The Drifters Album: “Very Best of the Drifters [Rhino]”

FINALLY, after looking through so many offerings, we find good stuff. The originals of the cuts we recall.

The Drifters were so fine, back in their day. And their sound survives to this day in this disc. This has so many of the classics we remember. Such wonderful orchestrations. Such lush vocals by Ben E. King. These are done the way we remember them.

Whether heard remembering up on the roof, or under the boardwalk, these are some magic moments.

"Some Kind of Wonderful", indeed! The place to spend the money - at last.

I was quite disappointed with this CD and Ben E King's " The Best

Of" because both are mono records. Except when I heard the songs

back then on the radio, on most LP's- released in the 60's-

all of their recordings were in full stereo. The songs are

great, no doubt, but should I have known this before I would

have chosen other "greatest hits" compilations in stereo.

This is a pretty good Drifters primer containing all 16 of their Top 40 entries from the '59-'64 period that marked their heyday, presented here in chronological order. Sound quality is uniformly good throughout, in fact quite exceptional considering the age of this material. My one complaint is that everything is in mono. Why? Many of these songs are available in stereo on other CD's. For a more expansive selection of classics (and a lot more stereo) I recommend picking up the 2-disc set "All-Time Greatest Hits & More: 1959-1965" instead.

These are original recordings, not retakes or remasters. A terrific deal on Drifters greats including "Sweets for my sweet" which doesn't always show up in collections.

The Drifters are one of the most popular vocal groups of the 50's and early 60's. If "There Goes My Baby" "Up On The Roof" "On Broadway" and "Save The Last Dance For Me" ring a bell, then you need this collection. If they don't and you want to explore the early era of Rock And Roll before The Beatles hit the USA, then pick this up. The sound is also good, considering the age of the music. Simply a must have for any serious collector of music.