Those who act cautious and wise, never have stars in their eyes...

Nothing says mellow more than Perry Como. There’s no edge. Hell, even Bing Crosby beat his kids to make himself “hard”. And this “laid-back” career of Como’s lasted from the 40’s to the 70’s, amassing a string of singles comparable to Sinatra. His first #1 came in 1945 with "Till The End Of Time", the advent of rock 'n' roll didn't stop Como's momentum immediately, placing top-10 pop songs throughout the 50s, leaving the 60s to fade and return briefly in the mellow early-70s with the one-two punch of "It's Impossible" and "And I Love You So" which entranced the Godfather-crowd. Perry managed to put 150 songs on the pop chart during his lifetime, which believe it or not is three short of Elvis himself! He had too many to fit on one compilation. But as opposed to Sinatra, who can be anthologized by record label (Columbia, Capitol, or Reprise), Como was RCA’s baby all the way. And until recently his CD availability has been scattered, with a three-disc box set and a single disc covering a ton of material. Lately, RCA (as well as oldies prints Collectables and Collector’s Choice) has been bringing out more of Perry’s music, anchored by a one and two-disc greatest hits sets that covers his major hits on the label. There also has been smaller CDs that focus on different aspects, with one of the better ones covering his 60’s period. The other, The Long Lost Hits of Perry Como, presents 24 mid-level hits from 1943 until the beginning of the “rock era” in 1955, with five top-10 songs and nothing below #25. As such, nothing here is definitive of his recordings of that time, with remakes of “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” (which is way corny) and a slowed down “Please Mr. Sun” instantly recognizable. The major “crank ‘em out” tunesmiths of the day are represented, from Loesser’s postwar lament “Have I Stayed Away Too Long” to Cole Porter’s simplistic “I Love You”. Jerome Kern’s “More And More” is an early highlight, and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “So Far” is an overlooked nugget, while its counterpart from the play Allegro, “A Fellow Needs A Girl”, is not as worthy. Warm songs like “Here Comes Heaven”, “On The Outgoing Tide”, and “All Through The Day” are nice, innocuous radio material, and “You Won’t Be Satisfied” and “Patricia” were more upbeat (for him). As the 50’s came in, Como’s output varied from the sweet serenades of “There Never Was A Night So Beautiful” and “All At Once You Love Her” to the ‘nice-guy’ hurt of “Fooled”, to the novelty fodder of “Pa-Paya Mama” and “Hit And Run Lover”. In fact, most of the album is easy-to-swallow, except for his attempts at silliness, such as “Bibbidi”, “Zing Zing Zoom Zoom”, and “Papaya-Mama”. His cardigan croon is unsuited for that kind of fluff. The best if the trio of songs at the end, with “There Never Was A Night So Beautiful” and “Fooled” complimentary songs that rank with his more notable hits. Mind you, The Long Lost Hits Of Perry Como isn’t going to be a revelation into the career of the man MAD-TV spoofed in “Perry Como: Still Alive!”. But for the most ardent fans of the crooner from Canonsburg, this set is a welcome completion piece.

Grade: C
Best Cuts: “There Never Was A Night So Beautiful”, “Fooled”, “More & More”
Weakest Links: “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”, “Zing Zing Zoom Zoom”, “Pa-paya Mama”

"Have I Stayed Too Long" hit #19 on the pop chart.
"I Love You" hit #12 on the pop chart.
"More And More" hit #14 on the pop chart.
"I'm Gonna Love That Gal" made #4 on the pop chart.
"That Feeling In The Moonlight" made #9 on the pop chart.
"Here Comes Heaven" made #12 on the pop chart.
"You Won't Be Satisfied" hit #5 on the pop chart.
"All Through The Day" hit #8 on the pop chart.
"So Far" hit #11 on the pop chart.
"A Fellow Needs A Gal" made #25 on the pop chart.
"Just One Way To Say I Love You" made #23 on the pop chart.
"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" made #14 on the pop chart.
"On The Outgoing Tide" hit #16 on the pop chart.
"Patricia" hit #7 on the pop chart.
"Zing Zing Zoom Zoom" hit #12 on the pop chart.
"Tulips and Heather" made #16 on the pop chart.
"Please Mr. Sun" made #12 on the pop chart.
"My Love And Devotion" made #19 on the pop chart.
"My Lady Loves To Dance" hit #19 on the pop chart.
"Pa-Paya Mama" hit #11 on the pop chart.
"Hit And Run Lover" hit #15 on the pop chart.
"There Never Was A Night So Beautiful" hit #21 on the pop chart.
"Fooled" made #20 on the pop chart.
"All At Once You Love Her" made #11 on the pop chart.

Listen: “Fooled” [Click here to listen]

Buy: You can pick up a copy of The Long Lost Hits Of Perry Como at sites like here and here.

And now for my niece, here's Perry singing "Tulips And Heather"...



Goodnight! Croon on in heaven, Perry!