The Four Seasons Album: “25th Anniversary Collection”

Why Gaudio/Crewe, the guys behind most of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons' biggest and best hits, weren't/aren't as respected and revered songwriters as at least the dreaded brothers Gibb, will forever remain a mystery of gigantic proportions (at least to me).

If in doubt of their genius, the evidence is all here; from the early hits that made the Four Seasons the East Coast's equivalent of the Beach Boys ("Sherry", "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Walk Like A Man", "Rag Doll") thru their late, brief and commercially unsuccessful '60s - yes! - psychedelic period (the amazing yet overlooked "Saturday's Father") onto the balladry of "Patch of Blue" and "The Girl I'll Never Know" (although Frankie's solo "Fallen Angel" is one notable omission here) and, on the comeback trail, their lucriative forays into seventies disco ("Who Loves You", "December 1963", "Grease").

And even when the Seasons covered the "classics" - "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", "I've Got You Under My Skin" - they still managed to come out on top and reinvent in their own style material which "definitive" readings of (The Shirelles and Frank Sinatra, respectively) had already been around for a good while. With most other acts, such attempts prove disastrous.

Mostly, though, other acts have looked to the Gaudio/Crewe archives when in need of hits. The Walker Brothers ("The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore"), The Tremeloes ("Silence is Golden"), The Bay City Rollers ("Bye Bye Baby"), Donny Osmond ("The Proud One"), Andy Williams ("Can't Take My Eyes Off You"), Barry Manilow ("Let's Hang On") and even the late, uh, great Divine ("Walk Like a Man") have all seen fit to follow the Four Seasons path and often quite successfully at that (at least the Rollers and the Searchers scored No.1 U.K. hits in the process). And that is not to mention those who've nicked a lick or two from a Four Seasons record for prosperity (For instance, just compare the Doors' "Touch Me" to the Seasons' "C'mon Marianne").

With versatility, song power and the amazing voice of Valli as their weapons, there aren't many acts of the '60s and early '70s which topped or even rivalled the Four Seasons (Obvious contenders: The Beatles, Beach Boys, the Stones, the Byrds - bar none), and this collections displays all their strengths amply and justly. Rhino, we - once more - sallute you!

This triple CD has everything that matters up to 1976. You can get most of the essentials on a single CD, but the various single CD's available (and there are many to choose from) invariably miss something out.

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were hugely successful in America, where they had a long string of major hits, especially in the sixties. They were less successful in Britain but still managed seven top ten hits including a number one. Here you can find all the classics. From the sixties, there are Sherry, Big girls don't cry, Walk like a man, Rag doll, Let's hang on and many others. From the seventies, there are My eyes adored you, Night (a track recorded for Motown), Who loves you, December '63 Oh what a night (their only British number one hit), Silver star and Grease.

Aside from their own hits, covers of their songs were also successful for others. Four of their songs were UK number one hits for others - Silence is golden (Tremeloes), The sun ain't gonna shine anymore (Walker brothers), Bye bye baby (Bay city rollers) and Working my way back to you (Spinners). The original versions of all these songs are included here - and they are all brilliant. They also recorded some excellent covers of their own including I've got you under my skin and Will you love me tomorrow.

This is the ultimate compilation of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, one of the best American groups of the sixties and seventies.

Has all of the group's best songs as well as most of Valli's solo work. Fabulous sound and liner notes. The only Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons collection you need.

I am not yet 19 years old, however, I know great music when I hear it. This collection of The 4 Seasons has not only all of their greatest hits but also some other decent songs as well. When you purchase this set, you will get three CD's of great music made by guys that really knew music. Granted the third CD has some songs that were attempts to keep in step with the other bands of the late 60's and are not the greatest records cut by the group. However, Frankie Valli and The 4 Seasons made so many hits that the few that are not chart toppers do little to dilute the greatness of the collection. If you are a big fan of The 4 Seasons this is a good collection of their complete recording history. However, if you just want their well known hits, better get the Anthology, which has 26 classic songs. In my book, they are better then Beatles and many of the pop stars today. I feel lucky that I got to see them in concert in 1999. Enjoy the record!

I am from Asbury Park NJ and have followed these guys since I was 13 years old. I still have every vinalalbm that they produced. I can't tell you how many speakers I blew blasting their sounds. I have seen them in person over 50 times in AP and in different parts of the country ober the past 35 years. Some of the songs I like best are the ones the boys took and put their style to. Will you still love me tommorow. Book of Love. Ive Got You Under My Skin. And my favorte is their Show Opener Since I Don't Have You. They love what they do and their feeling is there are still there because of us their diehard and loyal fans. There are the best of the best in my book.