The Four Lads - Moments to Remember: Very Best of the Four Lads

Great Songs, Great CD Notes

Not only was the selection of songs great, but the notes about the Four Lads were fun to read. The Four Lads have to be one of the best male quartet groups of all time. That sound, wow! July 12, 2008

This is so much fun to listen to

Back in the 1950's, before doo-wop, there was a simple style of four part harmony performed by a number of popular vocal groups. The Four Lads were among the best. This collection features all of their memorable hits: Down By The Riverside, Enchanted Island and my absolute favorite, their rave-up version of Skokiaan. These songs are clever and catchy, the type you'll find yourself singing along with. The music is upbeat and just plain fun. These are the original recordings as anyone who enjoyed them back in the day would remember and the remastered recording sounds as bright and crisp as ever. I highly recommend this album to anyone who wants to relive that happy-go-lucky time in American pop, even if you weren't around to enjoy it the first time. Moments To Remember: The Very Best Of The Four Lads brings those moments back like never before. January 21, 2008

Taragon Almost Had It

With each previous release of Four Lads compilations I lamented the omission of some of their early hits and held out hope that someone would soon produce a more definitive album. Then, in 2000, Taragon came out with this one which is easily the best collection of their hit singles to ever hit the market. And yet, with 21 selections, even they stopped just agonizingly short of completing the picture for us completist junkies.

Don't get me wrong. I was delighted to see both versions of their first solo hit after working with Johnny Ray. The Mocking Bird, also known as Going Home, and taken from Dvorak's New World Symphony, was first done in 1952 with minimal accompaniement by Eddie Safranski and Ed Shaughnessy [# 23]. The same version charted again in 1956 [# 67] on the Epic label. Then, in 1958, they recorded it again, this time with Joe Mele & His Orchestra [# 32].

All the other early 50s hits are here too, from Somebody Loves Me [# 22 in 1952 with the Mitch Miller Orchestra] to Rain, Rain, Rain with Frankie Laine [# 30 in 1954], as are almost all their hits throughout the early years of R&R. Beginning with Moments to Remember, # 2 in 1955 with Ray Ellis & His Orchestra and kept from # 1 only by the phenomenal success of Mitch Miller's Yellow Rose Of Texas, right through to 1959's Happy Anniversary, which peaked at # 77 that November.

The sound reproduction is excellent on all tracks and there is a complete discography of the contents along with three pages of liner notes by Colin Escott.

BUT, whereas they give us both sides of the double-sided hits Standing On The Corner [# 3] b/w My Little Angel [# 22], and A House With Love In It [# 16] b/w The Bus Stop Song (A Paper Of Pins) [# 17] - both from 1956 - they omit the flip of No, Not Much - I'll Never Know - which hit # 52 on its own on February 1956, as well as The Fountain Of Youth which made it to # 90 in May 1959.

Those two, along with the "follow-along" hit It's So Easy To Forget which backed Who Needs You? in 1957, would have made this a 5-star 24-selection CD in the eyes of completist collectors everywhere. Even so, it is a wonderful collection of the songs of Canada's best singing group of that era [ahead of The Crew Cuts and The Diamonds] and for those not hung up on gathering ALL the hits, this is a 5-star CD.

For the record, the group came back in 1968/69 for United Artists to post two Adult Contemporary hits, A Woman reaching # 26 in December 1968 b/w Where Do I Go, and a cover of Gary Lewis & The Playboys'1966 # 1, My Heart's Symphony, which topped out at # 38 in June 1969 b/w Pardon Me Miss. Those remain singularly hard to find on CD. August 30, 2007

4 Lads - moments to Remember

Excellent CD. By far, the best song is "My Little Angel". Most of the others are great too. July 25, 2007

Moments to Remember: Very Best of the Four Lads

Great old songs by a great old group January 29, 2007

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