Customer Reviews

Burton Cummings Collection

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Former (Guess Who) lead singer Burton Cummings shines in this fantastic collection of songs by him as a solo artist. He definitely can "Stand Tall" with the magnitude of these songs. Besides his smash hit he sounds fantastic on the songs " Nothing Rhymed ", "Is It Really Right ", " Charlemagne ", " My Own Way To Rock ", " Free " and "Heart" along with several others. I can proudly say as a thirty-five year fan of Burton Cummings that he is another very gifted musician with a voice to match, and this "The Burton Cummings Collection" CD is definitely astounding and I give Burton and Rhino "TWO THUMBS UP" on this one.

I said in my very first review with Amazon that as a teenager I was very lucky to be a part of the 60s and early 70s because there were so many excellent bands of that era and Burton Cummings as a solo artist plus his earlier success with the great band "The Guess Who" is another prime example of that. The first time I heard The Guess Who was in 1969 with the song "These Eyes" and I remember as a 16 year old how mesmerized I was by Burtons voice and there was a reason for that "He Is One Of The Best."

If you can't own all the Burton Cummings solo CD's, then this is the "Collection" to have. Once you own it, you'll want more. This is the best voice in rock 'n roll, folks.

I own all of Burton Cummings LPS.&CD'S,I must tell you without hesitation,that Burton Cummings is clearly one of the finest Vocalists Ever in the history of Pop/rock! This CD IS A MUST TO OWN..Keep on ROCKIN'' BURTON!

The Burton Cummings Collection is an excellent compilation brought to us by the folks at Rhino. The sound quality is far and away superior to that on CBS's The Best Of Burton Cummings and the packaging contains excellent song-by-song notes authored by Burton himself and some excellent photographs.

"You Saved My Soul", "Not Too Appealing" and "Heart" are not available elsewhere on CD. The photos within are almost worth the price of the disc. This collection does justice to his entire solo career. My only complaint is that the concert favourite "Your Backyard" is not included. Otherwise, it's a stunning reminder of what a masterful body of work this man has produced since he left the Guess Who.

When Burton Cummmings left the "Guess Who", it was a real test for his talent. This Rhino collection proves that Cummings is a long lasting Canadian/World treasure of an artist. Most people will only recognize "Stand Tall", a huge hit from the seventies, but there is so much more to this twenty song collection. "I'm Scared" is as soulful as Cummings gets and "Never Had A Lady Before" is a romantic masterpiece. For bouncy rock 'n roll, there is the clever "Charlemagne" and "My Own Way To Rock". Never one to ignore his balladeer side, Cummings gives great performances on the essential "Timeless Love" and "I Will Play A Rhapsody". Other than the first cut, "Fine State Of Affairs" should have a been a huge single. It is one of the most finely crafted pop singles he has ever created and a testament to this fine collection.

Awesome!!! all the songs I wanted in one cd. You can't go wrong with this cd. I keep playing it over and over. What an artist. And Canadian too!!!

Un must dans votre discographie... Burton est simplement excellent! Les textes et les arrangements sont divins... On ré écoute continuellement! Burton nous hante constamment! à se procurer sans hésitation!!!

Ya can't win on this. On the Best Of Burton Cummings, you don't get the song One and Only, because it wasn't out, yet. On this release, you don't get Your Backyard, Got to Find Another Way, A Song For Him, Takes a Fool to Love a Fool, Guns,Guns,Guns and Draggin' Em Down the Line. I need Backyard, Guns and Draggin' in a set, myself, so I'd go with the Best of album, instead. Maybe a new comp. is in order, with his cover of Manfred Mann's With God on our Side, an anti-war song that would play better now as the feelings of you-can't-question-the-war subside a bit.

A big tip of the cap to Rhino Records on this one--possibly the best liner notes and photographs I've ever seen. There are song by song notes from Burton Cummings written in 1994 upon release of this set which provide lots of insight into his music. The sound quality is good, too.

I'm a big Guess Who fan, and I wasn't familiar with all that many of these songs before buying this disc. Cummings moved to the middle of the road with his solo recordings and had a big hit with "Stand Tall," and although there are up-tempo recordings like the compelling "Is It Really Right?", there's nothing here which points to his mythic past as the vocalist of a band which had made legitimate progressive FM rock only a few years earlier. Indeed, Cummings was afraid of being lumped with Gary Puckett & the Union Gap while with the Guess Who--he notes that his "Never Had A Lady Before" from this collection was covered by Tom Jones.

But the fact that there's little rock and roll doesn't mean there isn't some very meaningful music. "I'm Scared" is a mid-tempo number about a religious experience Cummings had, and its plaintive lyrics are powerful. "Nothing Rhymed" is a Gilbert O'Sullivan song and is done well. "Timeless Love" is a nice ballad, as are "I Will Play A Rhapsody" and "One And Only." "Break It To Them Gently" is compelling, a piano-driven mid-tempo song based on a fugitive from the law. "You Saved My Soul" was a Top 40 hit in 1981, although it's little more than a pleasant pop tune. The other compelling number here is "Dream of A Child," with its mentions of Elvis and Brenda Lee.

There are some forgettable tunes scattered throughout, including "Never Had A Lady Before" and "My Own Way To Rock." And this is definitely pop music--the backing on the mid-tempo and up-tempo songs sounds a lot like Elton John. But Cummings plays some fine piano on these songs, no doubt about that. If you can find this disc, grab it. There are several songs here which aren't available anywhere else on CD, and although I don't think Burton's solo material is as good as what the Guess Who made in their heyday, there are 10-12 songs you can't be without. Well done, Rhino.

Two thumbs up to the folks at Rhino - this album was very obviously lovingly compiled by real BC fans, and with the approval of the man himself.

All seven of his solo albums are represented, perhaps unsurprisingly the focus belongs on the first three. His best known solo tunes such as "Stand Tall", "I'm Scared", "Break It To Them Gently" and "You Saved My Soul" are all here, along with a choice selection of album cuts. The only quibble about song selection I have is that his second effort, the lacklustre "My Own Way To Rock" is overrepresented. An extra track from "Woman Love", or better still one of the albums still unavailable on CD would have been better.

Nevertheless with a track list containing such titles as "Is It Really Right", "Charlemagne", "I Will Play A Rhapsody", "Fine State Of Affairs", "Heart" and "Take One Away" there can hardly be much room for complaint. Of course there are many other great tracks on his albums, but if you want a solid overview of his career, or just need an introduction to it, then this will satisfy your needs ably.