Search - Four Freshmen :: Four Freshmen - Greatest Hits

This is a great Freshmen collection.

07/29/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Four Freshmen, as they are known, inspired many later popular groups with their superb harmony. From the Beach Boys to the Manhattan Transfer, vocal harmony has never been the same since the Freshmen. Crossing the lines from Jazz to Pop, the Freshmen had a large audience, and at that time in the early to mid 50's, other four-part vocal groups sprang up, like the Four Coins, Four Lads, etc. In my opinion, the Freshmen were best at difficult, unusual harmonies that were unique, not like traditional Barbershop type quartets. Their music still has a large and varied following of fans, and I exemplify this as I am only 19 years of age. I hope to expose other generations to this fabulous music. Congrats to the Four Freshmen for staking their claim in 20th century music history."

Could be better

Matthew G. Sherwin | 08/24/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The first five cuts on this low-cost album are solid Four Freshmen hits, and the sound is excellent. After that, however, we get a mishmash of the group's weaker entries--some with lots of "doowahs" typical of the 1950s. There are better Freshmen albums available for a couple of dollars more."

Good--but very incomplete (three and one-half stars)

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 04/28/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Four Freshmen - Greatest Hits is another CD put out by Curb Records that just doesn't do proper justice to the featured group. Sure, it's great for people in all budget brackets, but the price you also pay is that you're not going to get a complete "greatest hits" album. Sigh. The sound quality is excellent and the artwork is rather par for this CD series.



The CD starts off great with The Four Freshmen singing their hearts out on "Graduation Day." They harmonize so sweetly and the brass is used to great advantage. The solo lyrics up against the other harmonizing really shines and "Graduation Day" makes a strong start for this CD. "Day By Day" is another bright number; this peppy little number even has a swift Latin beat to it that makes this great music for dancing! The brass is incredible and the percussion helps to mark the beat. The Four Freshmen never sounded better; and they make that singing sound so easy! Of course, we know it really wasn't all that easy--The Four Freshmen were great champs and these musical numbers prove it more than amply.



"It's A Blue World" is a touching torch song that moves me and tugs at my heartstrings every time I hear it; and when The Four Freshmen sing this, the number positively takes flight! "It's A Blue World" is easily a major highlight of this album. Similarly, "Poinciana" features The Four Freshmen front and center--and that's OK by me! They sing this really well. Listen also for "Satin Doll;" they perform this with panache, heart and soul--and this really impresses me. I really like their rendition of "Satin Doll."



"Lullaby Of Birdland" was always one of my very favorite tunes; and The Four Freshmen harmonize to perfection as they perform a version of this without too many lyrics--they "doo dah doo" their way through the song but amazingly enough it all works rather well! "Do Nothin' 'Til You Hear From Me" is yet another highlight of this album; The Four Freshmen sing this so well; "Do Nothin' 'Til You Hear From Me" truly showcases the singular talents of this vocal group.



The CD also ends well with The Four Freshmen performing "When My Sugar Walks Down The Street." "When My Sugar Walks Down The Street" gets a jazzy interpretation from The Four Freshmen and this makes a solid ending for this album.



The music is great--but where's the rest of it? At ten tracks this is NOT a "greatest hits" album. I recommend this more for casual fans of The Four Freshmen and people deciding if they want to hear more by The Four Freshmen. Diehard fans will look for other more substantial CDs for sale on this website.

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