Finally, all of their best songs in ONE place! - I have always enjoyed the music of the Archies. Recently I purchased this CD and was very happy to see ALL of my favorite songs of the Archies all on this one CD. Their music is timeless--as my two childrenAbby and Quentin can attest. They love the Archies as much as I do, all these years later...........
The Best Currently Available - The Repertoire label usually does a very good job with its compilations and this is no exception. Sound is good and at 25 tracks this is the most generous Archies retrospective on the market. If you re only familiar with a couple of the radio hits you ll be surprised at this solid collection of ear candy. The only beef might be that a few track choices weren t well thought out, lyrical themes that don t translate well once one gets beyond the age of eleven. Imagine driving down the street with something like Seventeen Ain t Young or Bicycles, Roller Skates, and You in the car stereo. You d better have your kids in the car with you or people are going to think you have proclivities!Catchy numbers like Catching Up On Fun and You Know I Love You, well remembered from the cardboard records on the back of cereal boxes, would be strongly preferred favorites for inclusion on the eventual definitive Best Of. Still, this is a good collection of bubble gum songs from one of the best purveyors of confection.
The Best Archies Collection !!! - This CD was well worth the money. I bought the cheapo one for 1.99 and it was mixed SO bad that the bass drum echoed and made it unlistenable. This collection has all the songs you want and remember, and they are remixed very well. This CD includes the great classic cuts, Truck Driver Love Light Hot Dog Rock and Roll Music and of course Sugar Sugar, Skooby Doo, and Bang Shang A-Lang. I was born in 1964 and as a kid I listened to these songs. We had the first two LPs. Listening to this I could still smell the vinyl and cardboard. It brought me right back. If you re looking for the best Archies collection out there, look no further.
Worth the $$ for an Import - Superb quality in this compilation. If you want to save a little money though for many of the same songs, pick up Absolutely The Best of The Archies. Rock & Roll Music and Seventeen Ain t Young from The Archies first album appear here. All songs are very well re-mastered. The liner notes aren t much to read. It s as if someone had to translate German to English. The notes erroneously mention that Andy Kim sang on the Archies sessions and that Ellie Greenwich co-wrote some songs, both of which aren t true but the quality of the music transcends any inaccuracies.
The True Identity of The Archies - I was tangentially attached to the Absolutely Best Of The Archies CD release as a researcher, and I m afraid I must take responsibility for some errors. Jeannie Thomas did not sing on Archies recordings, and neither did Andy Kim or Ellie Greenwich, though Andy was present at some of the sessions. According to Ron Dante (and you can verify this with him by emailing him at rondante@yahoo.com), The Archies vocalists were himself (on lead), Jeff Barry, Bobby Bloom, Leslie Miller and Toni Wine (on duet vocals). Toni was replaced by Donna Marie in 1970. The following year, Merle Miller replaced Donna Marie. As to the identity of the lead singer on 1971 s Love Is Living In You (the only Archies single not to feature Ron Dante), I predict this will always be a source of controversy. For many years, Ritchie Adams was assumed to be the vocalist on this cut. He isn t. Joe Renzetti, who arranged the session, believes that the singer might have been Neil Goldberg, an associate of Jeff Barry. He doesn t remember clearly. The song was written by Phil Cody, who has said he didn t sing on it, even though he s never heard the record. However, in my opinion, the vocalist on that single is identical to the vocalist who recorded the album LAUGHING SANDWICH for Kirshner Records that same year: Phil Cody! Needless to say, Love Is Living In You is not included among the songs on this import CD. Hopefully someday . . .