If you want a superb introduction or compilation of Perry Como - Then this is the 2 CD Set for you! - If you are looking for a definitive collection of Perry Como - this is definitely one of the best CD s on the market!Everything has been set out well in an artistic sense and the CD s can suitably stand alone without drastically changing Mood at every track!The First CD is a fantastic eye-opener to a large amount of Perry s UK Chart Hits alone. Starting with his enormous hit Don t let the Stars get in your eyes . Throughout the first CD you get a wonderful sense of the versatility of Perry s chart success in the UK. Many people will be very very pleased to see a true Como gem and collector s item Idle Gossip - only released in the UK and Austrailia. There are lots of classic Como Novelty and Easy Listening Hits, such as Magic Moments , Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom) , Papa Loves Mambo , It s Impossible and And I love you so , plus a wonderful blend of many other complementing chart hits for Perry. On many occassions, Perry had several hit songs in the charts! Other classics include Perry expressing his Faith and Love in I Know , making a novelty song cool with Catch a falling Star and portraying some of the best examples that a Crooner could really sing Rock N Roll - but still in his smooth, definitive style in such songs as Juke Box Baby .The Second CD focuses mainly on a small sample of Perry s large volume of album work. We start with a track from Perry s final Studio album. The song is The Wind beneath my Wings - it is definitely a signature song of Perry s and Perry s version is by far the REAL definitive version. He no doubt has dedicated the song to his wonderful wife Roselle of 65 years and he also used the song in a tribute to Bing Crosby at the Boston Pops.The second CD continues with a wonderful sprinkling of songs from mainly albums. It includes several fantastic live performances from his 1970 Live performance Album from the International Hotel, Las Vegas. Songs that appear on this album include some Como signature songs, but re-recorded versions, for example the version of Prisoner of Love is from 1970 and is live, plus the version of Temptation is his re-recording from 1974 with a cool disco feel to it. Once again, Perry proves his versatility and shows that a crooner could handle a song in a disco mood and tempo!Perry is also portrayed here doing a superb job on such classics as Yesterday and Here, there and Everywhere . Plus, a handful of Como Collector s items appear here. They are: Empty Pockets (Filled with love) , Love don t care (Where it grows) , One little candle and the full length, complete version of Perry s closing theme song You are never far away from me ! It s Impossible to create a definitive Perry Como collection with such a versatile and enormous legacy of music Perry has given us in a career that lasted well over 60 years! But! This collection is a wonderful introduction to Mr. C, as it includes a brief look at many different parts of Perry s legacy.The CD has unfortunately not been sourced from Original Master Tapes, but they don t claim to be sourced from Original Masters, plus they have done a good job of transferring and cleaning up the records in this collection - Especially the Stereo Recordings and Idle Gossip .Also, the collection is well packaged and comes with some popular and rare Como photo s, plus some nice liner notes, again with a brief overall look, which makes for a great introduction. An example of this is you may hear just one song on the 2 CD set from one album and then be desperately in search of the complete album - which is great! I certainly felt that way when I first purchased this CD! I have always felt like that anyway, about Perry Como!This was the first CD I purchased of Perry Como and I now have 100 s and 100 s of Records, CD s, VHS , DVD s, many other formats and lots of memorabilia too!SUPERB LISTENING!Matthew Long(An enormous Perry Como Fan of a much younger generation!)
All his UK hits and much more - From a British perspective, this collection is truly definitive. Perry had 26 UK hits between November 1952 (when UK charts began) and 1973. All of them appear in chronological order on the first CD here. Of course, Perry would have had many more UK hits had there been charts prior to 1952. (Yes, there were sheet music charts, but we ll ignore them.)Perry had many hits in America that didn t make the UK charts, even after 1952, but most of the big ones are here. His many classics include Don t let the stars get in your eyes, Magic moments, Catch a falling star, Delaware, It s impossible, And I love you so, For the good times and Walk right back, all huge UK hits. They are all on the first CD here together with many other great songs.The second CD contains 23 tracks that were chosen by the compiler and he seems to have done a good job, attempting to cover as wide a range of his other songs as possible. This CD includes No other love, a major American hit which was not released in Britain. Instead, Ronnie Hilton (a British singer) covered the song and had a UK number one hit with it. In the fifties and sixties, it was common practice for British singers to have UK hits with covers of American songs. Two of Perry s American hits from the 1940 s are featured, but only as re-recordings. Temptation is from a 1974 album while Prisoner of love is a live version, recorded in Las Vegas. This CD also includes brilliant covers of Wind beneath my wings, Can t help falling in love, You light up my life, Some enchanted evening, Close to you, My cup runneth over, In the still of the night, I ve got you under my skin and two Beatles songs, Yesterday and Here there and everywhere. The CD closes, appropriately, with You are never far away from me - the song that Perry often closed his shows with.Perry Como does not get as much attention these days as Dean Martin and Andy Williams but his music is every bit as good as theirs. This collection proves it.