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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Completeist collection - Mind the B-sides,
By
This review is from: The Very Best of Herman's Hermits (Audio CD)
Although they were hardly at the cutting edge of pop Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits managed to plough a highly successful furrow with no less than 16 UK chart hits between 1965 and 1971, and even more in the USA where they were second only to The Beatles in terms of singles sales over that period. While not exactly bubblegum their songs were on the soft and sugary side, and from a variety of sources - Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote their first hit (and only UK No 1) "I'm Into Something Good", Graham Gouldman supplied "No Milk Today" well before his 10CC days, and the British hit factory that was Geoff Stephens and Les Reed penned "There's A Kind Of Hush", subsequently covered by the Carpenters. Whatever else they were, they were hugely catchy and sing-along. The Americans went overboard for them, and particularly liked the jokey, British music-hall stuff such as "I'm 'Enerey The Eighth, I Am" and "Mrs Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter", both No 1 hits there but largely ignored over here (in fact they weren't released as singles here - producer Mickie Most thought they were "too British"!). This collection gives us, in chronological order, all 22 British A-sides and all the Bs as well except that for "Oh You Pretty Thing". The B-sides all fall into the Unremarkable category, with the exception of "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", which was a hit in the US in its own right; some of them, written by the Hermits, do, however, suggest that they may have been closet rockers at heart. Then follow the singles released only in the States, and finally five bonus tracks, including rather tame versions of famous Buddy Holly, Yardbirds and Hollies hits. Nearly all the tracks have been digitally remastered - this helps with consistency of sound volume level if nothing else; surprisingly, only three of the tracks are in stereo. As a complete record of the single releases of one of Britain's most successful pop groups of the 1960s, this album will not be bettered. The relatively weak B-sides mean that there's a lot of filler here, though, and I suspect that, when it comes to be played, most people will make much use of the shuffle/skip/program facility on their players.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A certain charm,
By
This review is from: The Very Best of Herman's Hermits (Audio CD)
This combo, seemingly on Top of the Pops every week in the 60s, were the epitome of meaningless, relentlessly cheery, pop. The Tremeloes, a group with the same MO who announced their intention to go "heavy" around 1969, promptly alienated their core audience; one couldn't imagine Peter "Herman" Noone even attempting such a volte-face with thatlittle-boy grin which was his fortune: the Hermits were ginormous in America in the wake of the Beatles' 1963 breakthrough, and if part of the Fabs' success can be attributed to their taking a nation's collective mind off the assassination of its president, then Noone's resemblance to a young Jack Kennedy didn't hurt his group's chances. Some Hermits recordings which peddled a cariacature of Englishness were released only in the states, like I'm Henery the Eighth, I am and I'm Leaning on a Lamp Post - Mickey Most must have realised you can only push a UK audience so far. I don't know when their American success ended exactly, but the Hermits never followed the Beatles down their more adventurous alleyways, and when the Monkees (essentially Beatles-lite, with all that dangerous drug nonsense filtered out) got their own TV show I believe that had a significant impact on the Hermits in the states. After all, they were doing much the same thing - and David Jones, who was English, was like a brunette Herman (with maybe a side order of Macca) - plus the Monkees shared some of the same songwriters, like Goffin and King. In the UK, however, they still had hit singles up till around 1970, and unlikely as it sounds Peter Noone as a solo artist then recorded a comparatively unknown David Bowie's "Oh You Pretty Things", included in this collection, as well as a song not found here called "Right On Mother" which sort of rubbed the narrator's mother's nose in her son's newfound freedom: "Right on, Mother, you know the way I feel, / Now you know I'm living with my gal and it's real ... now I'm a man" - possibly that was indeed Noone's solo version of going "heavy", but when you're blessed (or cursed) with a face like that, not a good idea. And there was a petulance about the song which was ill-judged: the target market of (I'd imagine) fifteen year old boys had had it with Herman, what with all those TOTP appearances, and the mums who (I imagine) bought a lot of those Hermits records had just been handed a good reason to turn their backs on Mr Noone. Maybe he thought that it would be his equivalent of Dirk Bogarde's two fingers to his matinee stardom (all those Doctor movies) in accepting the role of the gay barrister in Blackmail, I don't know. But he's still performing, I believe (Noone, not Bogarde), so good luck to him. And a Hermanless Hermits, with only the original drummer left, still tours. There are official websites for both. And now, with rather more pop knowledge than I once had, I can see that the recordings on this double CD set do have a certain charm. Goffin and King apart, No Milk Today is by Graham Gouldman, later of 10cc, who also wrote for the Hollies, and other British songwriting craftsmen are represented. One song I particularly remember, and which is rarely played on oldies stations, is You Won't Be Leaving, a comparatively delicate ditty about a girl visiting a boy one evening with nookie as the subtext but with some good details: "Candlelight puts shadows of your figure on the ceiling, / I've got a feeling you won't be leaving at all." There you have the indirect ogle and the atmosphere in one. Okay, it's not Leiber and Stoller but it's something. On the minus side, this compilation is let down by its very comprehensiveness: B sides, many penned by the group, alternate with As, but if you ignore those, you will find a lot of quality, unpretentious pop here. And most titles seem to have been remastered in the last few years so I'd imagine sound quality will be better than some of the cheaper, older compilations.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitive singles collection,
By Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews (No. 1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Very Best of Herman's Hermits (Audio CD)
In the early nineties, two separate 22-track single CD's were released, each focusing on a particular period of Herman's Hermits career. They have long been out of print, since when fans have had to choose between various single CD's, all of which had to exclude something important. Now, at last, a double-CD (with 28 tracks on each) is available to satisfy those fans who want all their important British and American hits (which were often different) in one package. In their early years (1964 to 1966), the group were more successful in America than in Britain but their American popularity faded quickly. From 1967 onwards, they were more popular in Britain. Indeed, their popularity grew in Britain as it faded in America.Herman's Hermits began with I'm into something good (a cover of a song by Earl Jean of the Cookies), their only British number one hit, which also made the American top twenty. After that, single releases in Britain and America differed considerably. Six top ten American hits including two number ones were never released as UK singles, these being Can't you hear my heartbeat (a UK hit for Goldie and the gingerbreads), Mrs Brown you've got a lovely daughter, I'm Henry the eighth I am (an old music hall song), Listen people, Leaning on the lamp post (a cover of a George Formby song) and Dandy. Two UK singles - Show me girl, You won't be leaving - made the top twenty but were not released as singles in America. Some singles were released in both countries, these being Silhouettes (a cover of a fifties song by The Rays), Wonderful world (a song that has also charted for both Sam Cooke and Louis Armstrong at different times), Just a little bit better and A must to avoid, This door swings both ways, No milk today and East west. They starred in a film, Hold on, and the title track is included here. There's a kind of hush was a top ten hit in both charts although it was a bigger hit in America. Don't go out in the rain was never released as a UK single but made the American top twenty. Museum was a top forty American hit that didn't make the UK chart although it was released as a single. I can take or leave your loving just missed the UK top ten and just missed the American top twenty. After that, Herman's Hermits never again made the American top forty but continued to chart in Britain. Their remaining major UK hits were Sleepy Joe, Something is happening, My sentimental friend, Years may come years may go, Lady Barbara and Oh you pretty thing, the last track being a Peter Noone solo written by David Bowie and featuring Bowie on piano. Here comes the star (an Australian song) and Bet your life I do (written by members of Hot Chocolate before they became famous for their own music) became lesser UK hits. All the above hits are included along with many of their B-sides and a few bonus tracks, making this the most comprehensive collection of Herman's Hermits music yet released. The order is lightly strange, arranged with all the British singles (A and B sides, except that one of the British B sides is omitted) in chronological order, with the American-only singles (A sides only) sandwiched between the final British single and the bonus tracks on the second CD. To those for whom a single CD of Herman's Hermits is not enough, this is a dream come true. If you only like them a little, you should choose one of the many single CD's instead - make your choice according to whether you are looking for their British or American hits.
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