Category Archives: Compilation Albums

Completely Hooked (Dr. Hook) – Compilation Album

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"Completely Hooked" Is One Of The Many Dr. Hook Compilations Available

"Completely Hooked" Is One Of The Many Dr. Hook Compilations Available

Originally known as “Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show”, this band had a truly eclectic career. Their output can be divided in three main groups: 1) Comedy numbers, 2) Disco songs and 3) Ballads. All of these genres are impinged with a country sensibility, and this is one of their many compilations. It was released in 1992, and the 20 songs on offer map out these three genres more than adequately, stopping in each one for long enough without ever going too far.

The comedy numbers are mostly penned by Shel Silverstein, and they are absolutely hysterical. Located mainly at the beginning of the disc, they include “The Millionaire”, “Everybody’s Making It Big But Me” and the popular “Cover Of The Rolling Stone”. What many people don’t realize is that in addition to composing these comedy numbers Silverstein did also come up with many of the band’s ballads, such as the excellent “More Like The Movies” and “A Couple More Years”.

The disco songs included on this compilation are “Walk Right In”, “You Make My Pants Wanna Get Up And Dance” and “Sexy Eyes”. They are entertaining and to-the-point, but I would say that both the ballads and the comedy songs are more endurable. Continue reading →

Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce (The Goo Goo Dolls) – Compilation Album (Part 2)

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For a general introduction to this compilation album go here.

The CD has 22 songs. I feel it is interesting to provide you with the track list, along with the album that each song was originally found in.

Bullet Proof              (Dizzy Up The Girl)
All Eyes on Me         (Dizzy Up The Girl)
Amigone                      (Dizzy Up The Girl)
Acoustic #3             (Dizzy Up The Girl)
Naked                           (A Boy Named Goo)
Ain’t That Unusual        (A Boy Named Goo)
Burnin’ Up                (A Boy Named Goo)
Flat Top                  (A Boy Named Goo)
Eyes Wide Open        (A Boy Named Goo)
Fallin’ Down            (Superstar Car Wash)
Another Second Time Around   (Superstar Car Wash)
Cuz You’re Gone        (Superstar Car Wash)
We Are the Normal        (Superstar Car Wash)
Girl Right Next to Me        (Superstar Car Wash)
Lucky Star            (Superstar Car Wash)
On the Lie            (Superstar Car Wash)
Just the Way You Are        (Hold Me Up)
Two Days in February    (Hold Me Up)
Laughing                      (Hold Me Up)
There You Are            (Hold Me Up)
Up Yours                              (Jed)
I’m Addicted            (Goo Goo Dolls)

As you have just noticed, there is only a song apiece from their earliest releases. That is something that (from what I have heard so far) is hard to object to, especially if you climbed aboard the Goo’s train around the time of “Iris”. These songs are mere curiosities and little else.

The albums that are better-represented are the ones whose sound will win you over like “Name”, “Slide” or “Iris” did, and these songs roughly make up half the CD. Continue reading →

Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce (The Goo Goo Dolls) – Compilation Album (Part 1)

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(What I Learned About) Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce

(What I Learned About) Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce

You already know how enthusiastically I listen to the Goo Goo Dolls. Maybe such a prolonged keenness was the result of buying this compilation right after having purchased their “Greatest Hits Vol. 1” CD. You see, “(What I Learned About) Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce” delves into their studio albums one by one and offers up the best songs from each one of these CDs. In many cases, alternate mixes and/or entirely rerecorded versions are featured.

What I like best about this compilation is the way it is structured. The six albums that are featured are “Goo Goo Dolls”, “Jed”, “Hold Me Up”, “Superstar Car Wash”, “A Boy Named Goo” and “Dizzy Up The Girl”. The tracks on the CD run from back to front. That is, rather than starting with the songs from the self-titled debut and taking you chronologically to the songs included in “Dizzy Up The Girl” the CD starts with the “Dizzy Up The Girl” material and goes all the way back to “Goo Goo Dolls”. You might think that such a thing is not a big deal, but I assure you it is. Think about it, many people are familiar with the more mature sound of the Goo Goo Dolls. Arranging the songs like this lets anybody trace the way that such a sound evolved. Continue reading →

18 Original Sun Greatest Hits (Jerry Lee Lewis) – Compilation Album

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The Killer In Action

The Killer In Action

If we were to look for a bigger hellraiser in the annals of Rock & Roll than Jerry Lee Lewis the search would never end. And if we were to look for an exuberant instrumentalist in the decade of the ’50s, the search would start and end at the Killer’s fingers. Much like Keith Moon, his personality and temperament were what turned him into a matchless musician. This compilation gathers together the singles and noteworthy tracks he put under the Sun label at the beginning of his career. That was when he saw some serious chart action, too, so a case can definitely be made that if you were to have just a Jerry Lee album this is it.

The tracks on offer include “Great Balls Of Fire”, “Whola Lotta Shakin’ Going On”, “Wild One”, “Breathless” and the theme tune from the movie “High School Confidential”. Also featured is the song that was to be his final hit, a cover of Ray Charles “What I’d Say”. All these are good, enjoyable songs that provide us with a true blueprint for every rock and roller that was to make the piano his predominant instrument. Conversely, there are covers of “When The Saints Come Marchin’ In”, “Matchbox” and “Jambalaya” that are not very enticing on record. Whether they worked better live is besides the point – here, they don’t deliver. Continue reading →

Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II (Billy Joel) – Compilation Album (Part 2)

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Only two Billy Joel compilations that span two CDs have been issued so far. I have reviewed the first one here – it is the one named “Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II”. The second definitive compilation was issued in 2001, and it is the one entitled “The Essential Billy Joel”.

Essential Billy Joel

“Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II” has 35 tracks. “The Essential Billy Joel” has 36. The latter covers every single album he released, the former reaches up to “An Innocent Man”. His three final albums are not covered.

There is a very glaring omission as far as the “Essential” compilation goes: “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” has been neglected. The song is beloved by fans, and while it was never released as a single (the only justification the compilers have for the omission) its relevance within Joel’s catalog is something which can never be disputed. Continue reading →

Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II (Billy Joel) – Compilation Album (Part 1)

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Billy Joel Hits

The Front Cover

At the time of its release (1985), “Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II” was the definitive Billy Joel collection. All his major works are covered (no less than 6 compositions are culled from “The Stranger”), and two new tracks were included to appease long-time fans that already had all the hits.

The first disc opens with his by now standard “Piano Man”, and culminates with the highlights from “The Stranger”. Included is “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant”, a true favorite of Joel’s fans along with the title-track and a song that topped the charts and which Billy doesn’t particularly like: “Just The Way You Are”. Continue reading →

Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (The Goo Goo Dolls) – Compilation Album

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The Cover Of The Compliation

The Cover Of The Compliation

If you have already gone through the general introduction I penned yesterday, you know I bought this CD more or less accidentally and how it hit me like nothing else the moment it started playing.

This compilation focuses on the Goo Goo Dolls’ commercial peak, heralded by the smash song “Iris” from the movie “City Of Angels” and the album “Dizzy Up The Girl” up to the song “Before It’s Too Late” from Michael Bay’s debatable big-screen adaptation of the classic 80s’ show “Transformers”. Three albums are covered: “Dizzy Up The Girl”, “Gutterflower” and “Let Love In”. These are albums that more or less follow the pattern set down by a song that was originally featured on the album called “A Boy Named Goo” (1995), and which was entitled “Name”. It was their first successful excursion into a territory much mellower than what many fans were accustomed to, and it signaled the commencement of their surge in popularity. That song has been re-recorded for inclusion on this compilation. There is not really that much of a departure – the role the acoustic guitar plays out is the only noticeable difference between the old and the new version of “Name”. Continue reading →

All-Time Greatest Hits (Crystal Gayle) – Compilation Album

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The Cover Of The CD

The Cover Of The CD

The youngest sister of country luminary Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle has had career that began at the age of 16 (as part of the Loretta Lynn Show) and which has lasted to this day, yielding no less than 18 number 1 singles.  This cut-cost compilation (first issued by Curb in 1990) boasts a representative number of them along with songs that nearly topped the charts like “When I Dream” (a top 3 hit) and “I’ll Do It All Over Again” (which hit number 2 back in 1977).

I am glad that my two favorite songs by Crystal are included – the adorable “Talking In Your Sleep” and “Why Have You Left The One You Left Me For”. Both compositions were number 1 smashes – the former was the first song of hers I ever listened to, and the latter is one of the faster songs included here in terms of tempo, and one that provides a nice break from the overall mood of the album, which is mostly middle-paced. I am also very fond of the song “Somebody Loves You” – a top 10 hit, and one that melds a bouncy melody with a set of lyrics that are simple but incredibly effective, portraying attachment and loss very deftly indeed. Continue reading →

Greatest Hits Volume II (Linda Ronstadt) – Compilation Album

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The Front Cover

The Front Cover

This is the companion album to the volume I reviewed last week. It basically gathers Linda’s most salient recordings at the time when her sound began diversifying in earnest. As I explained at the end of my review of Elvis Costello’s “Extreme Honey”, when that happens an artist might not make the best choices as regards which songs he or she ends up performing, and the way these are recorded. That was the case with Linda’s albums throughout this particular period, and as such this compilation has the merit of bringing the very best from those years that could be termed a bit spotty. Continue reading →

Greatest Hits (ZZ Top) – Compilation Album

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You Are Not Going To Ask Why Their Music Is Called "Bearded Rock" by many, are you?

You Are Not Going To Ask Why Their Music Is Called "Bearded Rock" by many, are you?

Two months ago I became acquainted with an American. Upon learning about my active liking for Country music, he advised me to give Southern rock a definitive look. One of the first bands he mentioned to me was ZZ Top.

I must admit that the one and only song of theirs I was familiar with was La Grange. They are not the kind of band that gets airplay in my country. This compilation is readily available everywhere, though, and I decided to give it a go.

Dynamite. The playing of these guys is pure dynamite. I have never listened to people riffing this maniacally. A prototypical ZZ Top would be “Planet Of Women”. Both lyrically and musically, it showcases their from top to bottom.

Musically, it is all about having a good time. These are the kind of songs that get any party going, and keep it running until the end. “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers” indeed!

Lyrically, it is all about having a good time. Don’t look for any subtext in the songs. You will not find that. ZZ Top’s compositions mostly deal with attraction, love and sex in a direct, unfurnished way that is devilish funny. Continue reading →