Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - Jersey Beat

All-points-covered collection from a classic name

One of very few American groups whose run of hits wasn’t curtailed by the British Invasion, The Four Seasons married the intricate harmonies of The Beach Boys to the classic songcraft of previous eras. Valli’s swooping falsetto became their trademark on a run of huge hits (Big Girls Don’t Cry, Rag Doll, Walk Like A Man, etc), which still hold a definitive place in pop culture history.

Theirs was an elaborate, sophisticated sound honed to perfection by the writing and producing team of Bob Crewe and band member Bob Gaudio, a kind of blue collar Bacharach & David. The Four Seasons articulated the working class concerns of their Newark, New Jersey, neighbours, and were a telling influence on the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. Indeed, Joel’s Uptown Girl was fashioned as a shameless homage to the group that wrote the soundtrack to his adolescence.

Rhino’s bang-up compilation job pulls together 75 tracks, including several of Valli’s solo lounge crooner hits and the amended line-up’s 70s rebirth on world-beaters such as Who Loves You and December 63. The bonus DVD collects together vintage TV appearances, which are often charming in their awkwardness, betraying the sheer emotional power of some of the finest mainstream music ever made.

Rhino | cat no tbc (3-CD+DVD)

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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