Back to Mono (1958-1969) [Box] by Phil Spector (CD, Nov-1991, 4 Discs, ABKCO Records)

Album Features
UPC:	018771711827
Artist:	Phil Spector
Format:	CD
Release Year:	1991
Record Label:	ABKCO Records
Genre:	Girl Groups, Oldies
Number Of Discs:	4

Track Listing
DISC 1:
1. To Know Him Is to Love Him
2. Corrine, Corrina
3. Spanish Harlem
4. Pretty Little Angel Eyes
5. Every Breath I Take
6. I Love How You Love Me
7. Under the Moon of Love
8. There's No Other Like My Baby
9. Uptown
10. He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)
11. He's a Rebel
12. Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah
13. Puddin' N' Tain
14. He's Sure the Boy I Love
15. Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts
16. Boy I'm Gonna Marry, The (Today I Met)
17. Da Doo Ron Ron
18. Heartbreaker
19. Why Don't Let Us Fall in Love
20. Chapel of Love
21. Not Too Young to Get Married
22. Wait til My Bobby Gets Home
23. All Grown Up

DISC 2:
1. Be My Baby
2. Then He Kissed Me
3. Fine, Fine Boy, A
4. Baby, I Love You
5. I Wonder
6. Girls Can Tell
7. Little Boy
8. Hold Me Tight
9. Breakin' up, (The Best Part of)
10. Soldier Baby of Mine
11. Strange Love
12. Stumble and Fall
13. When I Saw You
14. So Young
15. Do I Love You?
16. Keep on Dancing
17. You, Baby
18. Woman in Love (With You)
19. Walking in the Rain

DISC 3:
1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
2. Born to Be Together
3. Just Once in My Life
4. Unchained Melody
5. Is This What I Get For Loving You?
6. Long Way to Be Happy
7. For Sentimental Reasons, (I Love You)
8. Ebb Tide
9. This Could Be the Night
10. Paradise
11. River Deep-Mountain High
12. I'll Never Need More Than This
13. Love Like Yours, A (Don't Come Knockin' Everyday)
14. Save the Last Dance For Me
15. I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine
16. You Came, You Saw, You Conquered
17. Black Pearl
18. Love Is All I Have to Give

DISC 4: A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOU:
1. White Christmas
2. Frosty the Snowman
3. Bells of St. Mary, The
4. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
5. Sleigh Ride
6. Marshmallow World
7. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
8. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
9. Winter Wonderland
10. Parade of the Wooden Soldiers
11. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
12. Here Comes Santa Claus
13. Silent Night

Details
Playing Time:	173 min.
Contributing Artists:	Darlene Love, The Crystals, The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes
Producer:	Phil Spector, Larry Levine
Distributor:	Universal Distribution
Recording Type:	Studio
Recording Mode:	Mono
SPAR Code:	n/a

Album Notes
Performers include: The Ronettes, The Crystals, Darlene Love, The Righteous Brothers.A collection of 73 tracks spanning the years 1958-1969. Most of the tracks, including the entire classic A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOU (included here) were originally released on Philles Records. The set was digitally remastered for mono by Phil Spector and Philles original engineer, Larry Levine. The package comes in a 12" x 12" box with a 96-page booklet containing the complete lyrics and track-by-track annotation.At the time Back to Mono was released in 1991, Phil Spector's reputation as one of pop's great visionaries was intact, but there was no way to hear his genius. It wasn't just that there were no collections spotlighting his productions, there weren't collections of artists he produced. It wasn't until Back to Mono that there was a thorough overview of Spector's greatest work, and while it's not without flaws, it still stands as one of the great box sets. Some may complain that there are no selections from his superstar '70s productions for John Lennon, George Harrison, Leonard Cohen, and the Ramones, but that's for the best, since their presence would have been incongruous, taking attention away from the music that forms the heart of Spector's legacy. All of that music is here, not just on the first three discs, all devoted to singles, but also on the fourth disc, his seminal 1963 holiday album, A Christmas Gift for You, which isn't just the greatest rock Christmas album, but a crystallization of his skills. It could be argued that the song selection overlooks some obscure fan favorites, such as "Do the Screw," but that's simply nitpicking, because what's here are all the great Spector records, which were hardly just great productions, they were great songs as well. As the set plays, it's hard not to be stunned by the depth of the material and clarity of Spector's vision for his famed Wall of Sound, whether you've heard these songs hundreds of times or not at all -- especially because they gain power when grouped together. Many producers have been credited as the true creative force behind many rock records, but usually that's hyperbole. In Spector's case, it wasn't, as this set gloriously proves. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Editorial Reviews
5 Stars - Classic - ...Spector's genius was for matching voice to material...
Q (19911201)

...the master of the Wall Of Sound... one of the few box sets whose existence is justified more by merit than marketing... - Rating: A+
Entertainment Weekly (19911108)

5 Stars - Classic - ...Spector brought a grand, ennobling passion to the teen love song and a soaring, sonic architecture to teen dance music....his style has been enormously influential, but his achievement remains unique...
Rolling Stone (19911128)

Ranked #64 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time
Rolling Stone (20031211)

Featuring] not just the Ronettes' and the Crystals' incomparable street operettas, but Wagner-scale emotion from Gene Pitney to Ike and Tina, as well.
Spin