Four Seasons Gold Vault Of Hits CD

A well-programmed, if necessarily incomplete (only 12 tracks) best-of by one of the great critically underappreciated bands of the '60s. The song selection splits the difference between the Season's pure pop side (the often covered "Silence Is Golden," "Let's Hang On") and their more socially relevant material, including working-class realist epics like "Rag Doll: and "Dawn (Go Away)" that on both the musical and lyrical level were tremendous unacknowledged influences on Bruce Springsteen. If you prefer the pure pop stuff, however, there's no need to apologize; in fact, thanks to Seasons songwriter Bob Gaudio's infectious tunes, lead singer Frankie Valli's seemingly helium-induced falsetto, and Bob Crewe's psychedelically vivid productions, one can make a reasonable case that some of the stuff here is the purest pop music ever made.