The Four Seasons- The Later Better Years

If it weren’t for the play, Jersey Boys, the Four Seasons wouldn’t get much press nowadays. Last week I wrote about how odd that was.

Personally, I can’t listen to a lot of their stuff. For a long time, I lived in an area of North New Jersey mentioned in the play, Jersey Boys. At some point the band starts gigs there. By the time I was born, The Four Seasons were played on the “oldies” radio stations and they had albums in the stores. Even then, they weren’t worshipped as the band that made it. The local heroes.

Because their original albums were often a hit song and then filler, the albums found in stores were Greatest Hit compilations. Given that the band lasted so long, there were a lot of Greatest Hit compilations. They did try a concept album called “The Genuine Imitation of Life Gazette." It didn’t sell well. Too bad because it had a lot of good songs on it.

I can’t take Frankie Valli’s voice on those early songs. That high-pitched screeching on “Big Girls Don’t Cry” is so off-putting. Really want to hate this band? Listen to what they did to “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.” At the time in the 1960s, everyone covered Bob Dylan. This version is a screeching mess.

I wish I could like those early songs like “Sherry.” The harmony is tight. The drummers are incredible. The instrument mix has just the right hint of echo to complete the fullness. Bob Crewe was a master producer.

Apparently Valli hits puberty around age 30 and he gets bass in his voice. The late 1960s songs are much more enjoyable. “Working My Way Back to You" is a much easier song to like. The harmony is always tight, the voices mix better. I love the guitar and tambourine intro of “C’mon Marianne.” "Electric Stories" is interesting. Let’s even go into the 1970s. "Swearing to God" is a fun disco-light song.

I know some people reading this are furious how I characterize those early years. The big hits for sales happened in the early 1960s. The hits got fewer in the later 1960s and those are the better years. I still have favorites songs all these years later, not because I still live in that region of New Jersey and have to like them. There was a lot of reasons why they went into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame when it still had some credibility.