Paul Anka

Times of Your Life: The Best of the '70s
$11.98
Paul Anka was one of the biggest teen stars of the 1950's but just as his early fame seemed to have faded, Anka had a creative renaissance in the 1970's. With four Top 10 smash hits in a in a one year period, Anka helped define Adult Contemporary music in the '70s. Paul Anka 'Best Of The 70s' captures all of his biggest hits of the era including the #1 '(You're) Having My Baby.'

21 Golden Hits
$7.99
Although it is true that some of these tracks made their way onto the air waves, as a former broadcaster, I always cringed when I had to play a cut off this album. Especially "Diana". We knew they weren't the originals and hoped the listeners wouldn't notice.

I'm don't even like the term "Newly Recorded" because some may think that means "remastered". I'll grant you it is cool when a company takes the old master tapes that were originally recorded in stereo but released back then in mono, and lets us here them for the first time in stereo.

Also, despite 21 songs, there are many hits missing such as "All of the Sudden, My Heart Sings", "Having my Baby", "The Times of Your Life", "I Believe there's Nothing Stronger than Our Love", on and on and on.

I'd recommend buying a cd with the originals and then supplementing any other desired pieces with the Amazon music downloader.

The Most of Paul Anka
$9.98
Paul Anka really has talent--he's still performing all these years after his first hits. His voice has always been excellent, strong and full of warmth; and his adoring fans love him for it.

"Diana" was clearly one of Paul's earliest hits; and his youthful voice is clear as a bell and very strong. Paul sings this love ode to his girl Diana with heart and soul. The musical arrangement has that 1960s teen pop flavor to it and this works very well. "You Are My Destiny" may sound slightly melodramatic but the more you listen to it you'll find it's truly a fine ballad. The backup vocalists support Paul well and he never sings a superfluous note.

"Put Your Head On My Shoulder" is a tremendously romantic slow dance tune that really shines as Paul sings it; he handles the tempo and key changes effortlessly and this impresses me. The backup vocalists help, too. "Puppy Love" is a number many people can relate to when they think of their first crush that was usually pooh-poohed by adults even though the teens felt it was true love. Moreover, listen for "The Story Of My Love." "The Story Of My Love" is a bouncy little tune that Paul sings sweetly; and I like the musical arrangement, too.

"Eso Beso" showcases a more mature Paul Anka singing a `70s style Latin ballad. "Eso Beso (That Kiss)" sounds great when Paul sings it and the melody is infectiously catchy.

The CD ends with two duets between Paul and Odia Coates; first they sing the tender "(You're) Having My Baby" which couldn't be better; and then they perform the pop tune with a slight country twist entitled "One Man Woman, One Woman Man." Great!

People point out that there really should be a two CD set edition of Paul's best work; and I agree with them. However, as a single disc collection this is one of the better ones at a very fair price. There are some numbers missing, of course, including "Hello Young Lovers;" "Love (Makes The World Go 'Round);" "In The Still Of The Night;" "Sincerely" and "My Way." This is a disappointment but I will take off only one star because a single disc retrospective only has so much room.

This is, overall, one of the better single CD retrospectives out there for Paul's fans to enjoy. People who want to become more familiar with Paul Anka and his magic would do well to buy this album.

Rock Swings
$18.98
I am a big fan of big band swing music, which is one reason I love this album. The music is great, horns, vocal; all working well together. My only complaint is that not much of the original melody or chord progression was ever used. About the only part of the original songs that is used are the lyrics. He's a little like Richard Cheese or Weird Al, but it's not comedy and you probably won't recognize the tune from the music alone. The lyrics are the only thing that gives that away.