AMG Review of Jan & Dean Golden Hits, Vols. 1-3

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

One Way combined all three of Jan & Dean's original hits collections for EMI onto a double-disc collection which features 36 tracks. Though it has more tracks than the single-disc Surf City: The Best of Jan & Dean, it isn't necessarily a better one. Not only is Surf City sequenced better, giving a better overview of the duo's career, it has a more thoughtful selection of tracks. Because Jan & Dean did record their fair share of filler, most listeners will be satisfied with a 22-track collection, since it does have all the hits and completists will be better served by the reissues of the original albums. Still, the double-disc set has all the hit singles and it is reasonably well-packaged, featuring the original album covers, if not a new set of liner notes, so it isn't a bad purchase. It's just that there are better bargains.