All-Time Greatest Hits [Remastered] [Original recording remastered, Best of]

In the fifties, it was hard for black singers to sell music to white record buyers, but the Platters managed to do just that, thus helping to blaze the trail for the many others that followed. Some of their songs were covers of songs from the thirties and forties, suitably updated for the fifties. Some people mistakenly think of songs such as Smoke gets in your eyes and Harbor lights (both dating from the thirties) as being Platters originals - I was among those mistaken people for many years.

The Platters were much more successful in America than in Britain, but the few UK hits that they had have left a lasting impression. The great pretender (a 1987 top five UK hit for Freddie Mercury), Smoke gets in your eyes (a 1974 top twenty UK hit for Bryan Ferry) and Only you (a minor UK hit for several artists down the years) have all charted for other artists since the Platters charted with them in the fifties.

This American compilation contains all of their most famous recordings, whether they are originals or covers. Apart from those already mentioned, their other British hits include Twilight time, My prayer, You'll never never know, I'm sorry and It isn't right. The only one not here is Remember when. Of course, there are way too many American hits to include any more than just the essentials on a single CD like this.

If you just want a single CD containing their important tracks, this will do. For a comprehensive Platters hits collection, you should go for the 50-track double CD (The Magic Touch: An Anthology), which contains all the tracks I've mentioned including Remember when.

The Platters run of hits was not only among the most successful of the doo-wop groups, but also one of the most iconic. Their songs have become representatives of the era, with their dramatic delivery and romantic (both happy and sad) lyrics gracing seminal films like "American Graffitti," countless reissues and '50s compilations, and endless replays on oldies radio.

At 18 tracks, this collection doesn't have too much room to present anything beyond the band's hits - which speaks positively to the chart impact that the Platters maintained. All 18 of these tracks were Top-20 on either the Pop or R&B charts, or often, both. #1s include "Only You (And You Alone)," "The Great Pretender," "My Prayer," "Twilight Time," and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." Surprisingly, essential tunes like "(You've Got) The Magic Touch," as familiar as they are, never made it to the top spot.

The combination of Buck Ram's songwriting, arranging and producing and lead vocalist Tony Williams' distinctive tenor elevated the group above the mass of one-hit doo-wop wonders from Los Angeles and New York. Mercury's collection pulls together hits from the original line-up, and several later tracks (recorded for Musicor) waxed by a later edition of the group.

The Platters is one of those groups with a very long career, spanning decades and substantial personnel changes. And apparently, with lead singer changes, many of their hit songs have been recorded in at least two versions. Add to that recording contract changes, and it's possible to have 4 and 5 versions of certain "Hit" songs.
This particular Hits package is for the most part, all the songs that I'm familiar with - well, when I was a kid, along with my favorite rock stations, I'd also listen to the Oldies radio station, which at the time played music from earlier than the mid-sixties. I say for the most part, because one or two songs aren't sizzling with the same searing vocal I'm more familiar with, but they're nevertheless still great performances. And all the songs are very clean, high quality reproductions - I'm not sure what was involved in terms of re-mastering, cleanup, etc., but the result is very pleasing.
When it comes to the Platters, I think the thing to look for (and the best of the best from this vocal group) is the volume and tonal control from the lead, as well as the style of phrasing, which intensifies the drama of the lyric and the flow of the song. I mean, in the age of overindulgent song-bird vocalizing - which to me, adds nothing to the song, but serves only to show off the singer's ability - these type of vocals seem to come from a long forgotten age of care and craft that really cared for the song's theme and concept. As an example, the lilting delivery of the lead on Twilight Time, along with the volume adjustment for dramatic emphasis, appears almost effortlessly sung, but is one of the vocal performances for the ages - just golden.

Highlights on this Hits collection are: Only You, The Great Pretender, (You've Got) the Magic Touch, My Prayer, I'm Sorry, Twilight Time, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, and I Love You 1,000 Times...all the songs are very good, but for me those are the gems.