Bobby Vinton's tenure at ABC during the mid-'70s produced little of commercial or artistic value, but the Varese compilation
Because of You: The Love Songs Collection focuses on that period anyway.
Vinton wasn't washed up by any means; in fact, the leadoff track here ("My Melody of Love") became a Top Ten hit in 1974, and his cover of
Gene Pitney's "Only Love Can Break a Heart" just missed the adult contemporary Top 40 three years later. Roughly two-thirds of this compilation consists of songs from
Vinton's three LPs for ABC (Melodies of Love, The Name Is Love, Serenades of Love), with the rest covering the 1982 single "It Hurts to Be in Love" (also a
Gene Pitney cover) and unreleased material from the mid-'70s or 1980. To be sure,
Because of You: The Love Songs Collection is not the best of
Vinton, and certainly not the hits compilation some would expect. ~ John Bush