Search - Frankie Valli :: Our Day Will Come/Lady Put the Light Out

Valli finds disco, remembers pop, lacks new inspiration

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 07/01/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"4 Seasons front-man Franki Valli resuscitated his solo career in 1975 with the hit singles "My Eyes Adored You" and the disco-tinged hit "Swearin' to God." Both were featured on his Private Stock debut, "Closeup," an album that charted an expansive course through various pop forms that showed off his artistic versatility. His follow-up, featured here, retained the disco sound on a hit remake of Ruby & The Romantics "Our Day Will Come," and carried the dance vibe into the album sessions. As with "Swearin' to God," however, disco's clichés were topped winningly with the touch of soul in Valli's vocals.



That said, the bubbling bass, snappy drums, glistening strings and wah-wah guitars are all here in their dance-floor-ready monotony. The disco is left behind for more successful pop balladry on "Carrie (I Would Marry You)," "Sweet Sensational Love," and "Closest Thing to Heaven." The middle of the three is a sweet mid-tempo love song that deserved better than to be an album track during the disco era. The LP closes with a version of "Walk Away Renee" whose disco backing captures neither the intense melancholy of the original, nor the soulfulness of the Four Tops 1968 cover.



Collectors' Choice's reissue series steps out of sequence by pairing Valli's second album for Private Stock with his fourth, "Lady Put the Light Out." His third album, "Valli," is paired with his first, "Closeup," on a separate CD. "Lady" continued to move away from disco (as did "Valli"), but not without keeping some of its production touches. On this last LP for Private Stock, Valli selected tunes from some of pop music's best-known songwriters, including Eric Carmen's "I Need You" and "Boats Against the Current," Paul Anka's "Second Thoughts," Albert Hammond and Carol Bayer-Sager's "I Could Have Loved You," and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil's "I'm Gonna Love You."



Though the monotonous dance beats were mostly gone, the polish of disco's productions remained, particularly in the female backing vocals and string arrangements. The results sound perfunctory, but amid the dated arrangements Valli still imbues songs like "I Could Have Loved You" with enough emotion to make them winners. Carmen's "Boats Against the Current" (the title track of his own 1977 LP) is a good fit, though this arrangement is overwrought. Disco proper rears it's readymade head on "Native New Yorker" complete with fluid drums, wah-wah guitars and strings. After the polished balance of "Closeup" and "Valli," and despite the A-list songwriting talent, the routine arrangements and mostly unmemorable songs of "Lady Put the Light Out" are a disappointment.



As Valli's final LP for Private Stock, "Lady" closed the door on a three-year career revival that included several hit singles, but only middling album sales. Of the four albums, "Closeup" and "Valli" are the superior spins. On this pair, particularly "Lady," Valli's team sounds to be running out of inspiration. Collectors' Choice two-fer reissue includes full-panel cover art for both albums and new liner notes by James Ritz. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]"

Frankie Valli - the disco years

Charlemange | Fort Washington, Maryland United States | 10/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These 2 LPs are a real treat to finally have in digital format. Lady Put The Light Out has some nice contributions from various notable composers. Frankie's version of "Native New Yorker" is vastly superior to Odyssey's version. Other strong tracks include "Rainstorm" and "I'm Gonna Love You."



Our Day Will Come features the full title track version with horn solo. Again, a cover that is better than the original. Frankie Valli and Patti Austin sound amazing together on this classic track.



Other notable tracks include the Don Ciccone penned, "Carrie" and a disco version of the classic Left Banke tune "Walk Away Renee" which features additional lyrics added by co-writer Tony Sansone. Die hard Seasons fans may notice that the intro to this cover sounds similar to a 1967 Seasons track called "The Puppet Song" from the New Gold Hits LP.



Those of us who were die hard Frankie fans before the Jersey Boys Phenomenon as well as those who are just discovering Frankie's music and want to hear some more obscure stuff, should add this 2 LP set to their collection."

Its About Time!

DJ Jimmy M | Arizona, United States | 08/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Shockingly I just found out by accident that these CD's I were seeing on ebay were infact legit and not bootleggs! Finally the best albums of Valli are FINALLY avalible. I don't understand what the other person was getting at. I think just either a 60s Valli fan or a typical person of the masses who fears anything with orchestration, soul and a groove.



Dont look at these albums as Valli of 4 Seasons. Look at these as the artist he was. If you like sweet 70s soul or anything with a feel good groove. The entire discography from 75 - 80 is a MUST! I have to buy my copies of all these now and replace those lackluster vinyl pressings that were released originaly. Hopefully, these are mastered right and not distorted and compressed (and not needle drops)."