The Definitive Collection
Product ID: 11069021
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Great remastered collection - 20 hit tracks on a single disc incl. 'Rhythm of Life' 'Candyman' 'Mr Bojangles' & 'Something's Gotta Give' Review: Indeed Definitive of Sammy's Career-Spanning Decades - Chronologically covering over a score of years, from 1955 to 1976, THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION houses an equal score of songs all of which are his biggest smash hits, hits that broke down barriers and smashed up charts when other genre were dominating the airwaves. Sammy Davis Jr was one of the most complicated personalities in show biz, he was also one of the best performers to ever take the stage, and one of the best voices to ever go down in grooves. The first half of this disc fully realizes Sammy at his pinnacle holding his own as rock and roll is being born, he is holding on to chart toppers while Elvis and Chuck and Jerry are bee bopping and boogie woogying all around him. The second half of the disc, starting in 1964 has Sammy paving his own trail with some of his most impassioned songs ever. Most of us were rocking out to The Beatles, then Led Zeppelin and in '72 Sammy scored a massive hit off of Willy Wonka's Candy Man. Name recognition counts and even the hippest prog rockers had to take note when Sammy laid down one of the best ever covers of JJ Walker's Mr Bojangles, a song which seemed to become semi-autobiographical in Sammy's hands. We knew Dylan and Nitty Gritty handled this song with reverence but Sammy sent it up to God himself for a blessing. This DEFINITIVE COLLECTION is truly career spanning and if you are interested enough in his final act of 70's material you might want to latch onto MR BOJANGLES (Polygram Records 1999) as a sequel to this CD. There is also a 4 disc collection which assembles his 7 best studio albums from '55 to '62 which I believe is a must-have for any fan or interested musicology listener (I purchased all three of these together and reviewed them together). Finally, if you are looking for some reasonable demonstration of what happened to American music from the swinging 40's to the cross-genre breaking 70's, Sammy Davis Jr. is the defining entertainer who clearly delivers the miasma of change; he delivered his music regardless of what was happening around him and even though The Big Bopper was giving us Chantilly Lace and Baby Face, Sammy was crooning Too Close For Comfort and we, us and our parents, thought it was hip; and even though John Paul George and Ringo invited us to Drive their Car, Sammy, Basie, and Quincy Jones had us grooving to My Shining Hour; and while I was all about The 5th Dimension's Age Of Aquarius (being one myself), The Rhythm Of Life was about as hip as Hendrix in '69, so you see, Sammy did defy all complexities in the 60's and 70's even though hipsters declared him over the hill, in a word Sammy Davis Jr. Was Cool you fool. Take this DEFINITIVE COLLECTION as Proof of The Cool. It swings, it sways, it'll make you smile, and it'll rip your heart out! This is classic music that defines the 20th Century. Review: A Great Anthology Collection--Enjoyable Selection of Great SDJ Tunes! - So here's the deal. I kind of got hooked on the whole Lounge thing a while back, kind of unexpectedly. While I'm sure that purists out there would wax eloquent on how someone in the know would get such and such album instead, I think collections like this are a marvelous way to sample an artist's work. I think this is a great record. Super song selection, and I'm really just enjoying this well chosen sampler from SDJ's career. I can't believe his huge voice. And, he totally brought his own spin to the Great American Songbook. Mastering of this CD is very good--the sound is clean and powerful and very well balanced. You can just pop this one in the old CD player, and enjoy. Doesn't get much better than that. Now. Where's my martini glass? So, if you love Sammy (and who doesn't?) I think you'll really like this selection of great tunes. Enjoy!!!
| ASIN | B000CQQHFY |
| Best Sellers Rank | #6,263 in CDs & Vinyl ( See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl ) #28 in Traditional Pop #30 in Traditional Vocal Pop (CDs & Vinyl) #42 in Musical Soundtracks & Scores |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (463) |
| Date First Available | October 22, 2006 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Item model number | 2073724 |
| Label | Hip-O |
| Language | English |
| Manufacturer | Hip-O |
| Number of discs | 1 |
| Original Release Date | 2006 |
| Product Dimensions | 4.88 x 5.55 x 0.47 inches; 3.53 ounces |
B**K
Indeed Definitive of Sammy's Career-Spanning Decades
Chronologically covering over a score of years, from 1955 to 1976, THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION houses an equal score of songs all of which are his biggest smash hits, hits that broke down barriers and smashed up charts when other genre were dominating the airwaves. Sammy Davis Jr was one of the most complicated personalities in show biz, he was also one of the best performers to ever take the stage, and one of the best voices to ever go down in grooves. The first half of this disc fully realizes Sammy at his pinnacle holding his own as rock and roll is being born, he is holding on to chart toppers while Elvis and Chuck and Jerry are bee bopping and boogie woogying all around him. The second half of the disc, starting in 1964 has Sammy paving his own trail with some of his most impassioned songs ever. Most of us were rocking out to The Beatles, then Led Zeppelin and in '72 Sammy scored a massive hit off of Willy Wonka's Candy Man. Name recognition counts and even the hippest prog rockers had to take note when Sammy laid down one of the best ever covers of JJ Walker's Mr Bojangles, a song which seemed to become semi-autobiographical in Sammy's hands. We knew Dylan and Nitty Gritty handled this song with reverence but Sammy sent it up to God himself for a blessing. This DEFINITIVE COLLECTION is truly career spanning and if you are interested enough in his final act of 70's material you might want to latch onto MR BOJANGLES (Polygram Records 1999) as a sequel to this CD. There is also a 4 disc collection which assembles his 7 best studio albums from '55 to '62 which I believe is a must-have for any fan or interested musicology listener (I purchased all three of these together and reviewed them together). Finally, if you are looking for some reasonable demonstration of what happened to American music from the swinging 40's to the cross-genre breaking 70's, Sammy Davis Jr. is the defining entertainer who clearly delivers the miasma of change; he delivered his music regardless of what was happening around him and even though The Big Bopper was giving us Chantilly Lace and Baby Face, Sammy was crooning Too Close For Comfort and we, us and our parents, thought it was hip; and even though John Paul George and Ringo invited us to Drive their Car, Sammy, Basie, and Quincy Jones had us grooving to My Shining Hour; and while I was all about The 5th Dimension's Age Of Aquarius (being one myself), The Rhythm Of Life was about as hip as Hendrix in '69, so you see, Sammy did defy all complexities in the 60's and 70's even though hipsters declared him over the hill, in a word Sammy Davis Jr. Was Cool you fool. Take this DEFINITIVE COLLECTION as Proof of The Cool. It swings, it sways, it'll make you smile, and it'll rip your heart out! This is classic music that defines the 20th Century.
R**Y
A Great Anthology Collection--Enjoyable Selection of Great SDJ Tunes!
So here's the deal. I kind of got hooked on the whole Lounge thing a while back, kind of unexpectedly. While I'm sure that purists out there would wax eloquent on how someone in the know would get such and such album instead, I think collections like this are a marvelous way to sample an artist's work. I think this is a great record. Super song selection, and I'm really just enjoying this well chosen sampler from SDJ's career. I can't believe his huge voice. And, he totally brought his own spin to the Great American Songbook. Mastering of this CD is very good--the sound is clean and powerful and very well balanced. You can just pop this one in the old CD player, and enjoy. Doesn't get much better than that. Now. Where's my martini glass? So, if you love Sammy (and who doesn't?) I think you'll really like this selection of great tunes. Enjoy!!!
R**P
Some things are timeless.
This is a really good collection. Sammy Davis Jr was even before my time and I'm no spring chicken. I caught him at the end of his career and life. It's hard sometimes to have an emotional connection with the "greats" of a previous generation. Music and movies are time markers of our lives. We're connected to even bad songs from our youth because they evoke so many memories. Usually. There are however, a few folks that transcend time and space. Sammy Davis Jr. is one. His voice is so distinctive, so smooth but jazzy and hip at the same time. Sammy was one of the men who paved the way for race relations and I can see why. He doesn't sound like he came from or belongs to a particular time, religion, race or place. Sammy is the original "cool cat" and even that expression doesn't sound stupid when I'm taking about Sammy. I love this guy's voice and the attitude he sings with. I hope his recordings have been sent into outer space. If aliens can't relate to Sammy, I hope they keep going.
J**F
A Definitive Collection
I have been a Sammy Davis Jr. fan for years now, but most of my collection, frankly, was on long play albums. I had one CD, but it missed some of the songs I loved, like Mr. Bojangles, and some of the tunes from the Anthony Newly Broadway shows. This album contains them all. I gave it a four star rating because the recording quality is a little less than what I would expect from a CD, even one that had been digitally remastered from the original tapes. I think they could have done a better job. However, all in all, I would recommend this album to anyone who remembers the fantastic music of Sammy Davis.
O**!
Great artiste - great voice - great collection!
R**R
Quel Bon chanteur Sammy Davis jr. Il a une très belle voix et les titres sont universellement connus. Il faisait parti du Rat Pack avec 2 autres Bons chanteurs comme Dean Martin et Frank Sinatra. C’est vraiment bon. Robert Payer
H**E
サミーデイビスjrが好きで購入しました。 名曲収録されてます。 記憶の片隅に日本来日が有りましてTV放映されました。その時はシナトラとライザミネリしか知らなかったです。サミーデイビスjr登場でMichael JacksonのBADを今でもおぼえてます。 エンターテイナーのサミーデイビスjrに男惚れしましたね。今でもYouTubeで観れます。 彼を知るとMichael Jacksonが影響されてる事も分かります。 初めて購入されるアルバムなら皆にオススメです。
M**R
A great collection covering Sammy's long recording career that includes songs from a number of different labels- most other "hits" collection tend to have a narrow focus on his output from one record label. The quality is great- classy arrangements and the effortless vocal performances give this collection a 5 star quality from start to finish. A legendary performer with a stellar career that is well represented by this compilation of iconic recordings
J**N
Super performer. - lovely music.
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