Andy Williams - 25 All-time Greatest Hits 1956-1961 The Cadence Years (2002)

Tracklist

25 All-Time Greatest Hits 1956-1961: The Cadence Years Review by Richie Unterberger
The title presents a somewhat mixed message: If this album has his 25 all-time greatest hits, it wouldn't cover just his 1956-1961 Cadence years. And sure enough, this couldn't be considered Williams' best greatest-hits collection, as it contains only material from those Cadence years and none from his subsequent hit-filled decade at Columbia. That carping done with, if you want a survey of his Cadence output, this is the best collection for that purpose, though it's not significantly different from the 1996 Varese Sarabande compilation The Best of the Cadence Years, other than dropping "Beyond the Reef" and adding six other tracks. Williams' Columbia hits might be a little better known, but he was indeed successful at Cadence. All of these 25 songs were released on singles (a handful after his early-'60s departure from the label), and about two-thirds made the charts, half a dozen making the Top Ten. Musically, it's lightweight and erratic, however, veering from good crooning standard pop to some pretty dull easy listening. Crooning is what he's known for, but actually some of the better cuts are those in which he swings to some degree, like "Canadian Sunset," "Butterfly" (actually a cover of a superior rockabilly hit by Charlie Gracie), the giddy male-female duet of "I Like Your Kind of Love," Lionel Bart's "Do You Mind?," and the mambo "House of Bamboo." On another trip altogether, "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" manages to drain all of the country out of the Hank Williams standard with its schmaltzy orchestration.

1. (00:02:50) Andy Williams - Walk Hand In Hand
2. (00:02:38) Andy Williams - Canadian Sunset
3. (00:02:02) Andy Williams - Baby Doll
4. (00:02:21) Andy Williams - Butterfly
5. (00:02:29) Andy Williams - I Like Your Kind Of Love
6. (00:02:23) Andy Williams - Lips Of Wine
7. (00:02:39) Andy Williams - Are You Sincere?
8. (00:02:24) Andy Williams - Promise Me, Love
9. (00:02:27) Andy Williams - The Hawaiian Wedding Song
10. (00:02:06) Andy Williams - House Of Bamboo
11. (00:02:44) Andy Williams - Lonely Street
12. (00:02:50) Andy Williams - Summer Love
13. (00:03:20) Andy Williams - The Village Of St. Bernadette
14. (00:02:40) Andy Williams - I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
15. (00:02:15) Andy Williams - Wake Me When It's Over
16. (00:02:55) Andy Williams - We Have A Date
17. (00:02:15) Andy Williams - Do You Mind?
18. (00:02:56) Andy Williams - Dreamsville
19. (00:02:13) Andy Williams - (In The Summertime) You Don't Want My Love
20. (00:02:54) Andy Williams - Don't Go To Strangers
21. (00:02:12) Andy Williams - The Bilbao Song
22. (00:02:20) Andy Williams - How Wonderful To Know
23. (00:02:36) Andy Williams - Twilight Time