The very cheeky, chirpy cockney sparrow Joe Brown celebrated his 50th anniversary in the music business early in 2008, although his first few years were as a rather good but anonymous guitar player in backing bands, playing for brighter stars such as Billy Fury. When he finally broke out as a solo singer and guitarist in 1960 with his first hit, "Darktown Strutters' Ball," he came across as less of a serious rock & roller than his former mentor Billy Fury and instead as an artist whose songs owed more to music hall comedy ...
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The very cheeky, chirpy cockney sparrow Joe Brown celebrated his 50th anniversary in the music business early in 2008, although his first few years were as a rather good but anonymous guitar player in backing bands, playing for brighter stars such as Billy Fury. When he finally broke out as a solo singer and guitarist in 1960 with his first hit, "Darktown Strutters' Ball," he came across as less of a serious rock & roller than his former mentor Billy Fury and instead as an artist whose songs owed more to music hall comedy and skiffle than rock & roll, especially "What a Crazy World We're Living In" and "I'm Henry the Eighth I Am." Brown then turned out a series of lightweight pop songs, including "A Picture of You" (his biggest hit, reaching number two in the summer of 1962), "That's What Love Will Do," "It Only Took a Minute," and "Sally Ann," before the arrival of Merseybeat and new pop groups swept him and his kind away. Brown was a well-respected guitarist but this was never really given a chance to show through, although the Israeli tune "Hava Nagila," a very Shadows-sounding guitar instrumental, did give his fingers a workout. It says something about the pop records of the time that Universal managed to squeeze 25 tracks onto this single-CD compilation with a running time of 72 minutes. Even though it was over 30 years old at the time of its release here, a cover of Ram Jam's "Black Betty" gave the album a contemporary feel as well as being a retrospective of an artist who had long since departed the charts. In 2008 Billy Fury successfully placed a compilation of his work in the Top Ten and Universal reckoned on Joe Brown following him there, but Brown only had 11 hits -- and strangely, four of them were omitted from this collection. Surely, if Brown's back catalog had been properly researched and these tracks included, The Very Best of Joe Brown would have been more complete -- "Your Tender Love," "Nature's Time for Love," "With a Little Help from My Friends," and "Hey Mama" could easily have been substituted for the final three tracks, re-recordings of his hits that had already appeared earlier in the running order: "A Picture of You," "Sally Ann," and "It Only Took a Minute." ~ Sharon Mawer, Rovi
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Add this copy of The Very Best of Joe Brown to cart. $4.59, good condition, Sold by Goodwill of Orange County rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Ana, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Universal Distribution.
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Seller's Description:
Good. This item has very light surface scratches that do not affect the use of the disc/s. This is a USED item. Case and cover may or may not have wear or damage. All items unless otherwise noted will include disc, case, and artwork. Codes have been used. Other contents such as booklets may vary, please inquire for details. All items ship Monday-Friday within 2-3 business days.
Add this copy of The Very Best of Joe Brown to cart. $6.63, like new condition, Sold by Symposia rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hoboken, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Polygram Uk.
Add this copy of The Very Best of Joe Brown: 50th Anniversary to cart. $9.90, very good condition, Sold by JOHNSANDERSBOOKS rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Holsworthy, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2008 by Universal Distribution.
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Seller's Description:
Very good in very good packaging. Originally released: 2008. Cat # 8823853. The plastic case is intact. The artwork is complete. The disk may have minor marks. Sent within 24 hours. Ref: C1422.
