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7 of 7 humans found the following review helpful.
The IMPERIALS…IN THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME ?…YES !!
By willgee
There’s been a lot of talk not long back that Little Anthony and the IMPERIALS are beneath severe considerateness for induction into the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME. I say YES YES YES !! The IMPERIALS most DEFINITELY SHOULD be inducted into the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME.In fact, they ought to have been among the FIRST groups inducted. They, along with THE MIRACLES and DELLS (and to a lesser extent, the IMPRESSIONS),were the only groups of the DOO WOP era of the 1950′s to maintain consistant success well into the ’60′s and ’70′s. That alone must have gotten them inducted.Their songs have become recognized classics ,having been recorded by artists as diverse as SERGIO MENDEZ,LINDA RONSTADT, FRANK SINATRA,REBA MCENTIRE .and others.They could very well have been the very firstborn “ADULT CONTEMPORARY” GROUP,establishing a new level of class and sophistication never before seen in R&b groups,while at the same time never abandoning their DOO WOP roots. The LETTERMEN,for one, seem to have re-recorded each song they ever made.Songs such as TEARS ON MY PILLOW,HURT SO BAD,I’M ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN,TWO PEOPLE IN THE WORLD,GOING OUT OF MY HEAD,SHIMMY SHIMMY KO KO BOP,{which was featured in the TOM HANKS hit movie “BIG”},TAKE ME BACK,I’M ALRIGHT,BETTER USE YOUR HEAD,OUT OF SIGHT-OUT OF MIND,I MISS YOU SO,HURT,HELP ME FIND A WAY,and others have been recorded and re-recorded numerous times by others over the last 45 years. GOING OUT OF MY HEAD,for one, has had over 100 recorded versions, but none sounds as good as Little Anthony and The IMPERIALS’original version. They have likewise influnced an entire generation of artists , such as THE STYLISTICS, DELFONICS,BLUE MAGIC,MANHATTANS,CHI-LITES,and some more.In fact,the entire Philidelphia-based soft – soul motion of the 1970′s,as exemplified by makers such as KENNY GAMBLE,LEON HUFF,THOM BELL,VAN MCCOY,and others,with it’s special importance and significance on full symphonic orchestration and vocal harmony,can be traced directly back to the IMPERIALS’ground breaking early ’60′s recordings with TEDDY RANDAZZO and the late DON COSTA.Go back to the earliest days of rock and roll and they are there, with appearances on such shows as THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW, AMERICAN BANDSTAND,PERRY COMO’S KRAFT MUSIC HALL,ABC’S SHINDIG,NBC’S HULLABLOO,THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL,and the MERV GRIFFIN SHOW – all the way up to their show stopping performances on the 2002 & 2003 PBS MUSIC SPECIALS-the IMPERIALS-ANTHONY GOURDINE, ERNEST WRIGHT ,CLARENCE COLLINS ,& SAMMY STRAIN ,-most unquestionably SHOULD {along with the MIRACLES,who STILL haven’t been inducted }-be inducted into the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME ! one listen to this cd,combining two of their best 60′s albums,and YOU’LL SEE WHY !!there are at least 10 chart hits here … including the seldom heard “MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF”, funnily not included in any of their “GREATEST HITS” COMPILATIONS..and sadly deleted from most oldies stations’ play lists today…THE POWERFUL “OUT OF SIGHT-OUT OF MIND ” which to me is better than the primary version (by the FIVE KEYS} and ranks with the DELLS’ classic hit “STAY IN MY CORNER ” as having the L-O-N-G-E-S-T HELD NOTE of ANY SONG IN ROCK HISTORY, and the dynamic THOM BELL invented “HELP ME FIND A WAY (to say I love you) …a song that ought to have been a MUCH BIGGER HIT when initial freed in 1969…and WOULD HAVE BEEN…had it been freed just 4 years earlier or later…In all…A FIVE STAR COLLECTION !!
0 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Was not actually “going out of my head” over this album
By Walter
Except for a few well written and now considered classical songs, the album was not that remarkable.
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