Unless you are some kind of Johnny Rivers fanatic who requires virtually everything the man ever recorded then this 1999 single disc compilation "Johnny Rivers: The Original" will likely suit you just fine. This reasonably priced offering from the Netherlands includes all the big hits you would remember from the radio like "Seventh Son" and "Mountain of Love" from his early years to the biggest and best from his heydey like the 1966 #1 hit "Poor Side of Town", " Secret Agent Man" and of one of my personal favorites "Summer Rain".  Just In case you are wondering these are all the original Imperial and United Artists recordings.  No cheesy re-recordings here. The remastering job is first rate and I have absolutely no quarrel with the 18 selections chosen for this fine anthology.  However, being a collector I am always a bit disappointed when no liner notes are included with something like this.  
   
Johnny Rivers has proven to be a venerable performer. I saw him perfom several years ago and he looked and sounded every bit as good then as he did forty years ago.  Last time I checked Johnny Rivers has still not been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I am not sure that this is the right way to go about it, but Rivers and his fans have been aggresively campaigning to correct this oversight. Is he a Hall of Famer?  If you have any doubts just listen to this CD.  Johnny Rivers really is an American original with a sound all his own.  I am hopeful  that one day he will get the recognition he so richly deserves.      Very highly recommended!