Honey / Summer
This Beat Goes On release combines two of Bobby Goldsboro's United Artists LPs, most popular album (hooked around and named for his biggest hit) and his last one for the label, on one CD. Goldsboro's rendition of Bobby Russell's "Honey" tends to overwhelm anything with which it is juxtaposed, but he made a valiant effort to vary his sound on the album built around it -- thus, we get spritely, upbeat pop numbers like "Pardon Me Miss" and string-laden ballads like "Why Don't You Believe Me" (where he could be Jim Reeves surrounded by the Anita Kerr Singers), along with Goldsboro's rendition of Russell's most successful song, "Little Green Apples"; and youthful pop/rock such as "Pledge of Love" and "Love Arrestor"; and his version of Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix." He did write five of the 11 songs there, however, and is able to hold his own reasonably well amid those better known composer names -- indeed, one of those songs, "With Pen in Hand," became his next-to-last hit for UA four years later. That said, however, the contents of Summer (The First Time) offer a bit more consistency of sound, perhaps because there was less pressure surrounding that album, in terms of balancing the presence of a three-million-selling single, and that five years on it was also clear what the marketplace wanted from Goldsboro. The production and audio quality on the CD are first-rate throughout, and the annotation by Arthur Davis gives a good account of Goldsboro's career and the circumstances behind each album, albeit from a U.K. perspective, as this was the marketplace at which this CD was principally aimed. (Note: This was one of a group of CDs that were, at one point, issued as CD-Rs by Beat Goes On; those who buy it sealed and don't want a CD-R can contact the label by e-mail and arrange an exchange by mail). ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide