Search - Frankie Valli & Four Seasons :: Jersey Beat: Music of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

A REAL revelation, honest to gosh...the east coast Beach Boy

Larry Davis | NYC/Long Island, NY | 06/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This set literally blew me away...literally, like where was I??!!?? I have to be honest, I saw this set and thought, hmmmm, nice packaging, then I saw it for a great price, so I thought I'd bite. Rhino recently put out the 2CD "Definitive Pop Collection", which was decent, but I thought a better collection could be done...then I saw this set.



Now, I figured, I wanted a well-done proper anthology of their work, so I can put it all into proper perspective. I knew, and loved, a bunch of their hits, and Frankie's solo hits, but not them all, so I wanted to hear them all, in chronological order. I originally thought Frankie and the Jersey boys to be prefabricated, with songs by outside songwriters, and no more than a guilty pleasure. I figured, if I didn't enjoy it, I knew I can sell it to a friend who loves their work.



Well, I opened it up first and went right to the 84-page booklet, nicely put together by-the-way. Saw the main essay was written by none other than Dennis Diken from one of my fave powerpop bands, New Jersey's own Smithereens!!! It's well-written and VERY insightful. THEN, I saw all the tributes under each of the songs, by everyone cool, from Little Steven Van Zandt (from Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, the Sopranos and his own Underground Garage radio show on Sirius Satellite Radio), UK guitarist Johnny Marr (From the Smiths, Pretenders, The The and now Modest Mouse), Brian Wilson, Cher, Neil Sedaka, Neil Diamond, Joe Pesce, Billy Joel, even Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, and a ton of others...so I couldn't wait to listen.



Oh...My...Gosh. I was floored. One thing I didn't know...pretty much ALL the songs were written by the band's keyboardist Bob Gaudio...he was the Brian Wilson of the band, him and genius producer Bob Crewe. Frankie Valli, even though he wasn't a songwriter, he had a voice like an alien, almost a freak of nature, unique and finely-tuned...one part classic crooner, one part rock & roller. Vocally, the 4 Seasons were like the Beach Boys, similar influences and the way the band evolved. The productions were very ARTFUL. Radio did this band no favours. They didn't show the band from an artistic angle, just a hitbound one, which is a bad thing. As the band evolved and became less commercial, the hits dried up, but they became better, musically. They even dabbled in psychedelia in 1968/1969, with their artistic masterpiece, the album "Genuine Imitation Life Gazette", which sold a little, not as much as their prior work, and most people don't know the genius level at work on this opus. It's their equivalent of "Sgt Pepper's", "Pet Sounds", "Smile", "Head", "Odessa", "Battle Of The Bands", etc, you get my drift.



Even after the band hit a dry period and Bob became just the band's songwriter behind the scenes, and 4 new 4 Seasons were indoctrinated, the band evolved even further on the "Who Loves You" and "Helicon" albums in the mid-to-late 70s. As the 4 Seasons entered the 80s and 90s and now, they never stopped growing, but records appeared less frequently. Frankie's solo work always was of a high quality as well, but different from the band's. Now, with the Broadway show "Jersey Boys" playing to sellout crowds, the genius of their work will finally be appreciated and will garner their due...it did from me, but I don't feel guilty though, I blame radio, ESPECIALLY oldies stations, for this heinous crime against this great band.



This genius group is well-documented on this packed-to-the-gills 3CD/1DVD boxset. All 3 CDs are 79 minutes and change, so they are filled to the brim with no room for more, with 99% of their charting hits, B-sides, overlooked album tracks and rarities, all in proper perspective. The 4th disc, a DVD, is a nice 40-minute souvenir, with TV appearances, live concert clips and 3 promo vidclips from the mid-to-late 70s. What struck me was that up until 1975, the band didn't have a drummer (and no drummer appeared with them on TV either...just studio drummers on their recordings)...usually, I'd say this is a bad thing, but then again, ABBA didn't have a drummer in their lineup, just studio players. Also, Frankie was VERY low-key and modest, and in the mid-70s, he went from a Wayne Newton look (that moustache, ouch!!) to almost Eric Carmen-ish during the comeback. And, in the mid-70s lineup, their DRUMMER was their lead singer on "December, 1963"!!! Interesting.



Anyhoo, one of the most revelatory boxsets I've ever heard in my life, and I now count them up there with the Beach Boys and Byrds as one of THE best, most innovative pop/even powerpop bands that ever was...AND finally, with many acts around this long, a boxset would be enough, all you would need in your collection...nope, with these fellas, I WANT THE CATALOGUE, and I saw their 24(!) studio albums (band and FV solo) were reissued on Collector's Choice as remastered 2-fers in 2006, so I will buy those, probably the first one being "Working My Way Back To You/Genuine Imitation Life Gazette".



Investigate pronto...and prepare to be floored...I was, and I thought they were cheese originally. NO WAY!!! One of America's true treasures, and NOTHING is subpar or 2nd rate, even their 80s and 90s work!!!"

A master class in the legacy of The Four Seasons.

M J Heilbron Jr. | Long Beach, CA United States | 07/17/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is all you will ever need. This has everything you want.

"Jersey Beat" is a perfect box set covering the careers of The Four Seasons and Frankie Valli. Like many people, after seeing the remarkable "Jersey Boys", I sought out some Four Seasons music, and ordered THIS.



Jackpot.



All important (and many peripherally interesting) songs are here, remastered as good as they're probably ever going to get. Big hits, B-Sides, those weird "Wonder Who" songs...they sound glorious.



The three CD's cover "Sherry" all the way to an unusual Four Seasons-Beach Boys "duet." And it's one heck of a ride. Those early singles have not lost an ounce of their power. The 70's songs...like "Who Loves You" and "December 1963"...also hold up surprisingly well.



Classic singles abound..."Walk Like A Man", "Dawn", "Rag Doll"...even slightly cheesy material like the solo "Swearin' To God" comes to life here. I discovered other tunes to love...like "Alone" and "Opus 17".



The fourth disc is a 40-minute video compilation of a bunch of their songs, performed on various TV shows over the 60's and 70's. I promise you that you will laugh out loud watching the strange, stilted choreography, the hilarious haircuts and riotous "fashions" of the era.



But those songs still hold up.



A terrific, thick booklet accompanies the set, with great liner notes.



This box set is a master class in the legacy of The Four Seasons."

Great for new fans, frustrating for older fans...

Somewhere in Texas | Planet Texas | 01/19/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I had high hopes that Rhino would give the 4 Seasons the killer multi-disc set they deserved. And this is the closest they have come to doing so. It's frustrating to long time fans who have bought earlier best-of's and wanted improved sound quality, maybe a few alt-takes, stereo remixes and more gems. Die hard Seasons fans didn't get it again. Like the 25th Anniversary set, this set really needed a 4th CD for more goodies. 3 CD's just doesn't do the 4 Seasons justice with over 40 years of recordings.



And the sound quality isn't much an improvement than the older Rhino, Curb and Ace UK reissues. It's just been remastered louder than before with more compression and bass EQ for the IPOD generation (a fault of most newly "remastered" CD's - some have already complained, so hang onto those 80-90's vintage Seasons CD's!).



The choice to have the 62-65 material in mono and then everything after "Lets Hang On!" in stereo is bewildering. Most of the Seasons early 60's material sounds wonderful in wide stereo, so why not use it?



Or on the other hand (since I own most of this stuff before) I would have loved to have had a expanded version of the Ace "Edizione D' Oro" CD (which I lucked out finding used) with ALL MONO SINGLE MIXES from 62-70. If it was released on a 45 in mono it should have been in mono here for God and History's sake.



Like Motown and the Beach Boys many of the 4 Seasons/Valli mid 60's mono versions like "Your Ready Now", "Working My Way Back To You" "Tell it To the Rain", "Opus 17" and "Beggin'" are far superior mixes with a punch and dynamics missing from the stereo versions.



The way this set has been compiled with CD #1 almost all in mono it looks like that could have been the intention, but it seems to me Rhino ran out of time (or money) to find and then remaster the later single versions.



Still the booklet is a fitting tribute to the group with lots of info I've never discovered before (Thank you Dennis Diken!), and the DVD is fun to watch though short - there's plenty of other TV appearances Rhino could have dug up.



Again this is a good set for new 4 Seasons fans who have discovered them via oldies radio and "Jersey Boys". But I suggest digging around and finding Rhino's "25th Anniversary collection" - which was done when Rhino was a real record company not just a AOL-Time Warner imprint. Everything that was recorded in stereo is in stereo on that set, and the sound quality is smoother and less harsh on the ears. (and it doesn't have a guest appearance by Mike Love!)



(BTW: I give this set a 4 1/2)"