Valli, Frankie
Closeup
Rare & Collectible Vinyl Records

1975 Original Still In Shrink. “Closeup Is Singer Frankie Valli Again Finding The Magic Without The Four Seasons, This Time In The '70s With Two Big Hits In Two Different Genres. The Album Is Very, Very Good, And In A Roundabout Way Is A Great Example Of Why Clive Davis Worked Wonders With Bell Records When He Turned It Into Arista. Former Bell President Larry Uttal Had It All In This Project, And It Should Have Been Much, Much Bigger -- It Should Have Been The Album To Firmly Establish Private Stock Records As A Major Player. But For All The Incredible Cast Members And All The Artistry Here -- Jim Keltner On Drums, Bobbye Hall On Conga, Clydie King And Patti Austin On Backing Vocals (Seven Years Before Austin's Own Number One Hit), And The Brilliant Idea Of Having Four Season Bob Gaudio Producing Half The Album In Los Angeles With Val Garay Engineering While Bob Crewe Produced The Hits In New York City With Michael Delugg On The Boards (And Charles Calelo Arranging On Both Coasts) -- It Is All Packaged With A Cover That Looks Like It Was Thought Up At The Budget Label Pickwick International, And With Only Eight Songs It Just Feels On The Surface Like Less Than What It Actually Is.” - Joe Viglione, AMG