Ritchie Valens - The Hits

First off, I hate that this went out of print and that the prices are so high for it. This is supposedly the only time the actual masters themselves were used for a cd, and for that reason alone, this should be *the* Valens disc on the market.Between that, and Steve Hoffman's mastering, I don't believe it is possible to get Ritchie's music to sound any better.(By the way, I wrote Audio Fidelity after hearing this disc for the first time. It was the second SACD I bought. They said they are not issuing any more SACD's due to lack of interest. I think the prices this disc commands indicates some "interest". )I have never heard these songs sound any better, and I doubt you will either.The problem for me is that there is quite a bit of filler here. No insult to Ritchie--I think all 50's acts recorded some lackluster tracks to fill out an album. I am a huge Buddy Holly fan, but there is a reason I play "Greatest Hits" and not the album re-issues.The bottom line is La Bamba, Come On Let's Go, & Donna are essential to any music collection, and there is no better way to hear them then this Super Audio CD. I have played these tracks from this disc over and over. But I only play a couple of the other tracks here and there.It's a somewhat expensive way to get three songs, but it's still worth it, still a must own, to have the definitive edition of those three.

Can't say enough good things about this CD! The late Ritchie Valens was an up and coming super star whose life tragically ended at age 17 in the plane crash, along with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.His guitar playing is unlike anything I've ever heard. He could really make that guitar talk, especially on songs like "Ooh, My Head" and the instrumental piece "Fast Freight". His adaptation of the classic folk song "La Bamba" is a timless piece that will never lose it's appeal. The love ballad, "Donna", that he wrote for his girlfriend is just precious and the always uplifting "Come On, Let's Go" is a favorite. The two demos at the end, of "That's My Little Suzie" and "In A Turkish Town" are a great addition. Speaking of the song "In A Turkish Town"....it is so beautiful and exquisite that upon reading the liner notes, I saw that Ritchie wrote the song. All I could say was "Wow."And that voice! Such a strong, tenor he was. I'd have to say he had one of the most unique voices in rock music. Right up there with the likes of Robert Plant or Freddie Mercury.It is so tragic to have lost such a gifted young man but I can imagine, he's up in Heaven jammin' away!Rest in peace Ritchie. Thank you for sharing your talent with the world.

If you have any interest in Ritchie Valen's music at all, this is the disc to get. The sound is phenomenal. Since this disc has two layers of music, the regular CD layer as well as the SACD layer, this disc will be forward compatible with all of tommorows stereos. But there is more to this disc than just two layers of music. This disc was remastered straight from the original vault tapes using the most modern DSD (direct stream digital) technology by Steve Hoffman. DSD technology closely mathces the high quality analog equipment that this music was originally recorded on. This ultra-high tech DSD technology gives Ritchie Valen's music a real warm feeling, a realistic feel that this 50's music really utilizes to it's fullest potential. Buy this disc before they are all gone, you won't be disappointed.

Having been wanting to hear and add this re-master to my collection of Audio Fidelity masters done by Steve Hoffman I was not disappointed now that I have acquired it! This is by far the best sounding presentation of the Ritchie Valens recordings. I compared it to other "re-mastered" collections and the sound quality on this was far better. The overall presentation was more open and had better definition of the instruments along with the vocals.Considering the age and environment of the recordings this is as good as it gets!!

The album is great for the song content. Valens did a great job on these, especially if you are a fifties music affectionato. The plastic outer case was broken on the album I received.

There'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.As 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.As 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.Some 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.

I’m out of the country and bought this as a gift for my friend, he played it and this item is defective, it skips and makes the stylus on the turntable jump.I won’t be back in the country for about 3 months and will pass my return period for this item.Contacted the seller and was offered no help or consideration.