The Drifters - Drifters Greatest Hits [Laserlight] (CD)

All Music Guide

Blessed with a succession of great lead singers, starting with the angelic tenor of Clyde McPhatter through Ben E. King, and the Rudy Lewis/Johnny Moore tandem of the later years, the immortal Drifters provided the prototype for RB vocal groups and set the stage for the onset of soul with over ten years of marvelous singles beginning in 1953. The songwriting and production talents of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller introduced innovative arrangements on the Drifters' hits, including odd orchestrations that keep these classic recordings sounding fresh some 40 years later. Unfortunately, there are a host of releases like this one that feature rerecordings or live performances and not the original single versions, and while the versions here of songs like "Under the Boardwalk," "Sweets for My Sweet," "There Goes My Baby," and "Up on the Roof" still have their grooves intact, you're not really getting what you thought you were getting.

- Steve Leggett, All Music Guide