Very Best of

And so my search continues for the unknown pop of the 60s.I won't waste time repeating prior reviews. The Four Pennies released this material from 1963-1966. Unfortunately, it's a complete mystery why a company would go to so much trouble to put the cuts in a non chronological order. Sometimes this only affects purists like me. This time, however, it's beyond annoying. It's jarring. The material is gentle merseybeat with the early ballads sounding like a Roy Orbison cover band, although they do a decent job with Running Scared. They also do an interesting version of Leadbelly's Black Girl. These are mixed with upbeat pop. And in proper parlance, all the songs have spot on harmonies. The shame is there were so few songs recorded beyond 1964, because the '65 and '66 material is superior. This is the reason I could only give this CD 3 stars. But since the price is almost always cheap it is worth owning. The sound quality is very good.Keeping with the CDs tracks, it took until song #13 (Square Peg) before I sat up and took notice. This could have fit on a Monkees album. Even if it is weirdly short. Besides this I would recommend Keep the Freeway Open, and Way Out Love. Last but not least, there is a gem of a song here, Trouble is My Middle Name, that is so good it was worth every cent. It's like Bobby Vee meets The Fortunes. This song got stuck in my head for almost three weeks.Happy listening!

I had never heard of the British Singing Group for the 1950's called "The Four Pennies" until I saw them a few weeks ago on an old movie and liked what I heard. Very underrated group and the music is really good.

I got it promptly on time. And it's a very good cd. I like old music so that's why I got it. And it's an old group that I like.

the Four Pennies are one of the leading vocal groups in the 1960's, deffenatly [unsencered word removed] over the Kingston Treo! their music is gental to listen to. if you want ballads, they've got them. from the likes of "Juliette", "Now That We're Through" and their cover of Roy Orbison's "Running Scared", not to mention "I Found Out the Hard Way". back to "Running Scared", it is a very tricky song to sing, and these guies belt it out of the ballpark. the Four Pennies do rock and roll as well. for example, "Tell Me Girl" and "Do You Want Me Too". all fast rockers in deed! for pop fans, there's their cover of Bobby Vinton's "Trouble Is My Middle Name" and "Way Out Love". the Four Pennies were amazing. in the mid 1990's, Spectrum Audio of the UK put out a series of budget priced "Verry Best of", and this CD is part of the series. I've enjoyed every one of these "Verry Best of CD's" including Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Dave Berry, the Merseybeats, and the Casuals. if you enjoy the music of the Bachelors, maybe you'll enjoy this CD, "the Verry Best of the Four Pennies". I would also like to point out that all these "Verry Best of" CD's are reissues of some CD's called "World of". this particular release is a reissue of "The World of the Four Pennies". strangely, there are no Four Pennies songs played on the radio, but I once heard "Juliette", but it was a re-recorded version. this CD contains all the original Philips recordings. the 4 page insert gives a detailed history of this talented group. I would like to collect some vintage British pennies and glue them to the cover of this CD and put it on display. whenever I mention this band to my Uncle, he mentions another band called "the 50 Cent Pieces" or the "Two Dollar Coins" as a joke. I love the Four Pennies. I would even use their [unsencered word removed] for toothpaste.

This is a british group from 1965 that unfortunately never made it out of England unlike the Beatles, Stones , Kinks, and Hollies which is unfortunate because they weren't that bad. I would encourage people to give them a listen and find out for themselves.

Chart history records that the Four Pennies had six hits but the only one that they are widely remembered for is Juliet, a plaintive ballad that made number one in the UK charts in 1964. On the chart now most widely used, Juliet only stayed at the top for one week, being knocked off the top by Cilla Black's You're my world.The line-up was Lionel Morton (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Fritz Fryer (vocals, guitar), Mike Wilsh (vocals, bass) and Alan Buck (drums). A complete chronological list of their UK hits reads Do you want me to, Juliet, I found out the hard way, Black girl, Until it's time for you to go, Trouble is my middle name.Juliet was the best song they ever recorded, but the rest of the CD is certainly worth a listen. The Four Pennies wrote most of their own material (including Juliet) but they also recorded a few covers, three of which were hits for them. On this collection, you can hear their versions of Black girl (Leadbelly), If you love me (Edith Piaf), Running scared (Roy Orbison), No sad songs for me (written by Tom Springfield - Dusty's brother who achieved success as producer of the Seekers - this song will be familiar to Sandy Denny fans), Trouble is my middle name (Bobby Vinton) and Until it's time for you to go (Buffy Sainte-Marie), together with three other songs (Keep the freeway open, San Francisco Bay, Sweeter than you) whose origin escapes me. The other songs are all originals.After the group disbanded, Lionel Morton maintained a public profile of sorts (at least for a while) by marrying actress Julia Foster, by presenting the BBC children's TV show Playschool and by performing in local productions of musicals such as Hair, Owl and the Pussycat, Jesus Christ Superstar and West Side Story. Despite all this, I don't think the name Lionel Morton would register with many people these days.People think of the Four Pennies as a one-hit wonder. With six hits, four of which made the UK top twenty, they were more than that, so if you are a committed fan of sixties music, give them a listen. But if you only want Juliet, that song appears regularly on British various artist compilations of sixties music.

I LOVE 60's music I REALLY do......I was a small child when the 4 Pennies first single hit and ONLY No1 "Juliet"(April 64) was released/They only had 6 hits altogether.... 'I found out the hard way' (Jul 64) No14..... 'Black Girl' (Oct 64) No20.... and my two favourites on this excellent CD " "Until Its time for you to go"(Oct 65) No 19 and "Trouble is middle name" Feb 66 No32. Their last single and hit " Until....." makes me cry every time I hear it... Its haunting beautiful AND sad all at the same time. I LOVE that song. I love this group. Like most 60's Bands they were not around for a long time and the sadness that us a fans WE get older with them.....LIke most 60's Bands they have lost at least one member of the band .Fritz the Guitarist died in 2007 with Cancer. I must be honest that I only bought this for 'Juliet' and "Until its time' Oh what a surprise...EVERY Track on this CD is good and there are 20 tracks to enjoy and you WILL enjoy everyone ....trust me. Recommend ( NB You can not go wrong with ANY band from the 60's!)

This was an all time great group which never reached the great heights they should have despite having a No 1 which was a really great song and they performed excellently their next single Black Girl was also excellent but did not do as well as it should have they were an excellent group but sadly went down as 1 hit wonders but in my opinion they should have been up there with the other great ones, good musicians and singers.

Surprised that the group were not more popular. Musically more than acceptable and their harmonies outstanding. Their style is reminiscent of a mix of Billy Fury and the Searchers but loses nothing with that comparison. All their hits are covered as well as their lesser known tracks. If you like sixties music in a gentler style than you can't go wrong with this CD.

l was really surprised when l played it l've known the four pennies for around 55yrs andnever heard the range in voices l can't stop playing it

My old copy of the "Juliet" single attracted me to this compilation. Oddly enough, as the label on the single reveals, "Juliet" started out as the b-side. The a-side was "Tell Me Girl", a beaty number that I much prefer. So, I was a little disappointed to find that most of the songs on the compilation were aimed more at repeating the success of "Juliet", a somewhat archaic ballad. Nevertheless, this is a collection which reveals a band prepared to dip into different styles and arrangements and the majority of the songs are their own."Square Peg", for instance, is a lush recording reminiscent of The Searchers and The Byrds, while "Miss Bad Daddy" is an uptempo song that features a complex harmony vocal arrangement. Indeed, harmonies are a prominent feature of the band's style, alternating with Lionel Morton's solo vibrato. "You Went Away" is another highlight, mainly because of its striking melody.The outside material is of mixed quality. Their version of Leadbelly's "Black Girl" is polished, as is the Buffy St Marie song, "Until It's Time For You To Go". On the other hand, attempting a cover of any Roy Orbison hit, in this case "Running Scared", is asking for trouble. "No Sad Songs For Me" however, despite the Mantovani-like strings, works because of the solid, low-register harmonies.Overall, this is a generally mild collection of pop songs, some of which sounds dated even for the 1960s. It also contains too many syrupy ballads for my liking, but there are still several gems left over. Not one of the first CDs to obtain in building up a collection of music from that era then, but worth considering later.