Details : Originally Released March 25, 2003\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Ritchie Valens was only 17 when he died in 1959. His musical legacy rests on about an album-and-a-half of completed studio material, a poorly recorded high school concert, and a handful of demos and rehearsal tapes, all of which present a problem for collections of this sort. If you include a full disc's worth of music, you need to dip into unfinished or badly recorded material, which is a quality issue. On the other hand, if you only include finished studio projects, then you've got an extremely brief sequence on your hands. In the particular case of Valens, who had no real time to refine or develop his obvious talents, less is best, and that's the route taken by the makers of this anthology. It includes Valens' big hit, "La Bamba," its flip side, "Donna" (which was actually the A-side, but "La Bamba" has emerged over time as Valens' signature tune), a halting, beautiful version of "Bluebirds Over the Mountain," and the oddly haunting "In a Turkish Town." The sound here is as good as you're going to get it, making this compilation an excellent purchase if you want to hear this young musician at his best. Collectors and serious fans should probably pick up one of the longer anthologies, since the demos and unfinished tracks most of them feature are certainly interesting, if hardly essential. -- Steve Leggett\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nThe best single-disc Ritchie Valens collection, March 5, 2005\nReviewer: M. McM "AOTT-TMF" (Los Angeles, CA)\nThere's been a number of Ritchie Valens re-issues over the years, but for most, one solid disc should do the trick. THIS is the disc. Valens only had three, maybe four hits, the best being "La Bamba," "Donna," and "Come On Let's Go," and you get all that here plus every good studio recording he cut during his short career. \n\nAs everyone says, this is a hybrid SACD so it'll play on all CD players, and those with SACD players are treated to a hi-resolution DSD mastering with even better sound. BUT, I've got to warn you, these are NOT hi-fidelity recordings. Still, these were taken from the best tapes, and this is the best they will ever sound. \n\nAs for the complaints regarding 'bad' sound, first of all, these were originally recorded in MONO. No true stereo mixes will ever exist from these recordings. \n\nSome recommended the soundtrack to the 1980's "La Bamba" movie, or recalled that the music sounded better on that soundtrack. It's not a bad CD, but those are RE-RECORDINGS. The great L.A. band Los Lobos were asked to re-record Ritchie Valens's recordings for that film, and their new recordings were used for the soundtrack. Los Lobos's re-recordings were recorded on better studio equipment in stereo, thirty years after the fact. THAT is why they sound a lot better. In other words, they are not the originals, so if you want to hear the original versions done by Ritchie himself, THIS disc by Audio Fidelity is the one to get.\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nAmazing Sounding CD!!, June 25, 2003\nReviewer: Jamie Tate (Hermitage, TN United States)\nThis is THE set to buy if you want Ritchie Valens. The disc was mastered directly from the original master tapes and the sound of the disc is the sound of the tapes. No compression, no crappy noise reduction, no inflated EQ. It certainly has the breath of life and is one of the most impressive sounding Valens collections ever.\nIt was do with the help of Ritchie's original producer. The word 'Definitive' should be used in describing this set.\n\nHalf.com Album Credits\nBob Keane, Producer\n\n\nAlbum Notes\nThis is a Hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.\nPersonnel includes: Ritchie Valens (vocals, guitar).\nRecorded at Gold Star Studios, Los Angeles, California.
