Frankie Valli had been recording since 1953, but it wasn't until the late 1950s that he teamed up with Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito, and Nick Massi to form a band named The Four Lovers. Around 1960 the band changed names to The Four Seasons, and after a few false starts hit number one on the Billboard Charts with "Sherry." Their sound, once established, would remain constant throughout most of the 1960s: a mixture of do-wop featuring Valli's astonishing falsetto, wall of sound, sharp drum and bass lines, and an oddly stripped down quality that allowed you to hear every single note. Although the line-up would change over the years (Massi left in 1965 and was replaced with Charles Calello and later Joe Long Valli and Gaudio remained constant, with Valli becoming such a stand-out that the band was popularly known as Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.
Like most bands of the era, The Four Seasons recorded a lot of covers--everything from Sixteen Candles to The Book of Love--but with one or two exceptions they were best known for their originals. "Sherry" was quickly followed "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like A Man," "Candy Girl," "Opus 17," and a host of others. The typical Four Seasons cut features a short, slow-tempo introduction that suddenly blasts into Valli's falsetto lead with the other members of the band splitting into tight harmony around him. The drum work is almost always especially noticeable on a Four Seasons song, the underlying glue that holds the piece together. Quite a few groups would make an effort to duplicate the sound, but Valli's falsetto was such a unique sound that no one ever equalled, much less surpassed, the original. The band is commonly thought to be the single most popular 1960s recording group before the advent of the Beatles. Some fifty years later, Valli still gives the occasional performance--and their recordings have sold close to two hundred million world wild.
There are a lot of CDs by The Four Seasons on the market, and FOREVER LEGENDS would seem to be a good choice: a three CD collection that collects the band's most famous work. Unfortunately, it also contains a lot of their filler work as well, particularly in the form of covers of "Earth Angel" and similar pieces. And why is that, on three CDs, the producers couldn't find room for "I've Got You Under My Skin?" If the selection is hit or miss, so too is the audio. 1960s stereo was somewhat different from contemporary stereo, but even so the balance is distinctly off on a number of selections. That said, the collection isn't so much bad as it is disappointing. You have the feeling that with a little more thought and touch of effort, this could have been a knock-out. As it is... it's worth having if you don't already own anything by the band.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
THE SOUND IS GREAT. LOVE THE MUSIC. HAD MY SONGS I WAS LOOKING FOR. MANY OF MY FRIENDS HAVE USED IT FOR PARTYS THEY WERE HAVING.
This was a present for my sister who saw Jersey Boys with me. She loves the Four Seasons and she was so happy she almost cried.
