Monday, October 14, 2002
this is shaping up as a very good year for greatest-hits collections. the aerosmith collection I've already discussed (though I need to go more in-depth, honestly). I'll probably throw elvis's elv1s 30 #1 hits on my christmas list, along with the stones' forty licks. and the nirvana self-titled comp is coming, too.
well, I've been listening to both discs of bowie: the singles 1969-1993 today at work. this is the comp that rykodisc released in the u.s., and I believe different versions were done for different countries (jeffy's got a dutch import on which disc 2 is quite different from the american pressing). contemporarily speaking, this one set the standard for hits albums. first of all, 2 discs are a must. except in very rare cases (elvis, for example, because his songs were so short), one disc isn't enough to do an artist justice. [there are times, to be fair, when one disc is perfect - it depends on the shelf-life of the artist, really. stephanie mills is a prime example; her 20th century masters set on pgd or unigram or whatever it is these days is just right, 12 songs representing her entire career. but that's an exception.] and really, it's not just about shelf-life, it's about how long the artist was productive. one disc also works for hendrix, I think, or for nirvana (and it's gonna be very interesting to see how well it sells, especially compared against elvis and the stones).
but I digress, kinda. back to bowie. virgin's releasing a new best of bowie next week. why?? yes, it gains "this is not america" (with pat metheny group, from the falcon and the snowman soundtrack) and tin machine's "under the god" (horribly underrated). it also gains five not-so-great tracks from the last decade and "the man who sold the world" (think they're selling to nirvana fans, anyone?), and loses, among others, "oh! you pretty things," "john i'm only dancing," and "loving the alien," only the best fucking song he recorded in the '80s. not to mention that virgin's keeping in "cat people," easily bowie's most laughable single. this comp is no patch on the singles, which, granted, is out of print. but c'mon, dave! another sad cash-in from a brilliant artists with far too many sad cash-ins to his name. sigh.
I'm going to write more on other great best-ofs/comps soon, I promise.
well, I've been listening to both discs of bowie: the singles 1969-1993 today at work. this is the comp that rykodisc released in the u.s., and I believe different versions were done for different countries (jeffy's got a dutch import on which disc 2 is quite different from the american pressing). contemporarily speaking, this one set the standard for hits albums. first of all, 2 discs are a must. except in very rare cases (elvis, for example, because his songs were so short), one disc isn't enough to do an artist justice. [there are times, to be fair, when one disc is perfect - it depends on the shelf-life of the artist, really. stephanie mills is a prime example; her 20th century masters set on pgd or unigram or whatever it is these days is just right, 12 songs representing her entire career. but that's an exception.] and really, it's not just about shelf-life, it's about how long the artist was productive. one disc also works for hendrix, I think, or for nirvana (and it's gonna be very interesting to see how well it sells, especially compared against elvis and the stones).
but I digress, kinda. back to bowie. virgin's releasing a new best of bowie next week. why?? yes, it gains "this is not america" (with pat metheny group, from the falcon and the snowman soundtrack) and tin machine's "under the god" (horribly underrated). it also gains five not-so-great tracks from the last decade and "the man who sold the world" (think they're selling to nirvana fans, anyone?), and loses, among others, "oh! you pretty things," "john i'm only dancing," and "loving the alien," only the best fucking song he recorded in the '80s. not to mention that virgin's keeping in "cat people," easily bowie's most laughable single. this comp is no patch on the singles, which, granted, is out of print. but c'mon, dave! another sad cash-in from a brilliant artists with far too many sad cash-ins to his name. sigh.
I'm going to write more on other great best-ofs/comps soon, I promise.
# posted by Thomas : 1:05 PM
