30th Anniversary Collection 1963-1993Artist: The Hollies
This three-CD, 57-track box set does a good if imperfect job of encapsulating the legacy of one of the British Invasion's better bands. This includes all of the Hollies' singles, A- and B-sides, from the '60s, as well as five previously unreleased tunes. The hits -- "I'm Alive," "Bus Stop," "On a Carousel," and others -- contain some of the...
Read More
Fun in EspanolArtist: El Vez
El Vez's Fun in Espanol is How Great Thou Art sung entirely in Spanish. A delightful treat for Spanish-speaking people as well as the obsessive El Vez collector. ~ Kembrew McLeod, All Music Guide
Read More
Beyond the Blue Horizon: More of the BestArtist: Lou Christie
Greatest Hits, Vol. 2Artist: Weird Al Yankovic
Community Score: 7.62
Sure, he can be corny, but when "Weird Al" Yankovic hits the target, he can also be one pointed satirist. Greatest Hits Volume II gathers such rib-ticklers as "Headline News" (Tanya Harding meets the Crash Test Dummies), "Jurassic Park" (to the tune of "MacArthur Park"), and "Smells Like Nirvana." ~ Roch Parisien, All Music Guide
Read More
Greatest HitsArtist: Squeeze
Community Score: 5.00
Released in England in 1992, and reissued straight-up nearly a decade later in America, the 20-track collection Greatest Hits is a very good collection that captures Squeeze at their best, even if it doesn't contain all of their best moments. This contains pretty much everything on the 1982 collection Singles: 45s and Under -- every one but one...
Read More
The Cliff Richard Collection (1976-1994)Artist: Cliff Richard
The Cliff Richard Collection isn't simply the best American compilation he has ever been granted, it's also the finest single-disc collection of Cliff Richard's post-"Devil Woman" material around. That song, of course, remains his biggest-ever American hit; however, it also marked the beginning of what Richard himself regards as his renaissance,...
Read More
The Very Best of Jane WiedlinArtist: Jane Wiedlin
The Happy Club
Artist: Bob Geldof
Irish singer Bob Geldof's third solo set, The Happy Club, finds him again being produced by Rupert Hine, although he and Pete Briquette lend a hand. Geldof eschews the guest star-laden turns of his prior albums and settles with a set band line-up, with World Party's Karl Wallinger the only name guest. While not quite the triumph of his previous...
Read More
Words InsideArtist: Boy on a Dolphin
Community Score: 10.00
As music from around the world continues to collide and converge, this interesting experiment gets big bonus points for the attempt, even if it doesn't work as it might have in the studio. England's Boy On A Dolphin mix blue-eyed soul (along the lines of Simply Red) and African/world beat rhythms with Spanish acoustic guitars that lean to The...
Read More
Artist: Joy of Cooking
Changes/RewindArtist: Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers took a dramatic step during the late '60s, embracing adult standards and recording several Jimmy Webb compositions. These were solemn, literate tales of woe, anguish and turmoil requiring lyric interpretation and careful vocal pacing. They were also heavily produced numbers with string sections and background vocalists. The change...
Read More
