Frankie Valli - Solo/Timeless

Frankie's first two solo albums were essentially Four Seasons projects sans group harmony, with Bob Crewe producing and Bob Gaudio, Charles Calello and Artie Schroeck arranging. And the material was every bit as strong (or even stronger) than on the group efforts, with the hits '(You re Gonna) Hurt Yourself'; 'The Proud One'; 'Can t Take My Eyes off You', and 'To Give (the Reason I Live)' highlighting the two releases. Also includes Frankie's original version of 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)', which went on to be a huge hit for the Walker Brothers. Product Description

Product good, service terrible

I really enjoyed the Frankie Valli CD but it took forever to get it...like almost two months. The CD was lost during the shipping so I had to call Amazon to see where it was. They had no idea where it was so they had to ship me another CD. I understand things like this happen, but this order should have been tracked better. I do not plan on ordering anything from Amazon again for a long time. September 2, 2008

Frankie Valli

This is one of the best solo albums by Frankie.His My Mothers Eyes alone is worth it!!!! August 11, 2008

+1/2 -- Valli's first two solo albums have many highlights

Valli is perhaps alone in the parallel success of his group recordings with the 4 Seasons and his solo career. Though both the group and solo success thinned out between the end of the `60s and the middle of the `70s, there were intense periods in 1967 and again in 1975-76 when Valli and his group each lobbed a string of hits into the top-10. Valli's solo career actually predated the formation of the 4 Seasons, starting with a 1954 release of "My Mother's Eyes" that failed to chart. He returned to solo work in 1964 as the 4 Seasons fought with the Beatles for space at the top of the charts, finally breaking through in 1967 with "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You."

It was that 1967 single that prompted the release of Valli's first album, "Solo," patched together from earlier singles and a trio of new recordings. Unsurprisingly, the productions are all over the map, from the Motown-styled arrangement of 1966's minor chart success "(You're Gonna) Hurt Yourself" to orchestrated stabs at pop standards like "My Funny Valentine" and "Secret Love." The latter is particularly interesting, with its soulful bass line, big-band horns and Valli's swing-a-ding-ding vocal. Among the previously released singles is a superb early take of "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" that anticipates the arrangement of the Walker Brothers later chart hit; Valli's high-range adds a unique element of tension to the vocal. You can hear the producers searching for a hit as they have Valli sing 4 Seasons styled pop ("The Proud One"), `50s-styled R&B ("The Trouble With me"), and Stax soul ("You're Ready Now"), but it was "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" that hit the jackpot. The song's moody horn, bass, vibraphone and hi-hat provide a mesmerizing introduction to Valli's gentle tone on the verses and the explosion of the chorus.

A year later Valli recorded "Timeless," his first true solo album project. Like the song list of "Solo," Valli combined contemporary hits with standards, but unlike "Solo," the arrangements (all but one by Charles Calello) are more consistent in style. Highlights include the terrific, slowly-burning build of Bobby Hebb's "Sunny," and a reading of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" that twice cycles from dreamy interludes to dramatic orchestrations. More radio friendly are "Watch Where You Walk" and the Neil Sedaka-Carol Bayer Sager collaboration "Make the Music Play," neither of which, unfortunately, were released as singles. The album stretches out with the percussion-free string backing of the jazz favorite, "For All We Know," providing Valli a chance to croon ala Chet Baker and June Christy, and the socially aware "Fox in a Bush" is structured like a Broadway show tune with a spoken introduction giving way to an overwrought vocal. Less successful here is an upbeat version of "Eleanor Rigby" whose swinging drums and horns sound like they were arranged for an Austin Powers film.

This pair of albums was previously released in 1994 by the UK Ace label, with three additional non-LP singles. Collectors' Choice omits the bonus tracks but does include full-panel cover art for both albums and new liner notes by James Ritz. Though there are relatively few chart smashes here, the album tracks are hardly throwaways. The sides gathered for "Solo" represent a several year search for an identity that would separate Valli from the 4 Seasons. The recordings for "Timeless" find Valli reaching for a more sophisticated and cosmopolitan audience than with his group. Without his trademark falsetto or backing harmonies of the other three Seasons, the unusual tone of Valli's voice, particularly his high register, still stands out against the orchestrations, showing there was a lot more to his artistry than pop rock `n' roll. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com] July 1, 2008

An Ace Of A Release

In pulling together two Philips stereo vinyl LPs, Ace of London not only provides the original LP cover notes in the insert, but five more background pages written in 1994 by Bob Hyde, along with two bonus tracks that did not appear on the original Solo album (Cry For Me and This Is Goodbye), and one that was not part of Timeless(I Make A Fool Of Myself).

Those albums also produced five hit singles, with these being culled from Solo: (You're Gonna) Hurt Yourself (# 39 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in early 1966; The Proud One (# 68 Hot 100 in December 1966 and its flipside, Ivy); and Can't Take My Eyes Off You (# 2 Hot 100 in summer 1967 and its B-side, The Trouble With Me. From Timeless came the following: I Make A Fool Of Myself (# 18 Hot 100 in late summer 1967 and its flipside, September Rain [Here Comes The Rain], and To Give [The Reason I Live} (# 17 Adult Contemporary/# 29 Hot 100 in January 1968 and its B-side, Watch Where You Walk). That last B-side was also used on the flip of My Eyes Adored You, a # 1 Hot 100 in late 1974/early 1975.

As is always the case with Ace products, the sound quality is excellent. October 1, 2007

Just too good to be true.

This CD features Frankie Valli's first two solo albums. The two albums, plus the bonus track, comprise all the solo songs Frankie Valli recorded between 1965 and 1968. The most noticeable difference between Frankie Valli solo and Frankie Valli with the 4 Seasons is that he doesn't use his trademark falsetto on his solo songs.

Solo(the album) was comprised of all the singles that Frankie had recorded for Philips Records up to that point, plus three standards recorded to fill out the album. Of course, the highlight is the classic hit "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", but most of the other songs are also good.

Timeless has a more "middle of the road" feel to it than his first album. It is an attempt to refashion Frankie as more of an "adult pop" singer, as opposed to the "teen pop" he sang with the 4 Seasons. It is not completely successful. Frankie's singing is fine, but some of the material is rather dull.

The bonus track is "I Make a Fool of Myself", which was the follow up single to "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". It was a hit, albeit not a very big one. It's good, but the problem is that it sounds too much like "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". It has a similar melody and a similar arrangement.

May 6, 2006

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