Andyr,
As RTH’s undisputed authority on Best Of collections, would you mind double checking this to make sure it’s accurate?
The 25 Best “Best Of” Albums
25) Nirvana–Nirvana
24) Greatest Hits–Eagles
23) The Best Of Blondie–Blondie
22) Back To Mono–Phil Spector & Various Artists
21) Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy–The Who
20) The Kinks Kronikles–The Kinks
19) The Motown Box–Various Artists
18) Chronicle Vol. 1–Creedence Clearwater Revival
17) Echoes–Pink Floyd
16) Staring At The Sea–The Cure
15) Louder Than Bombs–The Smiths
14) The Chess Box–Chuck Berry
13) We Sold Our Souls For Rock N’ Roll–Black Sabbath
12) The Very Best Of–Prince
11) The Very Best Of The Doors (2CD)–The Doors
10) The Top Ten Hits–Elvis Presley
9) Mania–Ramones
8) Smash Hits–Jimi Hendrix
7) Greatest Hits, Volume 2–Bob Dylan
6) Greatest Hits–Al Green
5) Decade–Neil Young
4) Greatest Hits–Sly and The Family Stone
3) Star Time–James Brown
2) Hot Rocks–The Rolling Stones
1) 1–The Beatles
What is Bob Dylan’s GH, Vol. 2 doing on the list??? Why not Vol. 1? Is this the most egregious glorification of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” and “All Along the Watchtower” ever? I love Bob Dylan as much as most rock fans, but when I was a kid the best reason to pull Vol. 2 out of my uncle’s collection was to hear “Watch the River Flow”, or whatever that song is called. Is that song more popular than I thought?
OK, I just looked up the track list. Was this one always a double album? I own all those songs on album so I never bought the GH, Vol. 2 (my first Dylan purchase as a teenager was Vol. 1). I’m going way back, when I was 6 through 12 years old and hung out in my uncle’s room listening to his hippie albums. As I’ve said before, my uncle was a piano player, and he used to love playing “Watching the River Flow”, so it was a treat for me to listen to the Dylan version. If the 2-CD GH, Vol. 2 is the same track listing as the vinyl issue, then it’s a fine collection, but still…it’s no Godfather 2 (a rare sequel that’s better than the original), is it?
Lots of apples and oranges and other produce on this list. Box sets are not comparable to single-disc best-ofs.
I’d have to include both volumes of Al Green’s Greatest Hits too, if only because vol 2 has Love and Happiness.
Chuck Berry’s Chess Box is not a best-of. The Great Twenty-Eight is.
And if two-disc sets are allowed, Essential is preferable to Sly’s Greatest Hits.
Dylan’s GH vol. 2 was a double LP. I love Watching the River Flow. Great slide solo. It also had Tomorrow is a Long Time (the only Dylan song covered by Elvis) which was, and perhaps still is, otherwise unavailable. Plus Down in the Flood and a version of You Ain’t Going Nowhere that is in my opinion inferior to the one on basement Tapes.
I agree. If you wanted to introduce someone to Dylan’s music, or if you were a casual music fan, One is a much more logical choice.
For what it’s worth, though, I’ve never bought into the conventional wisdom that the Godfather Two is better than the original. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great movie, but One is iconic.
As Great as the Kinks Kronikles album is, it’s hardly a “Best Of” — it’s really more of a glorious hodge-podge of deep trax, unavailable EP fodder and a few hits. It’s amazing, but a “best of”? Not by my definition.
Also, this list lacks one of the greatest GH LPs ever: “Deepest Purple” by Deep Purple. If there was *ever* a band that needed one solid, distilled disc of inarguably Great music, it was them.
And no nerdy finger-pointing about the fact it has none of their awesome early material on it. It still kicks 90-megaton ass.
Elvis also covered “Don’t Think Twice” as a eight minute rave-up.
Agreed. Same with Neil Young’s Decade.
Does a singles comp like Singles Going Steady merit inclusion?
I think the Jam’s “Snap!” should be on this list as well. I’d take it over the Eagles LP any day.
My nez has been pinced. Ok, at the time of Dylan’s GH 2 release (1971) it was the only Dylan song recorded by Elvis.
The only problem I see with Deepest Purple being on the list is that Deep Purple sucks, though I’ll grant you that the Eagles suck too.
Right on, on that last count, BigSteve. For a separate thread, could Hrrundi, General Slocum, or someone else who’s sympathetic to that band put together a case for Deep Purple – when the spirit moves you? Beside “Hush” and a few unintentionally funny parts of their other hit songs, I don’t get where I’m supposed to sink my teeth into that band. They sound like Spinal Tap.
I agree that this list is severely flawed for including box sets among true GH and Best of… albums. Anthologies also don’t count, do they? I’m sure Andyr will set us straight – probably after tonight’s Flyboys game. I’m sure he’s getting Flyered up about now.
These lists are always personal decisions, but you have made many fine choices. I must say that there are a few of these that I am not fans of the artist. Are any of these “Anthologies”? That’s a different animal all together.
I might add “Clash on Broadway”
Andyr wrote:
What gives, A-Dogg? Townsman cdm calls you to the floor as “RTH’s undisputed authority on Best Of collections” and you cite “personal decisions”? Please click here for a personal message from Rock Town Hall.
Let me clarify that this is NOT my list. I just saw it on Yahoo and was hoping that you could fact check it. The link is in the post so you can read his qualifications and justifications.
Personally, think it’s cheating to have anything other than a two disc set and I would probably lose the Cure and the Smiths in favor of Buddy Holly and Bo Diddley.
Also, I’m leaving out folks like Aretha, Wilson Picket, George Jones and that yellow two disc Hank Williams set in an effort to sidestep any potential genre squabbles (even though James Brown and Al Green are that Yahoo list).
And I’m not so sure that these lists are necessarily personal. To a certain degree, sure, but there are certain indisputable entries like Chronicles by CCR and Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy.
The “Uncut Funk/The Bomb” greatest hits for Parliament is the only Best Of I can think of that also works as a concept album.
I think we’re avoiding the more important questions here: what makes a Greatest Hits most valuable? For instance, I think overall quality of the band is much less relevant than the relation between the GH and the band’s whole output, and the degree to which the GH gives the band a coherent profile. The Nirvana, Blondie, and Pink Floyd, for instance, seem closer to random culls of unrelated songs, whereas the Eagles GH paints a vivid, coherent picture of songs off albums that no one would otherwise want to hear. Hot Rocks, Meaty Beaty and Chronicles, and the Byrds Greatest Hits (not listed here) create very tight if limited portraits; the Dylan records have good songs but feel sprawling and randomly constructed.
Other relevant questions: are we counting any Greatest Hits released at any time or only those that were actually records during the band’s career? Greatest Hits released in the CD-era also have either the advantage or disadvantage (depending on the band) of choosing more songs.
I expected more leadership from andyr on this one. Instead the guy’s too busy smoking up some personal reasons.
Word is Andyr is busy trying to decide whether to wear his “Primes” (Keith Primeau) jersey or his Joe Watson throwback. My guess is he’ll go with Primes in honor of the classic 5-OT game vs the Pens.
THE WORST OF JEFFERSON AIRPLANE brings out the best in that troubled combo.
The tracklisting on Ramones Mania looks ok, but wshen I needed to replace my Ramones LPs, I got the two volumes of All The Stuff, which basically is the first four albums with a few bonus cuts. I don’t feel like I need any more Ramones than that, even though I bought many albums after the first four back in the day.
I don’t see why the Nirvana disc needs to be there – but would argue that Squeeze’s “Singles 45’s and Under” was an essential “best of”.
Another great, underrated greatest-hits is Street Life, the best of the many comps that mix Roxy Music with solo Ferry.
Since Zeppelin bothered to make “mothership”, it might as well be on there.
I always thought Dylan’s “greatest v. 1” was a bit of a snore compared to v.2, but I agree that if you’re going to introduce someone to dylan, v. 1 is the way to go.
what about r.e.m’s “eponymous”? it pretty much has everything up to “green”, yeah? that seems perfectly timed to me: they went in the terlet right about then, but everything leading up to that was pretty nize.
“the very best of” import of the Velvet’s best tunes is a good introduction, too.
the motown box is a cop out, though. motown wasn’t a band!
Quick poll re: the vuh-deo that accompanies this thread — does anybody here *not* think Stanley Clarke is a bass-tacular turd merchant? I mean, really. He’s no Willie Weeks! (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKXxD6YBTxI, starting at 0:50)
HVB
keef says…”mutter mutter mumble ronnie….trackszz…”.
I think mr. weeks might actually be heard (and also seen, but not much), playing bass in these here youtubes, hvb.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rha4QHvrO00
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvQGTnXJH_E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7Hx01KUAr8
“– does anybody here *not* think Stanley Clarke is a bass-tacular turd merchant? “
I like his work through about ’72-’73 when yes, he does turn into the parody of overwrought bass players
How about Tom Petty? That’s a guy who shines in a Best of format. If box sets are allowed, then Anthologies should certainly be accepted and I submit TP’s Through the Years anthology.
“Word is Andyr is busy trying to decide whether to wear his “Primes” (Keith Primeau) jersey or his Joe Watson throwback. My guess is he’ll go with Primes in honor of the classic 5-OT game vs the Pens”
Nah. Actually I want for the Gary Dornhoffer throwback. Tonight I’m wearing my Dave Schultz sweater. The Flyboys need to play physical tonight.
Right on, Andyr. Physical it is.
And I will raise your Dorny and Schultzie, and continue to evoke the soul of Moose Dupont, while also throwing in a Bob “the Hound” Kelly for good measure!!!!
Some “Best of” collections that haven’t been mentioned that I endorse.
*The Best Of Spirit
*Kicks! The Anthology 1963-1972 (Paul Rever and The Raiders)
Peek-A-Boo- NRBQ (this 2CD Rhino collection is sadly not in print anymore)
Yes, I’m with Mr. Buskirk on Stanley Clarke. His first album, on the back of which he thanks L. Ron Hubbard, is a model of fusion at its best. His playing on Chic Corea’s “Return to Forever” record is excellent, as is his work with Deodato, George Duke, any number of funk, jazz, whatever records in the early seventies.
And, of course, the song “School Days” was the “Smoke On the Water” of music store bass noodling, head to head with the Barney Miller Theme. Though, for my money, either one requires more fingers skill than what you usually heard of Smoke On the Water. On the other hand Smoke got way more scowls from the staff.
He did get highly lame after that. Maybe he missed the bass virtuoso’s dignified exit-ramp culs-de-sac of film scoring or upper-end PBS children’s programming music.
He got busier, and mushier with the playing. Right around when all jazz musicians seemed to become vegetarians, prompting the collection I worked on with Chris Pastore called Carnivorous Jazz – When Jazz Was Jazz, Men Were Men, and Jazz-Men Were Meat-Eaters. The T-shirt slogan was “It doesn’t take much intelligence to sneak up on a leaf.”
Christ sake, Mod. What’s with you guys? Steve, well, he could have been too set in his ways by the time Purple came along, I don’t know. But Machine Head? What’s not great about that record? Meaty! Also, Rat Bat Blue, the Mule, Our Lady the whole Fireball record, really. In Rock is good, too … I’ve been a big fan since Machine Head came out. True, they were one of the bands Spinal Tap was busting on, with the main difference that they all had crazy prowess on their instruments, and didn’t have the zany lyrical sense of, say Uriah Heep. It’s funny that they were far bigger in the rest of the world than Zep, but Zep’s music fits so much better in 1973 rust-belt america. They are so solid, not that they’re in heavy rotation at my house all the time anymore, but it never occurred to me to bust on them. I went through a little Deep Purple phase again not too long ago, and found that they didn’t require the pinch of nostalgia between the cheek and gum that other bands need to sound fun. Please find the “funny” songs you refer to, Mod. And Steve, do you like any other “hard rock” (that was the genre name before “metal” wasn’t it?) bands? Blues-based, but not blues, but harder than anything that could have had Rod Stewart sing on it? I’m baffled. But you’re right: the Eagles *do* suck.