Two Classic Albums from The Four Freshmen Voices In Love/Love Lost

This is the kind of album you want to play on a rainy night when you have a full bottle of wine, and a heart full of "first love" memories. Memories like the first time you went on a REAL date. The first time you kissed that special one. The first time you fell in love. The first time you couldn't sleep because you were filled with that love, mind, body and soul. And, of course, the first time you went 'all the way.'This album also covers those other firsts, too. The first time you were turned down for a date. The first time you couldn't sleep because the rejection hurt so bad. The first time your whole insides were shredded and bleeding after a heart-crushing breakup, a breakup that you did NOT want. The first time you were crazy in love with someone who diddled with your heart like it was a cheap, throwaway toy.But besides all that, this is an all-around excellent album, all 70+ minutes. Even though the two albums included on this one CD were recorded in the late 50s, early 60s, the sound quality is very good indeed, and the four blended voices of the Freshmen sound just as good as they did when you heard them for the first time. The orchestrations are lush and mellow, with just the right amount of strings, and the delicate touch of a celeste. The arrangements by Dick Reynolds are beautiful. The bass line is full and solid. And the intricate and incredible harmonies for which the Freshmen were justifiably praised, are just about flawless. You can even hear the breath intakes between phrases, the reproduction is that good.The selection of songs all came from what is now known as The Great American Songbook. The Gershwins, Rodgers & Hart, Loesser, Arlen, the list goes on and on. Every song on this double dose of memories is a standard that is known by nearly everyone over the age of 30. And they're beauties, every single one of them.In addition to the four fabulous voices, this album also presents its share of brief but meaningful instrumental solos, played by the Freshmen themselves. Bob Flanigan, who sings the high tenor line, also handles the trombone solos. The man on the bass line, Ken Albers, shares the very nice--edgy but warm--trumpet solos with Ross Barbour. Ross's brother, Don Barbour, plays the quiet and unobtrusive guitar lines.Here are just a few of the heart-tugging situations recreated by this beautiful album:Loving someone who doesn't love you.Feeling the bonfire of love turn into a tiny pile of cold, grey ash.Trying to make yourself believe you don't love someone, when you KNOW you do.Losing that one true love, a loss that steals away all of life's meaning.Kicking yourself for letting that once-in-a-lifetime love slip through your fingers.And appreciating a love that truly does last a whole lifetime.In their heyday, the Four Freshmen made a lot of albums. But if you want to buy just one of them, this two-fer is the one to get. It's classic Freshmen, all the way.Russ Heitz

If you love the songs on Voices in Love and Love Lost, this is the version to get. Some of the other versions on Amazon (the single-album digital downloads) have their sound quality marred by either pitch-shifting or bad remastering. But this version sounds beautiful!In "Now You Know: The Story of the Four Freshmen", founding member Ross Barbour says that Voices in Love was inspired by the recent success of Jackie Gleason's For Lovers Only album, which he described as "smooth, mellow, and smoochy". The Freshmen came up with the idea to do something similar, but with voices instead of instrumental, and using strings instead of horns for a more relaxed sound. Barbour also says that even though Five Trombones was their most popular album, many fans told them that Voices in Love was their favorite.Interestingly, in his description of Love Lost, Barbour says that it has vocal interludes between the songs to change from one key to another and tie the songs together. I initially thought they had cut those interludes out of this version, but they must be the "ooo-ooo-ooo" sections at the beginnings of the songs. I had wondered about those! The interludes were written by Dick Reynolds (the arranger and conductor) once Capitol set the song order of the album, and recorded separately a few days after the songs themselves.

Two Classic Albums from The Four Freshmen: "Voices In Love" & "Love Lost" are quite simply the essence of romance, and in my opinion, some of the most beautiful Jazz you will ever hear. No wonder Brian Wilson fell in love with the Freshmen sound & channeled the inspiration he received from it , to influence the Beach Boy 's sound. This is a wonderful 2 album cd, beautifully recorded, packaged & priced. Nothing less than perfection throughout. Most highly recommended.

The Four Freshmen dropped Love Lost in June 11 1959. The last song on the album is Little Girl Blue. Brian Wilson was 17 at the time of release.

Well done. This is the second generation "The Four Freshmen". Very good, of course, no one could do it better than the originals but very good.

As always, to me the 4 Freshmen I one of the best singing groups to step on the earth.

i owned both of these albums back in the sixties and was happy to see that they are now available on one cd . i have always believed that these two albums were the freshmen's best and i would recommend them both to anyone who appreciates what real music is supposed to sound like . no cacaphony , no screaming , no vulgarities, no unintelligble lyrics , just real music with the classic four freshmen open harmony sound. outstanding ........

One of my favorite groups and was received in good condition so happy with my selection - keep up the good work.

This performance is enjoyable but you may not rush to play it again.The selection really needs a few more up-tempo items. Everything is well arranged and well sung but the backing is lush full orchestra recorded in too resonant an acoustic for me. Better for a drier sound so that the crispness of the singing can show up more distinctly. In addition there are a few songs that have not really survived, being pop songs of their day. Pleasant but not earth-shaking.

内容は悪くないのですが、かけた瞬間音がよくないと感じました。キャピトルはこんなぼけた音じゃないはずです。同時期の And Five Guitars は素晴らしい音で録れています。同じ Collectors' Choice レーベルで再発された Sammy Davis Jr と Laurindo Almeida のアルバム（名録音で知られる）の評価もイマイチでした。この再発レーベルでは低品質のマスターを使っているのではないかと思います。キャピトルからの正規のリイシューとは違うようなので要注意です。