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An odd release from the twilight of the Seasons' Philips years, this, as the title implies, is divided between bona fide Four Seasons efforts and Frankie Valli solo tracks. The group's career was suffering from a lack of direction at this point, and that's reflected in the music, which is basically generic late '60s AM pop with some hasty progressive touches--a few attempts at significant lyrics here, some sweeping orchestration there, a dash of electric sitar. Once in a while the production and harmonies get a little Beach Boys-influenced, though never for more than a few seconds at a time. By now the group were no longer innovators, but just part of the pack, with Valli's solo outings showing an MOR bent. As such, only Four Seasons collectors will be interested in hearing this, although it does include some low-charting singles by both the band ("And That Reminds Me," "Patch of Blue") and Valli ("The Girl I'll Never Know"). The CD reissue on Ace adds six bonus tracks from the same era from 1969-70 singles (both by the group and by Valli as a solo singer). ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide |
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