Mama's Big Ones: The Best of Mama CassArtist: Cass Elliot
A good compilation of Cass Elliott's hits, including "It's Getting Better" (#30), "Make Your Own Kind of Music" (#36), and "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (#12). ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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That's the Way It IsArtist: Elvis Presley
Community Score: 10.00
Possibly due to the retro, irony-filled vogue for easy listening giants like Burt Bacharach and -- to a lesser extent -- roots pop figures like Glen Campbell and Neil Diamond, Elvis Presley's Vegas-era recordings have been given new life after a cruel stretch of put downs by kitsch-wary critics. The praise is not just so much posing, though,...
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Artist: Jan & Dean
Almost everyone will be satisfied with the EMI best-of CD for their Jan & Dean career retrospective. This out-of-print double album (only issued on vinyl) isn't a bad second place, however. For one thing, it's the only career-spanning Jan & Dean collection to include their late '50s hits "Jenny Lee" and "Baby Talk." All the important hits are...
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Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old)Artist: Elvis Presley
Community Score: 6.75
Western swing, blues, countrypolitan, traditional country, gospel -- if it was music that even brushed the airwaves of a Southern state, Elvis Presley at his best could make it his own, and Elvis was at his peak when he cut Elvis Country. Actually, Elvis Presley was positively on a roll at the time. A decade after the end of what were thought to...
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Artist: The Partridge Family
Although out of print, At Home With Their Greatest Hits (1972) was the first Partridge Family compilation and includes sides from their long-players: The Partridge Family Album (1970), Partridge Family Sound Magazine (1971), Up to Date (1971), and Partridge Family Shopping Bag (1972). This collection was issued at the height of the multimedia...
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McCartneyArtist: Paul McCartney
Community Score: 7.50
In the Summertime - REPETOIREArtist: Mungo Jerry
The title-track is still one of the most beguiling (if casually sexist) hits of its era, but the other 14 songs are even more interesting: Jesse Fuller-influenced jug band ("San Francisco Bay Blues," "See Me") and Tampa Red-style kazoo blues ("Maggie"), as well as the influence of Piano Red ("Mighty Man") and credible instrumental blues-rock...
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