This 1959 release by teen idol
Frankie Avalon on Chancellor, a label with an eight-song chart run for
Fabian "Turn Me Loose"
Forte beginning around the same time as
Avalon's "baker's dozen" hits, is quite an impressive outing for the 19- to 20-something-year-old star. He looks younger than his movies on the front cover of this follow-up to his first album,
Frankie Avalon, while the nine black and white photos on the back mark the period well and make this a collector's item of sorts for pop fans of the era. Though the singer had a bevy of hits during this period -- none of the Top 40 entries are included here -- producer
Peter DeAngelis and arrangers Bob Mercey and
Al Caiola put their energies to developing interesting versions of
Otis Blackwell's "Fever" (co-credited to his nom de plume,
John Davenport) and
Ray Charles' "Hallelujah I Love Her So" along with
DeAngelis/
Marcucci co-writes like "Shy Guy" and "Too Young to Love." The emphasis is on putting the vocalist in a middle-of-the-road setting somewhere between the mature
Vic Damone and the aspiring
Vic Dana. This is not the pop stuff the world is used to hearing
Avalon sing. It's a more conventional take on songs like "Teach Me Tonight," "Undecided," and "The One I Love."
Frankie pulls it off admirably, proving that he was no fluke -- the approach far more serious than his Beach Party movies and impressive in its ability to entertain and hold your attention. The instrumental "Bella del Mondo" has
Avalon on trumpet -- he was formerly a pre-teen prodigy on the instrument-- with
Ray Conniff-style singers behind him.
Avalon's vocal pitch and approach to adult material is commendable, noteworthy, and easy to listen to.