Donny Osmond

Packaged together as part of the 7Ts label's series of Osbros two-fers, Donny Osmond's third and fourth albums are barely discernible from their predecessors, as the lad continued enjoying those halcyon days before his voice started to break by laying down 21 new performances, all guaranteed to get fan club hearts a-pounding. The signature attractions here are the massive hits for which Donny is best remembered, the worldwide chart-topper "Puppy Love," "Why," "Too Young," and "Hey Girl," but there is little to choose between these and anything else on the disc; quite frankly, every track here was a guaranteed smash, from a smartly melodic "All I Have to Do Is Dream" to a super-plaintive "Teenager in Love" -- and then there's "Last of the Red Hot Lovers," which is an odd claim for a 15-year-old boy to be making, particularly one whose religious beliefs surely disavowed all such activities. But such observations should not be of concern; frankly, these albums may not stand among the greatest artistic achievements in the Osmond family canon, but they are well-produced, professionally enacted, and -- as easy listening love songs go -- utterly immune to criticism. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide