Blogcritics: Comments on Best of What

Comment by visualsimplicity

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 18:23:55 EST

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.

Comment by Taloran

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 16:06:02 EST

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.

Comment by Taloran

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 16:00:54 EST

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.

Comment by Chris Arabia

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:55:33 EST

worst best ever? steely dan gold.

Comment by Eric Olsen

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:49:37 EST

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

Comment by JR

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:35:56 EST

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.

Comment by Craig Lyndall

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:12:28 EST

unfortunately "I my" don't have the power of editing! :-)

Comment by Eric Olsen

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:11:25 EST

well, one character anyway

Comment by Craig Lyndall

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:11:18 EST

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.

Comment by Tom Johnson

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:08:44 EST

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.

Comment by Dew

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:01:41 EST

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 ;-)

Comment by Eric Olsen

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:59:10 EST

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.

Comment by Eric Olsen

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:56:15 EST

Dewster, just go online and construct your own, legally of course.

Comment by Dew

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:53:56 EST

Sounds like a plan Gerrard.

Comment by Eric Olsen

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:53:26 EST

Ah, but I have the power of editing!! "Who gIves a fig?"

Comment by gerrard

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:48:29 EST

Dew, just wait for the Nina Simone "Best Of The Best Of Nina Simone".

Comment by Dew

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:22:39 EST

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.

Comment by Mark Saleski

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:16:15 EST

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.

Comment by Tom Johnson

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:09:57 EST

"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.

Comment by Mark Saleski

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 14:00:51 EST

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.

Comment by Eric Olsen

Thu, 6 Nov 2003 13:55:22 EST

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?