Got a Girl

The Triple Feature series by Sony Legacy compiles three – usually well-known – catalog albums by big-name artists, assembles them in a slipcase box, and sells them at a budget price to consumers. While the reason may be simply a new package in order to clear shelves of excess inventory, this exercise also serves a purpose for collectors and fans filling in holes for a favorite artist. In the case of Frank Sinatra, Sony actually compiled three previously issued compilations – Classics & Standards, I’ve Got a Crush on You, and Songs from the Movies. Sinatra-philes already know that the earliest part of his career was spent recording for Columbia, and these titles reflect more the crooner than the finger-popping swing daddy of jazz and pop. It’s not that the music here isn’t worth hearing…

Repertoire records has sort of confused the issue of Herman's Hermits CDs by releasing this 25-song compilation in 1994 and then, in 2000, re-releasing the soundtrack Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter on CD. To clarify, this is not the soundtrack to the 1968 movie, but a collection of the group's 1964-1965 sides from various singles and EPs. Some of it will surprise listeners who think of Herman's Hermits as the poppiest component of the British Invasion and barely a rock & roll group at all - regardless of who is actually playing on "Walking With My Baby" or "Dream On," those are as solid as any early album track by the Hollies, and they don't do a bad version of "For Your Love" either; they even make an attempt at a slightly bluesier sound on "I Wonder," though this was clearly not Peter Noone's vocal forte…