work couldn't be better! The percussion is great and overall "Jezebel" is an excellent song by Frankie Laine.

"That Lucky Old Sun" is a ballad I first heard when Ray Charles recorded it; but Frankie also makes this tune very beautiful by playing just a bit with the tempo and keys. Frankie does this to also put his own stamp on this number and he pulls it off very smoothly. "Rose, Rose, I Love You" is another love song with a country flavor added into it for a great effect! "Rose, Rose, I Love You" is a catchy, upbeat ballad and Frankie never skips a beat.

"That's My Desire" showcases Frankie's ability to sing a very mainstream love song--he delivers this well as he swings slowly to make this number stand out. The CD also ends nicely with Frankie Laine performing "Answer Me (Mutterlein)." Great!

Frankie Laine could really bat out different types of songs; we get ample proof of that on this CD. However, this cannot be considered a true "greatest hits" compilation because it's too short; for that I would suggest the CD called I Believe: 20 All-Time Greats and diehard fans will also want CDs like The Frankie Laine Collection: The Mercury Years in their collections.
April 24, 2008

Best CD of one of the Best 8 male voices ever.

A part the old weared out LP's, I have a a number of CD's of Frankie but the quality of this one beats them all.
Frankie's perfomances are for me among the best he recorded and they are finally well carried by a good stereo sound, yes "stereo". The sound is clear fresh stream water blended in what I call a "weak stereo";perfectly balanced, smoother than the original mono and light years away from the terrible fake stereos = voice on the left,all the rest on the right or viceversa.
I hope COLUMBIA Records will treat this way many other of Frankie's songs.
This wonderful CD would be perfect with just one more song..."A woman in love".
Since the wonderful voice of Frankie is out of discussion I preferred to tell you how you can enjoy it closer to what it really is.

Ciao,
Franco November 15, 2007

In memoriam!

Frankie Lane left us unforgettable musical memories, because his fluid phrasing as vocalist and besides his unique stylistic tune, loaded of beauty musical filigress. Who of us will be able to forget OK. Corral, for instance?

This a great compilation that presents us part of his gentle charisma as singer and interpreter.

Farewell, Frankie! August 15, 2007

Super Value

Received sooner than expected from UK vendor. Super value with very good selection of songs. May 17, 2007

Good Ole Frankie

I was really impressed because the songs were just the way I remembered them when I first heard them. I hate when they change the tempo, or other things on songs, but Frankie left everything...guess he also believed in..if it's not broke, don't fix it... March 10, 2007

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