This is the second guide I have written. The first was for the newer fans. This guide will concentrate and expand on the first guide for CDs only.

The advent of the this revolutionary new form of music had it's beginnings in classical music. As with all new products, CD players were very expensive (e.g. like DVD players), then went down in price over the years. When the US forayed into the pop field of famous recordings, one person that was left out for several years was Connie Francis. When the first American CD release was availailable, many countries overseas had many Connie Francis CDs already available.

THE UNITED STATES:

Connie's first CD appeared in 1986, her longest charting Lp The Very Best of Connie Francis with an additional 6 tracks. It included the original artwork and liner notes as well as how high every hit charted. This CD was quite successful and a follow-up, Vol. 2 followed. This was a difficult task. It contained some well-known hits and some rarities for CD, but most importantly it displayed the growth of Ms. Francis' extraordinary vocal prowess. Both were released on cassette. Vol 2. did not stay in print very long but is prized. by collectors for it's historic value. Her first release is also out of print. It can be found in an Austrailain import with the same song selections but with different artwork. The CDs I am listing are not necessarily in order of release. Rocksides was a very bold and ambitious project that had many rare unreleased tracks that had been shelved due to current hits. Connie who had a special ear for a song she liked would record it several times before she found the right formuola. Included was an outtake of her gold hit Frankie with a somewhat unusual Hawaiian backing as well as No one which eventually became the flip side of Where the Boys are and a hit in it's own right and recorded in several languages later on. Rocksides was not in release for very long and had a cassette counterpart as well. It is one of her most highly prized and most expensive CDs when you can find it.

Christmas In My Heart with cassette stayed in prinit longer but is no longer available. A UK couterpart is available. Another unique and short lived CD and cassette Connie Francis Latin Hits (literal translation) contained the complete first US Spanish Lp Spanish and Latin American Favorites (only on the cassette); however, the CD release contained many songs in the language never released including current recordings. Most notable was Let's Make It Love Tonight in Spanish and Portuguese. This CD is another extremely hard CD to find now. I have not seen it on Ebay recently but one can assume it will be costly for the average buyer. All of these are well worth the price. Later De Collection was released but only contained her first US Spanish released Lp.

The CD momentum continued. Connie collaborated on a a two volume Italian Collection Vol 1 & 2. It is at this point in time easily obtainable and contains some of her best cuts from her 5 US released Lps in the language. There are several rarities on each volume. It is a shame it was not released as a 2 CD set as it was costly buying separately. This is a minor quibble because both volumes are well worth the price.Her most ambitious project followed Souvenirs a 3 CD book-like box set with many color photos and annotations covering all her singles from her first Freddy in 1955 to Zingara in 1969 before she left MGM. This CD claimed all her A and B sides which was not the case. Those familiar with her 45's will find many B sides missing and substituted for UK hits and songs she is closely associated with. Unfortunately, it is also out of prinit. A rare sampler of 20 songs Connie is Cool culled from this anthology came and went mainly because it was a promotional item. After this release, the CDs slowly became less and less. It really wasn't until her 50th anniverary as a recording artist last year that Connie Francis Gold was released as a tribute. This budget line 2 CD set contains 50 of her hits (most can be found in so many other releases) and was not the tribute she deserved when one considers what other countries did in honor of her anniversary. It is still a definitive set of her hits for the fans. Note many of the songs are in mono and readily available in stereo on other CDs, despite it's new remastering.

Several years ago, Connie priviately released two concert CDs. She has been performing live for some time now and has only recently slowed down due to an accident. The American Tour is a fully remastered stereo release and The European Concert is from the soundboard but very enjoyable.Highlights from both Lps are readily available on Sony's budget label Standards Live...a great sampler of a singer who cannot be appreciated fully except live in conert. The 2 private releases are next to imipossible to find on Ebay. But keep looking. It's worth the effort.

FOREIGN RELEASES:

Connie Francis releases started all over the world at the advent of the CD. Some are still in print or have been reprinted. Several of her most successful earlier releases My Happiness, Love Songs have also been reissued in other European countries including Japan (known for the best quality sound in the world). Fortunately, a company in the UK has a CD on Demand which has faithfully reissued to the letter Souveniers and an early UK release country tunefest from the 90's Spotlight on Connie Francis which contains the rarely seen cut I'd be A Legend In My Time. They have also initially released  Sings the Songs of Les Reed. This was due in part to Mr. Reed's cooperation but due to legalities at this writting, it will not be as readily available as the 2 aforementioned releases. The World of Connie Francis a 20 hit anthology is one of the most unusal of it's kind and was also released in Germany and Austrailia (with a different cover). It contains no hits, but her more mature and sophistcated songs. The UK also released a large 3 CD box set The Ultimate Connie Francis  is also mainly Lp tracks and both are fairly easy to find on and off Ebay. And both are several of her best releases to date. Her huge platium UK Lp 20 All time Greats contains nothing really new but is still available. A newer release Connie's Country can also be found.

South Africa released 6 CDs of very rare material. The first 3 are out of print and contain some of her most unusual material To Each His Own, Once For Every Heart, and Canzone Italiane con Amor are next to impossible to find. The next release came in 1992 The Wedding. This international flavorred Lp has Connie singing in 9 languaages and contains more rare material. Connie participated in the last 3 projects personally and disatisfied with the sound, it was reissued recently with changes. It contains a larger booklet and some of the songs have been changed. The into to Exodus/Havah Neglia has been replaced with a brighter version of the tune. Let's Make It Love Tonight (first time on CD) was replaced with the Portugese version and the CD was remastered. The Incomparable Connie Francis is probably her best concieved and finest CD to date. It contains rare tracks from the Lps A New Kind of Connie, Happiness:  Connie Francis on Broadway Today. This disc has a romantic, blues, jazz sound and it is magnificient. South Africa's tribute to her anniversary A Lifetime Of Love is not a typical tribute as it is not a career spanning disc. The oldest song dates back to 1965. There are many alternate and unreleased takes on this recording. All 3 are again, terribly difficult to obtain and when on Ebay runs around $60 or more...and well worth it.

Japan has released some of the really fine and diverse Connie Francis Lp cut CDs...a tradition they started on vinyl.. In 1996, American Fantasies (now out of print) contains Hawaii Connie and Greatest American Waltzes. Also Sings Country Hits and Screen Hits (which contained the complete Never On Sunday Lp and a dozen more movie tracks all quickly went out of print. Japan, known as the land of nostalgia paid the greatest triute to her anniverary by releasing three 24 bit mastered CDs in mini Lp cardboard sleeves. The complete Live at the Sahara, Sings Bacharach and Italian Favorites, as well as the European 1200 Best of series were all released in her honor. The Sahara Lp is out of print. They recently released another mini cardboard Lp limited edition Hawaii Connie in 24 bit. This is the original release as Connie recorded it in Honolulu and it was only available on Lp in Japan and the UK. The worldwide release on LP was sent to NY and remixed 6 times adding strings and guitars, diluting the ethnic authenticity of this beautiful recording. All I can say is "get this limited edition while you can"!

This is just a small overview of some of Connie's significant CDs a companion to my first review which I mentioned some of these CDs very briefly. I hope you all enjoy your shopping and enjoy this tremendous, legendary, one of a kind singer and that this review was helpful to you.