Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsLulu's best from the sixties and seventies
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2002
At her best, Lulu was - and still is - one of Britain's finest singers. This skilfully compiled CD proves it. Lulu also recorded some songs that really don't bear repeated plays, but Rhino has wisely excluded them from this set. It is for that reason that I bought this CD instead of one of the various British compilations. The best of her British sixties hits are here, but anybody seeking Let's Pretend, Love loves to love love, I'm a tiger and Boom bang a bang can find them elsewhere easily enough.
Shout (a cover of an Isley brothers song) is what Lulu is best remembered for in Britain, while To sir with love (which includes the phrase From crayons to perfume in it's lyrics) is what Lulu is best remembered for in America. Both of them, though totally different types of song, show Lulu at her brilliant best.
Other classics include The boat that I row (a British hit, and the flip side of To sir with love, which remained the B side in Britain), Leave a little love (a lovely ballad), Oh me oh my (later covered by Aretha), The man with the golden gun (one of the best James Bond theme songs) and I could never miss you, a top 20 American hit.
Also worthy of mention is the weird David Bowie song, The man who sold the world. I didn't like it when it was first released, but I appreciate it better now.
So, I regard this as the best compilation of Lulu's early music, it being that rare breed - a compilation that includes all the great tracks without all the rubbish.