Best of What
Published November 06, 2003
Here is one trend in the music industry that I find rather obnoxious. I made the mistake of buying the Soundgarden best-of entitled A-Sides and the one new song that was included in the package wasn't that good and I had all the other albums anyways.
Just How Many Definitive Best-Of Albums Can An Artist Have?
"Around this time every year, as sure as death and taxes, major labels raid the catalogs of their biggest artists and emerge with a generous helping of best-of albums and box sets.
On the release schedule for, in industry speak, the fourth quarter of 2003 are compilations from Sheryl Crow, No Doubt, Stone Temple Pilots, R.E.M., the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Talking Heads, to name a few.
Considered the ultimate stocking stuffer for casual fans without the desire or dinero to buy an artist's entire back catalog, the best-of album reduces an artist's artistry to the bare essentials: the hits.
Usually the artist will go the extra yard and pad a retrospective with one or more new songs - as STP, R.E.M., RHCP (see "Red Hot Chili Peppers To Release 'Live At Slane' DVD, Best-Of LP") and No Doubt all have done this time around - so fans who already own all of that artist's material will have a reason to buy the collection too.
In rare instances, an obvious hit will be conveniently left off a best-of album - for example, "In Your Eyes" was omitted from Peter Gabriel's 1990 compilation Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats - so the consumer will have to buy the best-of plus the original album the hit appeared on. One could argue the Chili Peppers have employed this tactic on their forthcoming Greatest Hits album, which leaves off "Warped," the group's biggest hit from 1995's One Hot Minute...."
-Blair R. Fischer (MTV.com News)
It's really amazing how many bands get the "Best of..." treatment, until you look at it as a pure business move. Bands like Alice In Chains with only 4 albums really didn't need a boxed set or a greatest hits album, especially with how different the styles were from album to album. Sheryl Crow and No Doubt could maybe use this treatment EVENTUALLY, but do we need a best-of to cover a band or artist when they are still very active? Also Stone Temple Pilots has 5 albums I think, but the last two were below average and had virtually no singles on them.
Do you have any favorite best-ofs or any best-of horror stories?
I have the blue and red Beatles greatest hits which have been good for me. I also like my Peter Gabriel best of even though it doesn't have In Your Eyes on it. Like I said before Soundgarden's best of was disappointing.
Craig Lyndall rants, raves and writes other stuff at FilteringCraig.com and at The Cleveland Sports Curse
- Best of What
- Published: November 06, 2003
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- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Alternative Rock, Music: Classic Rock and Oldies, Music: Hard Rock, Music: Rock
- Writer: Craig Lyndall
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Comments on this articleComments
one of the worst best-of situations i can think of is Southside Johnny. i'm sure it's because of arguments with former labels...but the guy has something like 4 or 5 collections to his name.
"Who goves a fig" indeed.
My favorites, as I detailed in my post about the new Peter Gabriel best-of yesterday, are the time-line realistic ones. I like hearing the progression from song to song up to the current day, not a song from 1977 next to a song released 2003.
That said, one of my favorite "best of" releases that I didn't consider isn't labeled a "best of" - ELP's Atlantic Years set, which compiles the meatiest parts of their releases on the label onto two discs of over-the-top organ-blasted goodness. Where else besides a box set can you find all of Tarkus, Karn Evil 9, 14 minutes of Pictures At An Exhibition (that's all i need, really,) plus the shorter songs from that period? I certainly don't need to own all of these ELP albums, but this set sees plenty of use.
you know...after all of the yelling, screaming and cussing about how Love Beach was one of the absolute worst albums of all time (never mind the worst ELP selection)...i've always been tempted to pick it up just to see what all the fuss was about.
...and i just happen to be visiting a shop this evening that carries piles of used vinyl.
maybe it'll be worth 50 cents?
we'll see.
Just How Many Definitive Best-Of Albums Can An Artist Have?
It seems like far too many. I have been hunting down The Best of Nina Simone. The problem is none of the 12 Best of collections I have come across have the same four songs I am looking for. It may have two of them and this one has one and then this one has two others but none of them have the same selections. In order to get the four songs I want I will have to buy three different albums with overlapping tunes. Shall we say that is quite unpleasant.
Dew, just wait for the Nina Simone "Best Of The Best Of Nina Simone".
Ah, but I have the power of editing!! "Who gIves a fig?"
Dewster, just go online and construct your own, legally of course.
Tom, I agree entirely about chronological being best, unless of course it isn't. Sometimes I would rather stack the deck with just my faves, and again, that's what the new flexibility is all about: I am in control.
LOL. *ahem* Lets just say thats whats been getting me by so long.... I'm speaking of Rhapsody of course!!!
sly grin, wayward smile and other things to imply other wise
;-)
Eric, #7: Ah, but I have the power of editing!! "Who gIves a fig?"
Aw, jeez, that takes all the character out of your original statement.
Come to think of it, I my favorite part of making mix cd's is arranging the order of the songs. Chronological is kind of boring on greatest hits that way. I would rather stack them up the way I like them.
That's one of the best things about having a wide range of styles of music that I like. Making a mix cd of soft indie/emo, Hardcore, death metal and various other types of music that are actually played on the radio is a ton of fun and a complete surprise to pretty much anyone you play it for.
well, one character anyway
unfortunately "I my" don't have the power of editing! :-)
The first "Eagles Greatest Hits" was as close to a perfect compilation as I've seen. Buy that and "Hotel California" and you've pretty much got 'em covered, no duplications.
agree totally about the first Eagles collection JR, and Steve Miller, Bob Marley, The Doors - all the top-selling collections strike a chord and find the heart of the artist. Neil Young's Decade is about perfect for the period it covers
re Mark's post 4 -
Love Beach is definitely not worth 50 cents. Even when I was an ELP fanatic, I thought it was miserable. If somebody offers to pay you 5 bucks to take it, maybe... but don't pay 50 cents for it.
I went looking for a Best of Nat King Cole for my wife - great googlymoogly, there must have been 50 of his best ofs at Tower.
Worst ever best of? The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac. It treats the arrival of Lindsey and Stevie as day one.
I enjoyed Bryan Adams "So Far So Good." It's even good in that it didn't use the "Best of..." or "The Essential Collection of..." or some other generic title. Then again, all I really need is "Summer of '69" to a make Bryan Adams "Best of..." be good.
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it is exactly this kind of top-down determinism that file sharing, and hopefully legit digital music delivery, have arisen to combat: when you can put your own best-of together, who gives a fig what the "official" version is?