Comments on: Gaudio and Valli Reflect on The 4 Seasons and Jersey Boys

By: Ted Hammond

Ted Hammond — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:22:35 +0000

This thread and “The Four Seasons Dinstinctive Sound” have alluded to the Longines Symphonette compilation from 1974. There is the saying “the darkest hour is just before dawn”, but in this case, not “Dawn” but “My Eyes Adored You”. Just when it appeared there would be no new hits for FV4S, Longines Symphonette came out with this definitive compilation. Also as we have seen, FV4S started to get serious professional musical acclaim, partly because of their intricate arrangements, and partly because of Frankie Valli’s timeless standard release in 1967, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”. The Longines Symphonette Society had always gravitated toward what was called “Good Music” in the 1960s, the standards and classics. That was another stunning moment for me with the Longines release, the first true Pop-Rock group so released. While David’s surfers from California and bugs from Britain may have overrehearsed and overrecorded their way to polished Rock and Roll critical acclaim, the Seasons had a musical substance that far outlasted “Yesterday”.

By: Mari Gaines

Mari Gaines — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 01:31:27 +0000

Frankie Valli and Four Seasons you have yet another no.1 fan who is not afraid to listen(very loud) to your music, which is the best…..I was born in the 70′s and i thank you for still singing frankie, and bob for writing and producing….Thanks for all the great music….LOVE IT!!!! Jersey Boys is awesome, now i only wished i lived in that era…..Keep safe Love you guys…….

By: Ted Hammond

Ted Hammond — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:25:48 +0000

Thanks for all your “amplification”, David, Bob, Len, Ray, and Marty.

I can’t remember where I read this, perhaps on another thread here, but “Saturday’s Father” is also a favorite of Berry Gordy, Jr.’s and he reportedly would play it at meetings back in the day. Perhaps it led to him signing FV4S when other labels had written them off in the early 1970s, not that they were promoted that much by Motown.

It is interesting that in some FV4S compilations, the Right and Left Channels on some tracks seem to be basically reversed. The Left and Right ears may hear things a little differently, so it sometimes sounds surprisingly different. Another listening trick is to reverse the headphones and listen for the difference.

By: Len Gersten

Len Gersten — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:49:54 +0000

It was nice reading all the wonderful comments submitted by Ted, David, Bob, Marty and Ray to this JBB post. I, too, am a long-time fan who has never been shy about my enjoyment of the music of Frankie Valli and The 4 Seasons from the time I “discovered” their “sound” in the early seventies right up to the more-recent releases. I’ve always played their recordings in my car, at parties, while at college in my dorm room, when my wife and I got married (“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” was our wedding song), as background music at barbecues, all the while advocating the virtues of the music. I own many of their original album releases (from the ’60′s and early ’70′s purchased at used record stores, flea markets, and the like; from the “Longines Symphonette Society Presents The Greatest Hits of Frankie Valli and The Fabulous Four Seasons,” “Who Loves You,” and “Frankie Valli Closeup” releases on, all store-bought items. Although I regularly listen to a broad-range of musical styles and peformers, I constantly rotate in different releases from my favorite musical act. I have to admit that with the huge success of “Jersey Boys” on Broadway, around the country and, now, around the world, people seem to be more accepting and even more appreciative of this music. Definitely, a welcomed change as well as a well-deserved recognition. One final note, I will have to employ some of the “tricks” both Ted and Bob suggested when playing these recordings to try and discover some new “sounds” that I did not know existed on some of these old tunes!

By: Bob Nelson

Bob Nelson — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:05:20 +0000

thank you everyone for your comments. Great to know I wasn’t the only one getting beat up for standing up for the 4 Seasons all those years. Ted, I did and still do the equalizer and harmonic balance trick to this day. I used to enjoy it with head phones on as well. One thing I will never forget was an Atlantic City concert. We were jammed in an elevator with a group of people all our age, and each one told a story how they follow Frankie and the Seasons all over, never tiring of the music or the sound of Frankie Valli. My skeptic wife and her brother ,long time Beach Boy fans did not have a word to say that night. I really believe their music will live on for many many years and it should be put back on the air ,have a station play the 18 minute version of Swearin’ to GOD or like I mentioned before play songs from GILG and see what happens. Jersey Boys started a new era, let’s keep it going.