Very Best of Herman's Hermits [ABKCO]

Discovered by Mickie Most, who never felt it was really worth the time to let a band learn a song when session players could nail it in one take, Herman's Hermits were placed in a creative straitjacket right from the start in the mid-'60s. With Peter Noone's vocals and cuddly, non-threatening presence out in front of it all, the Hermits brand sold a lot of singles with a bright, bubbly sound that seemed a bit like Buddy Holly bumped a decade forward. Nothing was very innovative, but the best of those singles actually hold up pretty well these days, including "There's a Kind of Hush," "I'm into Something Good," "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat," "A Must to Avoid," and, depending on one's point of view, "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter." No feathers were ever ruffled. This brief ten-song set has all of these hits, along with "Silhouettes" and "(What A) Wonderful World" and three others, and -- aside from lacking the group's interesting cover of Donovan's "Museum" -- makes for a quick and no-filler history of the Hermits' essential tracks. ~ Steve Leggett