Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons "Anthology" (1988)

Anthology (compilation)
release date: Sep. 28, 1988
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Sherry" (5 / 5) - 2. "Big Girls Don't Cry" - 3. "Walk Like a Man" - 4. "Candy Girl" - 5. "Marlena" - 6. "Dawn (Go Away)" - 7. "Stay" - 8. "Ronnie" - 9. "Rag Doll" - 10. "Silence Is Golden" - 11. "Save It for Me" - 12. "Big Man in Town" - 13. "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)" - 14. "Girl, Come Running" - 15. "Let's Hang On" - 16. "Don't Think Twice (performed as 'The Wonder Who?')" - 17. "Working My Way Back to You" - 18. "Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me)" - 19. "I've Got You Under My Skin" - 20. "Tell It to The Rain" - 21. "Beggin' " - 22. "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (relased by Frankie Valli) - 23. "C'mon Marianne" - 24. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" - 25. "Who Loves You" - 26. "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)"

This is a great compilation album if you don't want a lot of albums with minor tracks. Normally, I would prefer to dig into the whole discography of an artist that I like, and one day I might just try to get hold of everything I can by this fantastic vocal act. I'm really not a huge fan of doo-wop or 1960s vocal groups, except for maybe soul-related artists, but this is classic, memorable, and very original stuff. The falsetto of Frankie Valli is legendary, and I guess most people know it from their biggest hit "Sherry" but also, very often people have no idea of who did it and / or what else they made, 'cause fact is they made many other great songs, and a lot of them happen to be on this Anthology.

Billy Joel "An Innocent Man" (1983)

An Innocent Man
release date: Aug. 8, 1983
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Phil Ramone
label: CBS Records - nationality: USA

9th studio album by Billy Joel is his fifth consecutive album to be produced by Phil Ramone, and it follows one year after the album The Nylon Curtain (Sep. 1982).
I really don't have any recollection that tells me anything about how and why I became convinced in purchasing this very album, although, I think I did acquire it in late '83 or in early '84. I wasn't particular interested in Joel and didn't know of any of his previous albums. My best guess is that I really liked the singles that I heard on MTV. A massive total of seven singles were released from the album - at first the promotion single "Tell Her About It" (Jul. 1983), which became the only number #1 single hit from the album, and then the following two singles: "Uptown Girl" (Sep. 1983) - peaking as number #3 in the US but generally performing best internationally - and "An Innocent Man" (Dec. 1983) making it to a tenth spot in the US. A fourth single "The Longest Time" was released Mar. '84, and it simply continued the fine chart performances reaching number #14 on the singles chart in the US, which paved the way for another three single releases: "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" (Jun. 1984) - charting as number #27, "This Night" (released exclusively in Japan and in the UK), and "Keeping the Faith" (Jan. 1985) peaking at number #18 in the US.
What I do remember is that I played the album quite a lot in about a year or so, after which it sort of had played its part. Listening to the album anew makes me remember the time but also reminds me that I never was and never has been a big fan of Billy Joel. Yes, he made some classic pop songs, and that's about it. At the same time there's something specifically American to his music that just doesn't appeal to me in the same way, say Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell, or Etta James have had lasting impact. What's also saying about my taste for Joel, is the fact that I don't remember ever listening to his following album The Bridge (Jul. 1986) in its full length.
An Innocent Man is very much a product of a narrow time in music history. It's definitely a solid and classic album you should know of, although, many will have very different opinions as to calling it a certified classic pop album but to me, it fits on a shelve with best selling albums by Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Pat Benatar, and Supertramp for that matter.
Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Frank Zappa / The Mothers of Invention "We're Only in It for the Money" (1968)

We're Only in It for the Money
release date: Mar. 1968
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Track highlights: 1. "Are You Hung Up?" - 2. "Who Needs the Peace Corps?" - 3. "Concentration Moon" - 9. "Absolutely Free" - 10. "Flower Punk" - 12. "Nasal Rententive Calliope Music" - 19. "The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny"

The Mothers of Invention release. Back to musique concrete, or almost industrial, despite the style wasn't called that, and you can also tell from where Pink Floyd got their inspiration. This is hilarious and intelligent music, and also known as a satire on The Beatles and their Sgt. Pepper... album (just watch the German cover here). "Eh, are you hung-up?... Strung-up!... Outta sight, yeah!". Preceding The Orb and their "Fluffy Little Clouds", you know.
The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

German cover
with reference
to The Beatles

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons / The Four Seasons "Sherry" (1962)

Sherry & 11 Others [debut]
release date: Oct. 1962
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Big Girls Don't Cry" - 2. "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" - 3. "Peanuts" - 4. "La Dee Dah" - 5. "Teardrops" - 6. "Apple of My Eye" - 7. "Never on Sunday" - 8. "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" - 9. "The Girl in My Dreams" - 10. "Oh Carol" - 11. "Lost Lullabye" - 12. "Sherry" (5 / 5)

The debut album released as The 4 Seasons. At this point of their early career they were also known as The Four Seasons, but from early 1970s they became known as Frankie Valli and The 4 Seasons due to their eminent lead vocalist, Frankie Valli, who released his first solo album titled The Four Seasons Present (1967). From then on, he concentrated on his solo career, which had a boost in 1978 with his vocal appearance on the soundtrack album Grease with the homonymous song written by Barry Gibb. After the release of this debut album, the band shortly became the most popular vocal pop band, at least until The Beatles' debut in 1963.