or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
27 used & new from £7.63
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Greatest
 
See larger image and other views 
Share your own customer images

The Greatest

~ Arthur Alexander
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
Price: £11.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, November 18? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
24 new from £7.63 3 used from £7.64

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Frequently Bought Together

The Greatest + The Monument Years + Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter
Price For All Three: £35.94

Show availability and delivery details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Monument Years

The Monument Years

~ Arthur Alexander
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £11.98
Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter

Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter

~ Arthur Alexander
£11.98
Take Me to the River: a Southern Soul Story 1961-1977

Take Me to the River: a Southern Soul Story 1961-1977

~ Various Artists
4.3 out of 5 stars (7)  £29.98
The Very Best of Solomon Burke

The Very Best of Solomon Burke

~ Solomon Burke
5.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £6.68
You Heard It Here First

You Heard It Here First

~ Various Artists
4.3 out of 5 stars (3)  £11.98
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Audio CD (6 Nov 2006)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Ace
  • ASIN: B0000009L1
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 24,968 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

    Popular in this category:

    #60 in  Music > R&B and Soul > Southern Soul

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
1. Anna (Go To Him)
2. You're The Reason
3. Soldier Of Love
4. I Hang My Head And Cry
5. You Don't Care
6. Dream Girl
7. Call Me Lonesome
8. After You
9. Where Have You Been (All My Life)
10. Shot Of Rhythm And Blues
11. Don't You Know It
12. You Better Move On
13. All I Need Is You
14. Detroit City
15. Keep Her Guessing
16. Go Home Girl
17. In The Middle Of It All
18. Whole Lot Of Trouble
19. Without A Song
20. I Wonder Where You Are Tonight
See all 21 tracks on this disc

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

This is an outstanding compilation. Remastered from material recorded between 1962 and 1965, what's instantly apparent on hearing Alexander's plaintive tones is what a debt groups like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones owed to this sweet-voiced Southern country-soul pioneer from Alabama. The former covered his tragic, harmony-laden "Anna", the latter romped through "You Better Move On". Other artists who've sung Alexander-penned songs include Elvis Presley, Robert Plant and Tina Turner. Without exception, Alexander sang the originals better: in a soft, low crooning style somewhat akin to Sam Cooke, but with more expression in his smouldering voice. And, always, he was the loser in his bittersweet love affairs. An album for romantics and lovers of soft-centred soul. --Everett True


CD Description

In the mid-eighties, English reissue label Ace Records introduced the wonderful music of Arthur Alexander to a new generation of music fans. Though Alexander was known for having written songs that were covered by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, prior to the Ace reissues, Alexander's own music languished in near obscurity, with only the most dedicated soul music collectors being familiar with the sublime pop-soul records that he made in the early sixties.
Combining the best tracks from the two vinyl Arthur Alexander collections issued by Ace, THE GREATEST collects 21 of Alexander's greatest performances on one tidy CD. While there is a good deal of overlap with Razor and Tie's 16-song ULTIMATE compilation--particularly with the better-known tracks like "Anna" and "Shot Of Rhythm And Blues"--ULTIMATE contains six excellent tracks that are only available on this CD.

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(2)
(2)
(1)
See all 4 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The One That Got Away, 20 Feb 2005
By James Tobiasen "anfieldjet" (Cheshire, UK.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Reading through the album credits of the British bands of the early sixties there are a number of names that crop up time and time again as writers, the inspiration behind The Beatles, Tne Stones, The Animals, Them, The Yardbirds and countless others. many of those names were household names then and remain so today, names like Little Richard, Lieber & Stoller, The Isleys, Smokey Robinson.... but one contributor remains in sad and neglected obscurity.... and that man is Arthur Alexander. So buy this album and see what sparked the interest of the Lennons & McCartneys, the Jaggers & Richards, the Burdons, Paiges, Claptons and Morrisons all those years ago. These are sparse, honest, raw songs sung in a clear, undemonstrative but nonetheless heartfelt way. 'Anna' is worth the album price on its own and there are plenty more here that are its equal. So treat yourself and discover a little bit of pop history that you probably didn't know existed. It might not change your life, but you'll still be glad you met Arthur Alexander somewhere along the way.
Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Heart break, 26 Mar 2007
By L. Peake "louisepeake2" (London UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
He does probably the best version of 'Soldier of Love' ever and 'Anna' is a classic. How he wasn't one of the biggest stars of the 60's is beyond me. Great songwriter and you can hear the ache in his voice.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A mountain of hurt, 29 Nov 2008
By Peter Wade (Colchester England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

I only recently discovered who Arthur Alexander as but I of course knew his music with his most famous being Anna ( go to Him ) which was famously covered by the Beatles.

surely he is one of the underrated black singers who produced great songs and music but were covered by white artists who made the money and they were forgotten.

He has a sad voice that is almost crying.I have Anna on as I write this and it is heartbreaking. as the liner notes says the songs are delivered effortlessly in a wounded baritone that seems to barely conceal a mountain of hurt.

Although he did not write it Soldier of Love is another great rendition

His original fans never forgot him being John Lennon and George Harrison.

You'd better move on was the first national hit recorded in Alabama and was famously covered by the Rolling Stones.

He deserves a special place in pop history because of his influence on the Beatles and Rolling stones and it is believed that John Lennon was influenced by Alexander's singing style.

Detroit City is a great talking song in the middle and is very sad as he has told everyone that he has made but he wants to go home

For that reason alone this is a great CD I am finishing off this review whilst listening to Your Better Move on written and sung by him . a real mountain of hurt.

Cant recommend this collection highly enough. His tracks will be in my top hundred and I will have to insist they get played at my funeral. If he is good enough for the stones and the Beatles he is certainly good enough for me.

I will now have to put it in my car Cd and play for the next week. Hardly a duff track.real soul.




Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars THE MAN WHO INSPIRED THE BEATLES
Of all the rock 'n' roll and R&B artists who influenced the Beatles - and there were many of them - probably the most important was Arthur Alexander. Read more
Published 10 hours ago by M. J. Day

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart felt and moving
Arthur Alexander ,had one of the most emotive voices in American music ,his legacy however is a handfull of c. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Roy Clarke

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Greatest
91% buy the item featured on this page:
The Greatest 4.8 out of 5 stars (5)
£11.98
Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter
4% buy
Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter
£11.98
Sweet Talkin' Girls: The Best of the Chiffons
2% buy
Sweet Talkin' Girls: The Best of the Chiffons 4.3 out of 5 stars (3)
£9.98
The Soul of O.V. Wright
2% buy
The Soul of O.V. Wright 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£10.29
Explore similar items

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject








i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.