Track Listing

1. I'm on the Outside (Looking In)
2. Goin' Out of My Head
3. Hurt So Bad
4. Take Me Back [Single Version]
5. I Miss You So
6. Hurt
7. Better Use Your Head
8. Gonna Fix You Good (Everytime You're Bad)
9. It's Not the Same
10. Out of Sight, Out of Mind
11. Ten Commandments of Love
12. Help Me Find a Way (To Say I Love You)
13. "Careful Driving" Spot [#]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #240218 in Music
• Released on: 1996-05-28
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
According to Bob Dylan, "rock & roll ended with Little Anthony and the Imperials," an odd comment considering that the group continued performing long after he made his observation. Dylan got one thing right: the Imperials' vocal mastery expressed something essential to the soul of rock & roll. Along with the Monotones, the Dells, and the Moonglows, Anthony Gourdine's quintet (later a quartet) was an exemplar of the golden age of doo-wop at its most heart-wrenching. Their signature tunes--"Tears on My Pillow," "Going Out of My Head," "Two People in the World," "Wishful Thinking," and "Hurt So Bad"--are nothing less than majestic. This ample and thoughtfully composed Rhino compilation belongs in every home. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews

Here is a CD you'll listen to again and again....guaranteed!
Recently, I was watching one of T.J. Lubinsky's sensational "American Soundtrack" shows on PBS. Much to my surprise the group that blew me away that evening was Little Anthony and the Imperials. Watching that program caused me to pull out this CD for the first time in quite a while. I had forgotten what a terrific vocalist Anthony Gourdine really was. And his appearance on the PBS special made it clear that after more than 40 years in the business this guy has not lost it one bit. This collection from Rhino offers up around a dozen tracks from the groups early days at George Goldner's End records. Among the pick of this litter are the groups first major hit "Tears On My Pillow" from 1958 as well as an impassioned version of Neil Sedaka's "The Diary". And though the song never made the charts, many consider "Two People In The World", the flip side of "Tears On My Pillow" to be the groups best effort. The group disbanded in 1962 and Little Anthony went off searching for the Holy Grail of a solo career.
But it was not to be. Little Anthony and the Imperials would reunite in 1964 and surface at Don Costa's DCP records. Here the group would team up with producer Teddy Randazzo to make some of finest pop records of that period. To this day, "Hurt So Bad" is still one of my all-time favorite records. Little Anthony also exhibits his considerable vocal prowess on several other hits from that period including "Goin' Out Of My Head", "I'm On The Outside (Looking In)" as well as the haunting "Take Me Back". After listening to this CD I am confident that you will agree with me that there is not a bad song to be found. Extensive liner notes make this CD an even better buy. Highly recommended.

Brooklyn Boys Do Good...What Else?
I guess i'm kind of partial to groups from Brooklyn, maybe because I was born there too. This is the best compilation of hits by Little Anthony & The Imperials I've heard. Nine out of the eighteen tracks are in true stereo, have you ever heard "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop" in stereo, it's like you were there. It includes all their early material as well as those beautiful Teddy Randazzo productions from the mid sixties, although I would've perferred a stereo version of "I'm On The Outside Looking In", the mono version is just as beautiful. I've seen Little Anthony perform many times and not so long ago, the man still got it. Rhino records did a fantastic job with this release.

You don't remember me, but I remember you.
Little Anthony and the Imperials were an R&B vocal group from Brooklyn. They started their recording career with End Records, for which they had the silly, lightweight hits "Tears on My Pillow" and "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop" (Little Anthony himself has said he hates these songs). Then, after several years without any more hits, they signed with DCP Records and adopted a more mature sound. They had five hits with DCP(the last five songs on this CD), the best of which is the sublime "Goin' Out of My Head". This is a decent CD, but it focuses too much on the silly songs they recorded for End Records, most of which weren't even hits.