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 Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:57 pm |
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Frankie Valli "Closeup / Valli" (Collectors' Choice)
After a pair of solo albums in 1967 and 1968 (anthologized on the
Collectors' Choice two-fer of "Solo / Timeless"), Frankie Valli and
the 4 Seasons found themselves out of step with the dominant pop
paradigms. Even after the release of their 1969 concept album "The
Genuine Imitation Life Gazette" and several label changes, their chart
fortunes laid dormant until the mid-70s. Valli released additional
solo tracks as singles and as part of the 4 Seasons albums "Half &
Half" and "Chameleon" in the early 1970s, but his commercial comeback
(and the parallel commercial resurgence of the 4 Seasons) was
triggered by the #1 hit "My Eyes Adored You." That single, together
with the top-10 "Swearin' to God" anchored Valli's 1975 debut for
Private Stock, "Closeup."
Valli's solo work in the mid-70s was still more adult contemporary
than the 4 Seasons, but distinctly more pop and radio ready than his
albums of the late '60s. The opening pair, "I Got Love For You, Ruby"
and "Why" exemplify how the string arrangements are moved to the side
on pop productions that more heavily emphasize the bass and drums. The
country and soul influences provide a much more effective setting for
Valli's voice than the heavy orchestrations of his earlier solo sides.
The country influences are even more forward in the two-step beat and
pedal steel of "Waking Up to Love." Winningly, Valli doesn't go
country so much as bring country to him. Similarly, the album's two
disco tunes, "I Can't Live a Dream" and the unabridged 10:35 album
version of "Swearin' to God" are fine fits for Valli's buoyant tone.
Finally, "He Sure Blessed You" and "My Eyes Adored You" show off
Valli's talents as an emotive balladeer who really has a way with a
melodic hook.
Collectors' Choice's reissue series steps out of sequence by pairing
Valli's first album for Private Stock with his third, "Valli." His
second album for the label, the disco flavored "Our Day Will Come," is
paired with his fourth, "Lady Put the Light Out" on a separate CD.
"Valli" followed similar pop directions to his label debut, but
without the hit singles to pull it up the charts. Still, as on
"Closeup," the arrangements use strings as annotation to more
mainstream pop productions, and Valli's unique voice finds some
terrific material. His version of Boz Scaggs "We're All Alone" (from
Scaggs' 1976 LP, "Silk Degrees") predates Rita Coolidge's hit single
by a year and features a dramatic string arrangement that pushes
Valli's vocal to a high emotional plane. The album's other single, The
Alessi Brothers' "Easily," also failed to score, finding surprisingly
little success with its light pop-soul arrangement and introspective
lyrics of doubt and recovery.
The album's disco tunes are few, and though neither "Can't Get You Off
My Mind" or "Boomerang," have the killer hooks of Valli's hits,
they're not the mindless dreck of commercial disco's overground.
Valli's voice is sufficiently unique to make just about anything he
sings interesting, and the arrangements, though peppered with many of
disco's well-worn instrumental clichés, are still bouncy and fun.
Valli tries out a funkier beat for the R&B styled "You're the Song
(That I Can't Stop Singing)," and the light soul of "Where Were You
(When I Needed You)" has all the earmarks of a radio hit, including a
memorable melody. The album's ballads include "Look at the World It's
Changing" and "Lucia," the latter sung with an excellent arrangement
of the London Symphony Orchestra
Valli's earlier pair of solo albums found him searching for an
identity apart from the 4 Seasons. Having tried heavy orchestrations
on 1968's "Timeless," he pulls back here and finds deeper resonance
with the sounds of the mid-70s. Rather than looking beyond radio pop,
Valli and his producers find range within its confines with
sophisticated ballads, top-40 hooks, disco and crossover elements of
country and soul. Collectors' Choice two-fer reissue includes full-
panel cover art for both albums and new liner notes by James Ritz.
"Closeup" is the more solid spin, but both albums find Valli
inhabiting a comfortable, sophisticated solo identity that would
sustain him through several more outings. These two are among the most
compelling of Valli's solo releases. [(c)2008 redtunictroll at hotmail
dot com] |
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