The Vogues: Greatest Hits

Exactly what I ordered

Much of the success the Vogues enjoyed is due to arranger/conductor Ernie Freeman, a man who worked with and played piano or organ on sessions by dozens of artists over the decades. He also released several instrumentals under his own name. To name one, Freeman's cover of "Raunchy" peaked at #4 on Billboard's Pop chart and was a #1 R&B hit. The original Vogues were Bill Burkette (lead baritone), Don Miller (baritone), Hugh Geyer (first tenor) and Chuck Blasko (second tenor). Between 1965 and '74, this quartet had over two dozen Top 40 Adult Contemporary and Pop hits. Their most successful recording era was two years spent with REPRISE. That company's 1969 compilation, THE VOGUES' GREATEST HITS (RS 6371) draws from this period and from the group's previous work with a small Pittsburgh indie label (they were originally from the Steel City). What DREW CAREY SHOW fan isn't familiar with (and fond of) their great single, "Five O'Clock World" and its yodeling chorus? Perhaps the closest these guys ever got to flat-out rock & roll is "You're the One." All here were charting singles. Both sides of "Woman Helping Man"/"No, Not Much" made Billboard's Pop 100 and AC charts. (includes highest Pop and AC positions) SIDE ONE [2:43] Turn Around, Look at Me (#7, #3 - 1968) [2:30] Earh Angel (Will You Be Mine) (#42, #7 - 1969) [2:14] You're the One (#4, n/a - 1965) [3:16] Green Fields (#92, #19 - 1969) [3:20] No, Not Much (#34, #6 - 1969) [2:53] See That Girl? (n/a, #13 - 1969) SIDE TWO [2:57] My Special Angel (#7, #1 - 1969) [3:43] Moments to Remember (#47, #17 - 1969) [2:59] Magic Town (#21, n/a - 1966) [3:10] Woman Helping Man (#47, #6 - 1969) [2:18] Five O' Clock World (#4, n/a - 1965) [2:18] Till (#27, #5 - 1968) TOTAL TIME: 34:25

They didn't do a lot but what they did was great.

Good trip down memory lane

During a glorious four-year run from 1965 through 1968, this unusual quartet took a sound too mellow for rock and too rich and flamboyant for pop and repeatedly pushed deep into the top forty, four times making the top ten. The Vogues used a proven formula of updating vocal standards from the late 50s, successfully covering and in many way improving upon classics like "My Special Angel", "'Til", "Earth Angel" and "Moments to Remember." Beyond the best known trio of "Turn Around, Look At Me", "You're the One" and "Five O'Clock World", this Rhino collection features marvelous second tier hits that are staggering in their intricate harmonies and lyrical beauty. "Magic Town", "Land of Milk and Honey" "Woman Helping Man" and the emotional "Please, Mr Sun" are all far better than your chart positions would indicate. There are even a number of songs here that didn't make the top 100, but prove that making the chart isn't anything. Listen to the moving "That's No Way to Say Goodbye" for proof that good material didn't always mean commercial success. As with any Rhino collection, the sound on this disc is superb. The vocals and accompaniments are crystal clear and distinctly separate, with none of the muddiness found on so many remasters of mid and late-60s music. This is the kind of music that makes you want to light the fire, turn off the lights and sit on the sofa with that special someone. Like the song says, you won't like this collection; "No, Not Much!"

This CD is one of my favorites.

The Vogues, a vocal harmony group, had their roots in the doo-wop music of the fifties although they failed to achieve any significant success until 1965, when they recorded a cover of a Petula Clark song. Whether Petula's version was intended to be a single is a moot point - her version was a minor UK hit in November 1965, some time after the Vogues had a top five American hit with it. It is not the first time that a cover of a Petula recording had been successful in America - Little Peggy March topped the charts with I will follow him - but the difference is that Petula co-wrote You're the one, unlike I will follow him. I prefer Petula's recording (and that will surprise nobody who knows what I think of her music) but the Vogues do it a little differently and I enjoy their version too. Following that breakthrough, the Vogues repeated their success by also taking Five o'clock world, a blue-collar anthem about working in a factory but thinking of home, into the American top five. Two lesser hits followed, these being Magic town (about Hollywood) and Land of milk and honey, but that seemed to be it. Lovers of the world unite (a top ten UK hit for David and Jonathan) wasn't seriously marketed and the Vogues moved to the Reprise label. With their first Reprise single, Turn around look at me (originally been recorded by Glen Campbell in 1961, long before he became famous), the Vogues returned to the American top ten. They then had further American hits with covers of songs from the fifties and early sixties including My special angel (Bobby Helms), Till (Angels), No not much (Four lads) and Moments to remember (Four lads) and one original song, Woman helping man. Their American hits finally dried up in 1970. They never made the British charts but that is no real surprise - their music is far removed from the kind of music the British public wanted at the time. But having discovered their music via the Petula connection, I can say that I am one Brit who enjoys their music.

Es handelt sich um eine ältere CD, die vom Verkäufer sehr schnell und in außerordentlich gutem Zustand sehr zuverlässig zugesandt wurde. CD ist genauso wie erwartet. Danke!

La calidad de reproducción es muy buena

男性コーラスの優しい声と素敵なサウンドにうっとりしました。 すっかり私の宝物になってしまいました。 優しい気持ちになれる、派手な音楽ではないけれど、永く聴いても飽きない味のある上品なサウンドがたくさんつまってるアルバムでした。

Fast delivery. The music takes me back to the 60's.

One of the most underrated vocal groups of the 1960`s was The Vogues. They began unsuccessfully in the late 1950`s and had to wait 7-8 years before coming across a Petula Clark/Tony Hatch song "You`re The One", to ignite their careers. "Five O`Clock World" followed to huge acclaim. Eight Top 40 hits came their way over the ensuing years, which also included many tracks, which should have been, but were not hits. This collection provides you with 18 songs, including the afore-mentioned two, plus "Please Mr Sun", "Lovers Of The World Unite", "Turn Around, Look At Me", "My Special Angel", "Till", "Earth Angel", "Moments To Remember" and "Greenfields", amongst others. All successful for other artists, before and after the Vogues era. The group, themselves, had a sound which has never been bettered, although equalled sometimes possibly. Their harmonies were magnificent and perhaps were more suited to the 50`s than the 60`s, nevertheless their sound was often encased rather than accompanied by the backing musicians. Mike McDowell, Editor/Publisher of the Blitz Magazine wrote "Throughout their recording career, the Vogues never succumbed to fads or trends. They simply made a lot of memorable records that remain as vital and listenable today as when they were first recorded. The Vogues have faith in both themselves and their sound... They just sing, and brother, do they sing." Enjoy this music that will take you back to that bygone era, when the words were audible and made sense.