The Drifters Album: “Drifters' Golden Hits”

If you're an audophile who likes the sound of old records popping and warped tapes getting louder and softer, this recording could be for you. If you want your recordings to sound crisp, this isn't. And if you want your greatest hits of a group to be the classic recording, not of some other version with less colorful instrumentation, this isn't for you. "Under the Boardwalk," "Up on the Roof," and "Stand by Me" are not performed with the instruments that made them classics. Most of the stuff here are in acoustics. "There Goes My Baby" sounds as though it had been "remastered" from worn tapes, with pops and wavering dynamics. With only a little more than twenty-four minutes of playing time, this is one CD Drifters fan can avoid!

THE DRIFTERS GOLDEN HITS was a dog in 1968, and it's still flea-bitten and barking 40-plus years later. One of the first-ever collections of vocal group "retreads," the versions here are inferior to the classic Drifters 50s ATLANTIC records tracks.

(1½ woofs)

TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 29:41

Recommended:

is the one to get!

I don't kknow if the band re-recorded these songs in 1968 or not , but this set is awesome. The songs here are truly monsters and beyond classic. "Saturday night at the movies' , 'this magic moment' 'some kind of wonderful' (grand funk had a great hit versoin of this in the 70's), 'up on the roof" , "on broadway" and others. the sound here is fine, I don't know what the complaint was about from one reviewer. Obviously this band made some great music and were having hits back before these songs , way back to 1950. rock and roll really goes back to the 40's but it didn't get it's name until 1954 or so. SO this band was rockin' way back, The boxset is better but this is a great collection of superhits.

As one of my all time favorite groups, this cd lives up to the respect I have for the Drifters, a pleasure to listen to and brings back some fond memories, a must for your collection...Tommy

JOHNNY MOORE sang: Under the Boardwalk, I've Got Sand in My Shoes, Saturday Night at the Movies.

RUDY LEWIS (d. 1964 of a heart attack, R.I.P.) sang: Some Kind of Wonderful, Up on the Roof, On Broadway.

JOHNNY LEE WILLIAMS sang: If You Cry (True Love, True Love).

BEN E. KING sang all the rest: There Goes My Baby, Dance With Me, This Magic Moment, Save the Last Dance for Me, I Count the Tears. PHEW!

(If he hadn't left, you could have added Spanish Harlem and Stand by Me to the list!)

These are the original recordings of the Drifter's greatest hits. This is one super album. We all grew up on this album.

If you totally didn't know what you were doing, and took a chance buying this album, you would be buying one of the greatest albums ever recorded.

This is just beautiful music that everyone from babies to grandparents love. If you don't like the Drifers (like Louis Armstrong), you ain't human!