Very Best of Richie Valens

I have this collection, but under the title "Rockin' All Night" on Del-Fi and it is a bit shorter, but has all of RV's best work.In 1959, shortly after THE CRASH, I bought Richie's only existing LP on vinyl. I wore it out and eventually gave it away, so I was glad to find this compilation on CD a couple of years ago. I have always been a great Buddy Holly fan, and have everything he ever recorded. However, when you listen to this album and realize that Ritchie was not yet l8 when he died, you conclude that we lost a musical genius who, if he had lived, may well have surpassed Buddy in his influence on rock and roll. Ritchie had IT, whatever IT is...poetry, soul, passion, charisma. Of course, "La Bamba" and "Donna" are the great hits of his brief lifetime, but "In a Turkish Town" and "Malaguena" show the promise of an adult, accomplished, self-confident RV that alas, was never to be realized. This is a fine collection, and essential to...Read more

Good CD, but even better is the Ritchie Valens Story. It has Bob Keane doing wonderful naration of Ritchie's recording history and life. As far as "Bluebirds Over the Mountain," that is not the song that comes over the radio when you learn of Ritchie's death in the movie La Bamba. The song interrupted by the radio bulletin is "Over the Mountain and Across the Sea" performed by Johnnie and Joe.

Great album to hear Valens best for the first time or to relive his music for the millionth time!