Search - Four Aces :: Best of

Better, not best

Zub | Forks Twp., PA | 11/09/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One of the most popular vocal groups of the 50s, the Four Aces landed dozens of tunes in the top 100, several in the top 10 and left their mark with their biggest success, "Love Is A Many-Spendored Thing" in 1955. Many of their biggest hits are included in this 18-track compilation done by the U.K. Spectrum subsidiary of Universal Music. While hardly comprehensive, it does provide a decent quality overview of the Four Lads recording career. While there are other Four Lads compilation CDs that would rate higher than this one, this does contain some tracks not found elsewhere, one being "The World Outside" from 1958, their biggest hit after the departure of lead singer Al Alberts. Sound quality is reasonably good with all tracks in mono except the aforementioned "...World...", track 16 which appears in stereo. Liner notes are brief with two pages of musical backround information within a four-page booklet. This piece stands alone well as a reasonably priced overview of the Four Aces work or, for the completist, it adds a few tunes not found elsewhere to a Four Aces collection."

Splendid collection of pre rock and roll favorites

Paul Tognetti | Cranston, RI USA | 05/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the early 1950's, before the dawn of rock and roll, vocal groups were all the rage. This was certainly the case in black communities across America where one could find vocal groups performing on almost every street corner. To a somewhat lesser extent this phenomenon also existed in white America. It was certainly quite apparent on radio and television especially during the first half of the decade. Of all of the popular white vocal groups of that era, I would have to say that my favorite was probably the Four Aces. "The Best of The Four Aces" was released in England in 2001. This collection offers a fine overview of the groups body of work from the fabulous fifies. During that decade the group hit the Billboard pop charts a total of 44 times and 10 of the tunes made it into the Top Ten. Just about everyone should be familiar with the groups most popular songs. "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" from 1956 made it all the way to the top of the charts and remained there for 6 big weeks. Some years earlier in 1951, "Tell Me Why", a tune co-written by lead singer Al Alberts spent 24 weeks on the charts and peaked at #2. And who can forget other great hits like "Three Coins In The Fountain", "Heart and Soul" and my all time favorite Aces tune "The Gang That Sang 'Heart of My Heart'". That one makes me yearn for the elusive "good old days". All of these big hits are included among the 18 tracks on this disc. I opted for this import disc over MCA's American release "The Four Aces Greatest Hits" because it features 2 tunes not included in that compilation. "Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)" and "The World Outside" are terrific songs and very hard to come by. To my great disappointment, one song that failed to make the cut was the group's 1954 offering "Wedding Bells (Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine)". Since most of these recordings were made more than 50 years ago you might be wondering about the sound quality on this one. Rest assured that even though all but one of the cuts are presented in "mono", I found the fidelity on this disc to be superb. For those who are concerned with such things I must report that the liner notes are brief and very ordinary. But this is a minor flaw. Suffice to say that if you are a fan of group harmony this one would be a nice addition to your music collection. Highly recommended!"