Marty Wilde
's legacy hasn't been treated as well as those of his contemporaries
Cliff Richard
and
Billy Fury
. All of
Richard
's albums and singles, and even a good measure of important outtakes, have appeared on CD, and
Fury
's early LPs and singles have been reissued in more than one multi-CD set. Until
BGO
released this compilation of
Wilde
's first two LPs on one CD, the only source for his material was a poorly annotated anthology. This two-LP-on-one-CD collection makes up for some of that lack of attention, not only presenting the best part of his early recording career in the best possible manner but also displaying the full range of his talent -- the presence of
Big Jim Sullivan
and other top session players made his records as good as anything coming out of England before
the Beatles
, and he's still worth hearing four decades later, on
"Bad Boy"
obviously, but just as much on
"Endless Sleep,"
"A Teenager in Love,"
"Sea of Love,"
"High School Confidential,"
"Blue Moon of Kentucky,"
"Love of My Life,"
and especially,
"All American Boy."
~ Bruce Eder