The Ultimate Collection

Believe it or not, even the 62 songs squeezed onto this two-CD set don't quite cover all the material Freddie & the Dreamers released in the 1960s. But while this might not be the "Ultimate Collection" — it would be necessary to wait for the unlikely prospect of a Freddie & the Dreamers box set for that to happen — it is indeed the most comprehensive CD anthology of the British Invasion band. The first disc has the A-sides and B-sides of 16 of their 1963-1969 U.K. singles; the second disc has 30 "album tracks, EPs & rarities" from 1963-1966, though one of these, "Do the Freddie," was actually the group's sole Top 20 hit in the U.S. besides "I'm Telling You Now." Whether you need so much Freddie & the Dreamers, even if you're a die-hard British Invasion fan, is more of an open question. All of their U.K. and U.S. hits, and a good share of their best non-hit sides, are on the 25-song single-disc compilation The Very Best of Freddie & the Dreamers. Sure, this more extensive anthology has a few additional OK B-sides and stray tracks in the quasi-Merseybeat style, à la "Feel So Blue," "Don't Do That to Me," and "How's About Trying Your Luck with Me" (the latter an obscure Gerry Goffin-Carole King tune). But it also has some forgettable 45s (particularly from the latter part of their career, including their final U.K. chart entry, the odd 1965 country-pop detour "Thou Shalt Not Steal") and way too many mediocre rock & roll oldies covers. It's also unfortunate that the liner notes don't detail the exact source of each track, other than giving a date of release. In a strange way, such an extensive collection does reinforce their credentials as a legitimate rock band, rather than a novelty act, as they did write much of their own material, and played it fairly straight (if fairly lame) on the same kind of American rock & roll covers being ground out by more respected British Invasion acts. Most fans, however, will be more than satisfied with a more selective single-disc best-of.