Customer Reviews

His Greatest Hits: Photographs

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is pretty much your typical hits album, though a very good one. "Jim Croce" the man may not be well known, but his songs surely are. Half of these tracks most people probably know word for word. Included are the upbeat hits "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" and "You Don't Mess Around With Jim", and his soft rock/folk hits "Time In A Bottle", "I Got A Name", and "I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song". Plus my favorite "Operator (that's not the way it feels)". Overall it's a great collection for most casual fans. It will go great with your "James Taylor" and "Cat Stevens" albums.

As with any greatest hits album you get someone else's idea of greatest hits. Yet if you only intend to buy one Jim Croce album you can not go wrong with this one. At least it has my favorites. In case you have not heard Jim before, the album is a mixture of fast and slow paced songs; yet all of them have his signature voice and style. These are his later recordings and were released just before he was killed in a plane crash. You may also want to pick up am album of his earlier recordings to see how he progresses through the years.

For those of us who watched the incredible rise of pop folk and country singer Jim Croce, this was the album that encapsulated his all too brief living of the life of his dreams. Sadly, he was cut down just as his career was reaching its pinnacle, and he left us to sing and perform in other, more ethereal venues. I'm sure he has the angels snapping their fingers and tapping their toes. With the songs that are included her Jim sang his way into our living rooms, automobiles, and our hearts. He was a true original, another of the incredible group of singer songwriters who not only performed so brilliantly, but also wrote the lyrics and composed the music as well.

Here we have every thing from "I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song" to "Photographs and Memories", from "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown" to "You Don't Mess Around With Jim", from "One Less Set Of Footsteps" to "Operator". This is a wonderful album, one filled with all the thoughts and ideas and emotions he evoked so well in his lyrics and his songs. Those of us who came to appreciate his talent and his art were saddened by his death, but are yet thankful he left behind such wonderful photographs and memories, such priceless and timeless reminders of the good times he gave us. That why I wanted to weigh in with this review; I just had to say I loved him in a song... Enjoy!

This is the first Jim Croce CD I got and I would recommend the same to any newcomer to this style of music. If you are just beginning this is a good place to start. The songs all sound beautiful and the quality is great even though there aren't as many songs on here as I would have liked. Be sure to get the rest of his CD's if you want to complete your collection. This just skims over the tippy top of his greatest hits, but there were also a couple that I didn't remember when I got it. Even though you, as a newcomer, might only want this CD for the well knowns like Bad, Bad Leroy Brown and Time in a Bottle (beautiful all by itself of course), don't bypass the lesser known ones, which deviate a bit in style from his most typecast songs. You will defintitely get a fuller view of Jim's music, as in New York's Not my home, and Workin at the Car Wash blues. But still get other collections eventually. Stay open minded as you listen, you might be pleasantly surprised at how much you can get out of these songs!

Jim Croce was a great singer songwriter. This CD just straches the surface- The 2 CD "Jim Croce 50 Anniversary" collection is so much more worth the cost of a few extra bucks-you get all of his original works. If you only know some of his song (and like what you hear)-get the Anniversary collection it is well worth the cost and the effort. Enjoy-Jim's Music Lives Forever

The words touch your soul and the simple but effective music is wonderful. Croce can be sweet, he can be extremely funny (roller derby queen), ironic (working at the car music) and romantic. (Had to say I love you in a song.) There is no such thing as a bad Jim Croce song and I am surprised more artists have not recorded his albums.

This has most of what you need to understand why Croce was a master.

Don McNay...

In the 21st Century, the figure of Jim Croce is certainly a strange one. It is almost sure that he would not have "fit in." Oh it is more than his folksy music. It is his looks too. I find it impossible to believe Jim Croce would have had any chance whatsoever in today's music industry.

However in his all-too-brief music career in the 1970's, he had the golden touch. "Photographs and Memories" captures the best of Croce's career.

In "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" we have an excellent portal to the rest of the album. Leroy Brown is a fun song from the moment it begins with its playful piano opening.

Croce turns on a dime from the momentum of "Leroy Brown" in the next song "Operator." In "Operator" Jim Croce reveals a certain tenderness in singing about a loss love and a broken heart and does so to a telephone operator. Croce's voice in "Operator" and the other "ballads" is never obtrusive - rather it seems to be part of the music as an instrument of its own.

At almost all points (except "Lover's Cross"), Croce's music is accessible. We understand and can easily identify the characters in the songs. We understand and have many times felt the emotions Croce captures so well. This is a worthy album to have and a gem to cherish.

"Bad, bad Leroy Brown--baddest man in the whole..." You know the rest. But do you know how many great songs Croce had?

"Photographs & Memories" is hidden from many people not realizing it is a greatest hits collection.

"Operator" is a sad confession of a man looking for a lover he's lost, and cries his tale for a dime. Yet, with "Leroy Brown" he's got a rock, almost country-folk quick pace. This ability to change tempos and styles is part of what vaults Croce to the top of music.

"I Got a Name" is a declaration of love, but also of independence. He doesn't want her following him around, but wants them to discover each other having the same passions and goals.

This is a diverse collection of favorites. While Croce doesn't have the quantity of worthy tunes to fill a double CD, you'll find "Photographs & Memories" to be a satisfying listem.

Anthony Trendl

Jim Croce was a curious figure. While capable of writing observant, witty and memorable songs such as 'Bad, Bad Leroy Brown' and 'You Don't Mess Around With Jim', he could also produce sentimental slop such as 'Operator' or 'Lover's Cross'. Unfortunately, the slop predominates, tuneful though the slop may be. This CD is worth getting just for the handful of genuine classics. The rest require a sick bucket and may give you sugar diabetes if you listen to them more than once.

Ever since I was a little girl my Mom and Dad would listen to the music of Jim Croce I enjoyed how he would make a song out of life that was being lived. As many other musicians write about their lives this musician just found a place in my heart that would bring me up when I was feeling down, or just to listen to at anytime. Slow songs that soothed the soul to fast song that kept up with the tempo of life make for a perfect CD of enjoyment. The Musicians today usually sound like they are screaming instead of singing. With Jim Croce you can hear and understand all of the words to the song. So on a scale from 1-5 I would give this CD a 5.