Very Best of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons: Jersey's Best

Liner Note Author: Peter Doggett.
At their best in the early '60s, the Four Seasons, thanks in no small part to the songwriting and production team of Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, plus, of course, Frankie Valli's one of a kind soaring lead vocals, were a sort of bridge between the previous era's doo wop groups, the teen idol phenomenon that emerged in the very late '50s, and the coming pop sophistication of groups like the Beatles and the Beach Boys. Early- and mid-'60s tracks like "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like a Man," "Dawn (Go Away)," "Silence Is Golden," and "Rag Doll" are all enduring classics from the era, and all of them are included in this two-disc set, along with two notable 1975 singles attributed to the Four Seasons, "Who Loves You" and "December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)," and Valli's big solo hits, 1967's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and 1974's "My Eyes Adored You" (Valli was big on songs about eyes, apparently). When all is said and done, it makes for a pretty nice survey of the intertwined careers of both Valli solo and as part of the Four Seasons. Truth be known, it's really all one thing, built around Crewe and Gaudio's resilient writing and production skills and Valli's soaring-close-to-the-sun vocals. The early stuff seems to work best, though. ~ Steve Leggett