The Very Best of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons [Rhino 2002] (CD - 2002)

Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli (vocals); Tommy DeVito (vocals, guitar); Bob Gaudio (vocals, keyboards); Nick Massi (vocals, bass).

Additional personnel includes: Joe Long (vocals, guitar, nass); Charlie Calello (bass).

Producers include: Bob Crewe, Bob Guadio.

Compilation producer: Gary Stewart.

Recorded between 1962 & 1978. Includes liner notes by Pat Sierchio.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Personnel: Frankie Valli (vocals, background vocals); Tommy DeVito (vocals, guitar); Bob Gaudio (vocals, keyboards); Nick Massi, Joe Long (vocals).

Audio Remasterers: Dave Schultz; Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot.

Liner Note Author: Pat Sierchio.

Released in 2002, this excellent 20-track collection, lovingly compiled by the Rhino label, features many of Frankie Valli's finest moments, both as part of the Four Seasons and on his own. While the majority of the disc focuses on the falsetto-voiced singer's string of 1960s hits with his impeccable Jersey boys that made up the Four Seasons, including the energetic, neo-doo-wopper "Sherry" and the optimistic "Let's Hang On (To What We've Got)," it also makes room for solo singles, such as the dreamy "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and the funky theme from "Grease."

The Four Seasons are often overlooked when lists of important bands of the 1960s are made. That really shouldn't be the case. With Frankie Valli's amazing bray of a voice backed by the solid harmonies of the other Three Seasons singing simple, powerful songs with great hooks and lots of musical surprises, they were really quite special. And Bob Crewe knew how to produce records that sounded great on car radios: the drums snap, the guitars crunch, and the voices jump out of the mix. The Four Seasons had a lot of really big hit songs: "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Dawn (Go Away)," and "Working My Way Back to You." This compilation rounds up all their chart smashes from their original incarnation in the 1960s plus two tracks ("Who Loves You" and the disco-fied "December, 1963 [Oh, What a Night]") from the mid-'70s. One could question the inclusion of solo tracks by Frankie Valli on a Four Seasons compilation. "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," "My Eyes Adored You," "Swearin' to God," and "Grease" are all fine songs and hits as well, but sound out of place, as his solo style is nothing like the classic Four Seasons sound. It seems like a disservice to the group. Surely Rhino could have found a few more Four Seasons tunes to round out the disc -- maybe a song from their weird concept album, The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette, or the should-have-been-a-smash "Silence Is Golden." Ignoring all that, this is still the best single-disc Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons compilation on the market (since Rhino has deleted their superior Anthology, which had more tracks and only one Frankie Valli solo number) and could easily be recommended to the casual fan. ~ Tim Sendra minimize