Seals & Crofts - Seals & Crofts - Greatest Hits
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Free Music Notes for Seals & Crofts - Greatest Hits
Free Music Review: There's a NEW Seals & Crofts CD Available!
Hit: 5 Stars
Seals & Crofts have recorded their first album together after a wait of 20 years. It's called 'Traces' and was released in 2004. You can find it at iTunes (download) or CDBaby.com. Unfortunately it is not available at Amazon.com
Here are the details from their homepage (sealsandcrofts.com): "It features new versions of several hits from the 1970's, plus some newer tunes! S & C are in fine voice. Included are a total rearrangement of Hummingbird, Summer Breeze, We May Never Pass This Way Again, and Get Closer (with Dash's daughter Lua and Jimmy's daughter Juliet). Some updated album cuts are added, such as Not Be Found and Euphrates. The album's highlight, however, is the previously unreleased "Change the Copper Into Gold" (inspired by the spiritual odyssey of Dorothy Baker), a mesmerizing song that ranks among Jimmy's best."
I was wondering why most of their albums were never released on CD and again here is an answer from their homepage: "There are still no plans to release any more albums from the 1970's on cd. Only the 'Greatest Hits' and 'Summer Breeze' albums are readily available. Rhino Records, the prolific licensee of the Warners Brothers catalog, had planned a release - but initial plans to issue a multi-disc anthology were scaled back to a single disc, extended hits package that mirrors the old K-Tel 'Seals and Crofts Collection' lp, and add 'Unborn Child', 'Wisdom' and 'First Love'. However, there has been no release date issued for that disc. And so, the wait continues."
Regarding their new album, I like the rearrangements of 'Hummingbird' and 'Diamond Girl' best. And 'Change The Copper Into Gold' is a new gem, but all the tracks are wonderful... like a visit from an old friend. I highly recommend a listen.
Regarding their greatest hits... what can you say?! It is a great collection of hit songs. Unfortunately many fans will never hear most of their other music (which is just as good) until the record companies decide to release it on CD.
Free Music Review: I love Seals & Crofts!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a very enjoyable disc and Seals & Crofts were a very good duo and underrated. The only complaint I would have with this disc, is that it's not comprehensive enough, there really should be a more thorough greatest hits of Seals & Crofts, they deserve that much. Otherwise, the disc itself contains all great songs, good sound quality. I'd love to see a Seals & Crofts anthology, someday!Free Music Review: Bound to be a better package...right?
Hit: 3 Stars
I admit it. I like Seals and Crofts. They have created what I consider, some timeless masterpieces ("Summer Breeze" & "When I Meet Them" for starters.) in American pop. But I, like others here, are not impressed with this package. The music yes, but not only the LACK of it, the editing as well. Ten songs are just plain laughable; and Rhino, come on! Get that 20-30 track cd(s) set out. I mean....MAN, are there some terrific tracks missing! The beautiful ballad, (and one of their best) "Antoinette". The uptempo of "Say" and "Yellow Dirt", and, the stunning, horn driven, spirituallity of "The Euphrates." Of course "Get Closer" as well as other, later songs, would be included, and I think with the swell of nostalgia, this expanded, Rhino collection would be a best seller. I'm so sure, I would invest my own money to produce it. Rhino, whadda' ya' say?
On another note, I would love to see, "Brewer & Shipley"s "How Are You", Don Nix's, "She's A Friend Of Mine" and England Dan & John Ford Coley's early stuff (before they became a commercial band) like, "What I'm Doin" and "Mud & Stone." These folks produced some great music in the '60's & '70's, and deserve a bigger and better catalog of their work...
Free Music Review: scratches the surface in about the slightest way imaginable
Hit: 3 Stars
"AM singles band"?? "All you will ever need"?? Wow. Since these guys seem to be quite well-remembered, & considering that their numerous big hits still get a lot of airplay to this day, I wouldn't quite say that Seals & Crofts are one of the MOST overlooked acts of the '70s. Nevertheless, I do think that these guys are extremely overlooked and/ or have been forgotten about over time, & the reason I say that is because Seals & Crofts weren't merely good--they truly were top notch. However, despite some hints, you wouldn't really know it based on this "Greatest Hits" CD, because it doesn't emphasize their excellence very strongly at all. Furthermore, I've seen these guys get outright shot down, written off as awful, '70s soft rock sludge that's best forgotten. The fact that (aside from a mid-'90s re-release of their 1972 album "Summer Breeze") this has been the only readily available CD of these guys since the beginning of the CD era certainly has not helped matters. I think it's pretty clear that CD reissues tend to go a long way toward refreshing people's memories about music, & the fact that they've been so heavily blown off in this department has not done them any favors in regard to keeping their reputation as strong as it should be in people's minds. Look at how many times & ways Steely Dan's music has been re-released on CD, & their reputation is extremely high even as of 2004 (though their tours probably have played a big role), & Seals & Crofts, very different, yet not without considerable similarity, are right up there in terms of sheer overall quality as the Dan. In hindsight, it's not particularly surprisingly that their albums weren't reissued on CD in the early days of CDs, because their label, Warner Bros., blew off a lot of stuff that was great when it came to CD treatment, not just Seals & Crofts. Also, unlike certain other WB artists, Seals & Crofts had already long broken up & hadn't released any new albums for many years. Plus, although they were consistently popular for a few years or so, they were never really HUGE--their last couple albums were, to a varying degree, commercial flops, & though a handful of their regular albums did go gold, by the late '80s none had gone platinum, & their albums were probably all out of print by then anyway. All that said, as of 2004, just how great Seals & Crofts were seems to have been largely forgotten. They had incredible ears for great melody, Jim Seals wrote sincere, poetic, & often deeply affecting lyrics, & their records were tastefully & impeccably produced, not to mention the fact that they had a ton of firepower as far as the musicians who played on their albums. Plus Jim Seals & Dash Crofts were both terrific singers & their voices came together to create amazing harmonies. Although some of their very best tracks are found on their earlier records, I think where they really hit their stride in the most impossible-not-to-notice way was with 1975's "I'll Play For You", which happens to be the last album that's represented on this disc, which also originally came out in 1975. As a result, you get nothing from 1976-1980, not even their classic hit "Get Closer". "Castles In The Sand", with an incredible, layered riff, & its wordless harmony vocals toward the end, was the track on this CD that served as a clue leaving no doubt that I should pursue these guys further. The song is from 1975's "I'll Play For You", and the version on this CD isn't even the full-length album version, though based on the listed song lengths, it implies that it is, further demonstrating the bargain-basement nature of this disc. In short, with this disc you do get most of the familiar (some would say overly-familiar) hits including the classic, somewhat jazzy "Diamond Girl", a couple gems that WEREN'T big hits with "Castles In The Sand" & the sighing, bittersweet "King of Nothing" (plus an inferior re-recording of "When I Meet Them", originally from the album "Year of Sunday"). However, "Summer Breeze", although well-written, suffers from an overproduced chorus, & "We May Never Pass This Way (Again)" is crafty, but too sappy (with a rather weak & out of place good-timey bridge)--though they were big hits, I think these 2 tracks are a huge reason for the negativity some people throw at them--it's understandable, but a shame because these 2 tracks, along with others on this disc, simply don't rank even close to their best. I just kinda sit in bewilderment at the Amazon.com review calling these guys an "AM singles band" (more so than Bread??), because their original albums were certainly made with care & in general, contain an abundance of strong tracks. It'd be great to see some CD two-fers of those albums, but failing that, it'd really be nice to see Rhino give these guys their due with a carefully chosen 3 CD set (hey, let me pick the track listing!). Even their "brother band" England Dan [Seals] & John Ford Coley got the Rhino treatment years ago (plus a string of subsequent CD releases). Heck, Rhino did a 3 CD box set for America, which I'm not dismissing, but with their individual albums all generally pretty easy to get on official CD reissues, Seals & Crofts could use that treatment a lot more, & it would probably go a long way toward reminding listeners of how much excellent music they recorded. The remastered sound would sure be nice (though this CD doesn't sound bad to my ears). I'd have to think that these guys will at least get a more thorough SINGLE disc collection eventually (though who knows when), but in the meantime, I recommend tracking down individual albums from them such as "Get Closer" and "The Longest Road" which display their brilliance far more effectively than this "Greatest Hits" does. (P.S. For those unaware, Seals & Crofts actually have just recently put out a new album called "Traces" in 2004, their first album in well over 20 years, though the majority of the tracks are "updated" versions of their own songs.)Free Music Review: IS THIS IT?
Hit: 2 Stars
In my humble opinion, the most glaring current example of diservice to an American artist has to be the Warner Brothers treatment of the Seals & Crofts catalog. The fact that this label has yet to release anything save this ancient and shortchanged Greatest Hits and one other studio project is unbelievable. In fact it's so wacky that one has to consider if there isn't some sort of internal bias with the elite suits.
Clearly, there is reasoning beyond the norm because it's not about the money. There's not a chance that WB wouldn't profit financially with Gold albums like "Diamond Girl" and "Get Closer".
And here's the REALLY puzzling part:
Historically, Rhino - who has access to the WB catalog has stepped up when Warner's wasn't there and re-released albums on their own label. Where is Rhino with Seals & Crofts? Their disinterest is very telling. Again, it's all about money and there's no way any label would lose on this, so what's the REAL reason?
Regarding this Greatest Hits collection, not only is it old school short with the missing later hits, it's old school sonically as well with 80's mastering that falls far short of today's warmer, fuller sound.