"Frankie Laine recorded in so many different styles during his career, including pop, blues, jazz, Western, folk and inspirational, it's sometimes jarring to listen to his music, because the styles vary so much. This disc oddly combines "Rockin," a great, swinging production featuring brassy arrangements by the great Paul Weston, and "Hell Bent For Leather!," which consists of all Western-themed songs. Personally, I don't much care for the Western songs. But on "Rockin," Frankie is spectacular! His voice is loose and limber, and the arrangements crackle with excitement. His version of "That Ain't Right" is amazing: He snaps out the words with a punchy joy, even changing the lyrics from "You rode home in a taxi and I caught the subway train" to "You rode home in a taxi and I caught the mule train," a playful reference to his hit song! It's a delightful disc, but it would have been better combined with, say, "Jazz Spectacular" or "Reunion In Rhythm," Frankie's amazing collaboration with Michel Legrand. That said, I hope more of Frankie's classic albums continue to get reissued on CD. He is truly one of our all-time greatest vocalists, and deserves that respect."
Hellbent for Leather
Noel M. Ramirez | 07/10/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Songs on the original album, Hellbent for Leather, are classics. My brother and I listened to them over and over as young boys and by the time we were old enough to leave home, that old record had lots of scratches on it. We have taped it several times throughout the years and still listen to the tunes now and then. Now we can own a clean copy on CD! This is a must have for anyone who enjoyed the Westerns of the 1950s."
Keep the flame let it burn, until I return...
Janice C. | San Francisco, California United States | 02/05/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"You can check out from the OK Corral, but you can never leave if you, as I, had certain cowboy music components of the brain roped in at a tender age by Frankie Laine and his sensuous renditions of the best of the west. The songs are here again for you. You and Dan. You will thirst strangely after you listen to Cool Water. You will want to gallop along with the mule train (clippity cloppin' all along) long before Frankie draws out his ol' bowie knife...and when it comes to Rawhide..you will cut 'em out and ride 'em in and and soar (wild goose-like) on the last sustained "...hide......!!" I dare you not to sing along..."
"I Want To Ride Again...On the 3:10 To Yuma". FANTASTIC!!
RBSProds | Deep in the heart of Texas | 09/07/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Five HUGE Stars!! It just doesn't get any better than this. Frankie Laine is not only a great singer, but also a great 'story teller' as both a great pop singer and great western song singer.
This "two for one" CD brings back some of his greatest hits, minus some like "Wild Goose" and "I Believe", and brings back the incredible CD "Hell Bent for Leather". "Hell Bent.." is one of the best of the gunfighter/western song/movie theme genre and Frankie's reputation gives great credibility to the western song genre. Along with Marty Robbin's "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs", it doesn't get any better than this. Singing with raw power and emotion, Frankie was at the top of his game on "HBFL". The songs that haven't been mentioned yet by other reviewers are: the urgent "Bowie Knief" building to a great climax; the chorus of the song and the story have been bouncing around in my mind for decades; "The Hanging Tree" with it's unusual and unexpected twist; and the very beautiful "3:10 to Yuma" with it's tremendous arrangement, chorus, and Frankie delivering a poignant performance about a determined cowboy. "City Boy" could have been the weak song of the group, but not in Frankie's hands.
Funny how in the middle of my "best of the best" cassette tape, loaded with great individual jazz, pop, country, classical, and Brazilian MPB songs by great artists, up pops Frankie Laine singing "3:10 To Yuma", stopping the show and causing me to hit the 'repeat' button over and over. Frankie ranks up there as ONE OF THE BEST singers of the 20th Century. Thank you for bringing this one back!!"