Your thoughts on Greatest Hits Collections?

[Ken]

I got the idea about this from H2 when answering his post on CD's he took on his vacation - The Hollies collection. So H2 I hope you don't mind

It seems that the record companies are getting a little more with it when they compile them now. Rhino have always been really good I've always thought. Sony's "Essential" collections seem pretty complete from what I've seen, I mean they are double CD so they should be.

And there's that new Hall and Oates disc that looks really good .

But still there are too many times when on most collections there always seems to be that one great song that's missing , especially on single discs.

I guess to try to keep the cost down some labels don't want to spent the extra money to make a double disc?

Why was Doctor My Eyes left off that Jackson Browne collection a few years ago , what up with that? his first HUGE hit and it's not included - huh? did they think people wouldn't notice?

Or the Rolling Stones Hot Licks collection . I bought it for my oldest brother for Xmas when it came out and he loves it but was quick to notice that one of his all time favorites - Waiting On a Friend was left off. Now I know the Stones like many other classic rocks bands have had their fair share of different collections over the years but still.


Or another thing is substituting a live version of a song over the "hit" studio version.


Well enough of my ranting LOL What about you?

[Pete70s]

Greatest Hits collections have improved somewhat over the past few years. Back in the days of vinyl, a greatest hits collection had usually 10-12 songs, and usually one hit would be left off (example, "New Moon On Monday" being left off Duran Duran's "Decade"). These days, you don't see that as much, if at all.

I used to get so mad about the Live track thing! Especially when it's not listed as a live track on the album cover, just as fine print in the liners (the biggest offender is Foreigner's "Records", which includes a live version of Hot Blooded).

Years ago I had a cassette of Spanky and Our Gang, which had ALL their hits-EXCEPT "Sunday Will Never Be The Same"! But it wasn't marketed as a Greatest Hits tape, just a budget line release.

Overall, I tend to want to look beyond Greatest Hits albums for most artists. Usually I'll start with some kind of collection, and if I like it, I'll investigate them more. But the hits tend to be the first songs I get tired of once I get into deeper catalog stuff.

[SAT-I need more room!!]

Great topic, and I could be here DAYS writing about it!!

There are so many collections that over the years have been so poorly done. The Jackson Browne one you mentioned leaps to mind. I didn't realize Doctor was one of the tracks left off, I just remember Load Out/Stay and the two singles from Hold Out (?) weren't on it.

The thing is, when you do a lot of artists, where do you stop when making a compilation? The original Cars Greatest Hits, from a chart standpoint, was pretty thorough, but to all of us who enjoy FM radio, it left off great album cuts and lesser singles like Dangerous Type, Bye Bye Love, It's All I Can Do and You're All I've Got Tonight. Luckily, that is a case where Rhino righted the situation.

Like Ken says, Rhino is pretty complete with their collections. There have been a few exceptions.

Another problem, and part of this relates to Rhino, is compilations not including album length versions. When I got the Rhino Alice Cooper collection, I REALLY figured they would include full length versions of songs by this FM artist. Not only were Only Women Bleed and You and Me single edits, they were that way on the box set!! What, they were short of space on there??

And Rhino put out a single disc collection of Doobie Brothers, and didn't include Another Park, Another Sunday.

Aerosmith's first collection is a primo example of both lack of depth of the artist's work and using single edits. In the CD age, they should have used album length cuts of Sweet Emotion, Dream on and others, as well as including other tracks such as Toys in the Attic and No More, No More.

Then there are bands that are just hard to contain on one disc. Boston-the whole first damn album is great, how do you pick and choose? Pretty poorly, if you ask me, since the last three cuts on the album that were left off are my faves!

Yes is another band. Too many good cuts on Fragile and Yes Album to leave any off. ELO with A New World Record as well.

Ken is right about the Essential series being good. Although I could pick out a few things I didn't like about those, like Journey's not having Feeling That Way/Anytime together.

Ken had another good example with the Stones. Thing is, with the Stones and the Who, their cataloges are so damn big, it's hard to make a good collection. And if you do, do you leave out FM staples like Can't You Hear Me Knockin' and Sympathy For the Devil for stuff like Fool to Cry and Harlem Shuffle. And the Who-I'd much rather have Slip Kid and So Sad About Us than You Better You Bet and Squeeze Box.

And if you become a real fan of the artist, a Greatest Hits doesn't satisfy at all. I had Martina's at work this week, and there were few songs I was dying to hear. But I was really in the mood for the songs around those on the original albums!

Fact is, I have seldom found a good, complete Greatest Hits. The Cars stands out, the Turtles, Grass Roots (although 2 discs), Lovin' Spoonful. Whattya know-all Rhino collections!

[djdave]

Generally, I do like them, especially from Rhino and Sony Essentials. But for bands I'm a big fan of, I tend to get Greatest Hits only if there's a new song or 2 on that set as well.

Jackson Browne and REM are 2 recent releases I won't be buying for myself.

[m c dornan]

A few things:

If I really like a group, then I have the original albums, and not a "greatest hits" collection.

I really dislike it when a collection puts in ONE previously-unreleased song, so you can only have it by buying the collection.

Some groups (the Beach Boys and the Stones) worked the idea to death. There must be more "greatest hits" LPs for these acts than original LPs.

My sense of "best songs" for a group isn't necessarily the same as their "greatest hits".

The weirdest use of this idea was the attempt a while back to market classical music by having a series of "Beethoven's Greatest Hits", "Mozart's Greatest Hits", etc.

[Dawn]

Excellent topic, Ken!

I have many greatest hits collections, especially on CD, and as you mentioned, it does seem as though they are getting more and more complete in recent years. I also agree about the Essential and Rhino collections being among the best. I was ecstatic when that Hall & Oates collection came out earlier this year - I'd been wanting to update my old Rock 'N Soul LP for years, but all the collections I came across prior to the new one were missing some of my favorite tracks.

Having said that, though, I agree with what you and others have said about the missing and live tracks. Like Pete, I was so disappointed when I got Foreigner Records and Hot Blooded was live - to this day I can't understand why they didn't just go with the studio version. I'd been eyeing the new Stones collection, Jump Back '71 -'93, as I don't have anything from them on CD, but it's missing Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker), one of my faves! Arrggh!

[H2IZCOOL]

Hi Ken, I'm glad you ran with this topic. I would have procrastinated forever.

Anyway ... I remember back in the '60s when EVERYONE would put out a Greatest Hits album even if they only had two hits. You'd find them in the close out bins at K-Mart. The really funny thing would be the times that the album would have plastic wrap on it, and on the plastic wrap would be a sticker that said something like 'Also including their Latest Smash Hit, ..."Somethingorother" ! ' Of course, "Somethingorother" was NOT a hit then, and never became one either.

Reading mc's post about "best songs" not necessarily being the greatest hits .... I agree with him, but it also brings to mind that in the early days of the British Invasion, one of the Beatles rip-offs that was supposedly circulating (although I never saw it) was an album called "Best of the Beatles" that featured former Beatles' drummer, Pete Best.

[lora]

I'm generally pleased with most of the greatest hits collections that I have. I HATE when they replace a live version of a song for the original studio track. That bugs the hell outta me. That's the main disappointment I have with that otherwise fantastic Stevie boxed set. There's a live version of Edge of Seventeen and I want the studio version! I don't have it!

I've never seen a really good compilation for Judy though. There are many inexpensive ones out there, but not much that I would consider getting. There's just not enough variety. There is a four-disc set of hers, but I have never actually seen it so I'm not sure what's on it. It's supposed to be her complete Decca recordings though.

[lora]

m said:

A few things:

If I really like a group, then I have the original albums, and not a "greatest hits" collection.

I really dislike it when a collection puts in ONE previously-unreleased song, so you can only have it by buying the collection.

Some groups (the Beach Boys and the Stones) worked the idea to death. There must be more "greatest hits" LPs for these acts than original LPs.

My sense of "best songs" for a group isn't necessarily the same as their "greatest hits".

The weirdest use of this idea was the attempt a while back to market classical music by having a series of "Beethoven's Greatest Hits", "Mozart's Greatest Hits", etc.

I have all of Bette's albums, but the greatest hits was the first one that I bought. It gave me the songs I already knew, got me familiar with others, and compelled me to go out and buy everything else. Plus, it has One For My Baby (And One More For The Road), which she did on Carson. There's also a better-sounding version of both Chapel of Love and The Rose than is even on the remastered original albums.