Released in conjunction with the Clint Eastwood film, Jersey Boys: Music From The Motion Picture And Broadway Musical is a 25-song mix of the best songs recorded by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, featured alongside recordings by cast members from both the film and the stage musical.
“December ‘63 (Oh, What A Night)” has those amazing vocals from drummer Gerry Polci, while the sweeping ballad, “My Mother’s Eyes,” will have you wondering just how Frankie Valli was able to sing so clear and so high! “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” features John Lloyd Young, who played Valli in the Broadway musical and film, mastering an equally sky-high register. He sails even higher on “Moody’s Mood For Love.”
Erich Bergen, who plays the Four Seasons’ singer and keyboardist Bob Gaudio, is very Neil Sedaka-like on “Cry For Me,” with Young hitting the highs in the background. “Big Man In Town” thrives on big production and the original “Beggin’,” a mover that reached #16 on the charts in 1967, sounds damn good. Another original, “C’mon Marianne,” has impossible-to-ignore harmony vocals, a steady rhythm guitar and a snappy snare.
Actors Young, Bergen, Michael Lomenda (as Nick Massi) and Vincent Piazza (as Tommy DeVito) do an admirable job on lead and backing vocals. Unless you were a stone cold Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons fan, you probably wouldn’t know the difference on a lot of the songs. An A/B test between the “new” and “original” “Sherry” is easier to peg from the production not the performance. But when it comes down to songs like “Dawn (Go Away)” and “Rag Doll,” Jersey Boys: Music From The Motion Picture And Broadway Musical couldn’t leave off the definitive versions by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
