Lou Monte - Best Of The Rca Recordings (CD)

All Music Guide

Singer Lou Monte never had the lasting fame of counterparts like Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, or Dean Martin, but that's not to say that during his career (which began in 1954, when he was 38) he didn't have his fair share of hits. Many of these came during his tenure with RCA Victor, and The Best of the RCA Victor Recordings attempts to collect these (Monte was with them until 1960, when he left for Roulette). His firstever single, "Downtown's Stutter's Ball," as well as its Aside (yes, that's right), "I Know How You Feel," are both included, as are "Roman Guitar," "Lazy Mary," "Guarda Che Luna," and "Angelina." With two discs of 25 songs each, it's a little strange that cuts like "The Sheik of Araby" and "Somewhere There Is a Someone" didn't make it onto the compilation ("Dominick the Donkey" and "Pepino, the Italian Mouse," two of his other famous songs, also are excluded, but that's because they were made with other labels), but overall Lou Monte's The Best of the RCA Victor Record...ings is a pretty good representation of what the singer accomplished during that period. - Marisa Brown, All Music Guide Read more Less