Dick Haymes - You'll Never Know [ASV] (CD)

All Music Guide

While this British import is a reasonable compilation of Dick Haymes' recordings from 1940 to 1946, including four tracks by the Harry James Orchestra and 20 of Haymes' solo recordings for Decca, the album's subtitle, "24 Hits," and requires the reviewer to note its falsity. The singer's sole hit with James, "I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)," is included, as are 11 of his 27 singles chart entries as a solo artist during the period, among them the million-selling 1 title track and such major hits as "It Can't Be Wrong," "I'll Buy That Dream," "Together," "It Had to Be You" (the last three duets with Helen Forrest), and "It Might As Well Be Spring." But other equally big hits, such as "Long Ago (And Far Away)," "Till the End of Time," "Oh What It Seemed to Be," and "Put Your Arms Around Me, Honey (I Never Knew Any Girl Like You)," are missing (not to mention Haymes hits from after 1946), and half the tracks, while often worthy inclusions (such as "It's a Grand Night For Singing," a R...odgers and Hammerstein song that Haymes sang in the film State Fair, and "For You, For Me, For Evermore," a Gershwin song that Haymes sang in the film This Shocking Miss Pilgrim, here presented as a duet with Judy Garland), are not actually hits. Hence, this is not the ideal Haymes hits collection, though it does present some of his best and most popular material. The tracks contain a fair amount of surface noise, and there is a good, brief biographical essay.) - William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide Read more Less