Any record company can put out a "best of" collection by any given artist. But it takes Rhino Records to do it right.
The small but influential Rhino label has displayed an uncanny knack for superb anthologies of both the significant and the insignificant, the pop music pioneers and flash-in-the-pans.Rhino can even take the trivial and frame it in such a way to paint a fascinating portrait of Americana.
Past anthologies include essentials like Todd Rundgren, the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Four Seasons, Ray Charles, the Kinks, the Righteous Brothers, the Turtles and the Yardbirds.
The catalog also includes such minutiae as "The Best of Foghat" and "The Village People's Greatest Hits."
In short, the Rhino catalog is a collector's delight, a musical smorgasbord of 35 years of rock 'n' roll, most of which was previously unavailable in compact disc format.
Rhino has some new additions to the catalog:
The Lovin' Spoonful; "Anthology."
Perhaps the best collection now available in the Rhino catalog is the just-released Lovin' Spoonful anthology that chronicles one of the most popular (and influential) hippie bands of the 1960s.
John Sebastian, Zal Yanovsky & Company developed an uncanny knack for catchy pop tunes injected with a sort of free-spirited musical anarchy typical of the period from 1965-70.
And they did it in a folk-rock sort of way that laid the groundwork for progressive folk-rock artists to follow, including the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Prine, Bonnie Raitt and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
The Lovin' Spoonful was one of the first to use acoustic guitars, banjos, pedal steel guitars, autoharps, Irish harps, clavinets and harmonicas. Sound like a modern country band?
The Lovin' Spoonful does sound a bit country by today's standards. But in the 1960s, this was cutting-edge rock 'n' roll, despite the fact it was also folk, blues and rockabilly. And pop.
Which is why tunes like "Do You Believe in Magic," "Daydream," "Summer in the City," "Rain on the Roof," "Nashville Cats" and "Darling Be Home Soon" are still favorites of those who grew up during the 1960s.
The anthology includes a brilliant sampling of hits and non-hits, 26 of them, recorded from 1965 to 1969.
TOMMY JAMES AND THE SHONDELLS; "ANTHOLOGY."
Tommy James is the Rodney Dangerfield of pop music: He never gets any respect. At least not from the critics.
Yet 20 years later, people are still taking Tommy James tunes and turning them into No. 1 singles. Why?
Because Tommy James was an exceptional songwriter (with the right cowriter) with a knack for well-crafted melodies. Just how good can be seen on Rhino's "Anthology," which traces James' career from the 1963 cover of "Hanky Panky" to his last big single, "Draggin' the Line," in 1971.
In between are all the great songs ("Crimson and Clover," "Crystal Blue Persuasion," "Sugar on Sunday," "Mony, Mony," "Sweet Cherry Wine") and all the less-remembered tunes ("Gettin' Together," "Say I Am," "Gotta Get Back to You").
During the 1960s, it was definitely uncool to admit to anyone you really liked Tommy James. He was the incarnation of bubblegum. Yet 20 some-odd years later, those tunes stand up remarkably well, arguing effectively that James was a studio craftsman light-years ahead of his time.
There are 27 tunes in all, making it the most complete collection of Tommy James tunes available. And the best.
PAUL ANKA; "30th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION."
There was a time when rock 'n' roll was still draped in innocence, when all you needed to put together a great band was a couple of acoustic guitars, a stand-up bass and smooth-as-silk vocals.
One who fit the formula was singer-songwriter Paul Anka, who put together a list of top-selling singles that today rank him as one of the premier artists of the pre-Beatles era. Unfortunately, Anka's work has been obscured over the years by better-known artists from the same period: Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers and even Elvis.
This anniversary collection on compact disc offers 24 Anka tunes, from "Diana" in 1957 to "My Way" in 1974. In between, you find gems like "Put Your Head on My Shoulder," "Puppy Love," "My Home Town" and "Summer's Gone."
There are also less-memorable tunes from his 1970s comeback, like "You're Having My Baby." But as a whole, "Collection" is a fitting glimpse at a true pioneer of pop music.
VARIOUS ARTISTS; "EVEN MORE NUGGETS - CLASSICS FROM THE PSYCHEDELIC '60s."
Pull out your tie-dyed T-shirt, slip on those paisley shirts and platform shoes. Psychedelia is back.
At least it is on the Rhino collection "Even More Nuggets - Classics from the Psychedelic '60s." Actually, calling them "classics" may be stretching the point a bit.
You won't find these gems on the golden oldies stations, nor on the classic rock stations. But in one nifty 18-song collection, Rhino has captured the spirit of that all-too-brief period in American pop music - a time when sitars and feedback were the prevailing sound of music.
Nuggets includes Kenny Rogers & the First Edition singing "Just Dropped In to See What Condition My Condition Was In," Strawberry Alarm Clock's "Incense and Peppermint," the Electric Prunes' "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night," the Grass Roots' "Let's Live for Today," and on and on and on.
Taken separately, most of the tunes collected here are unremarkable, if not downright forgettable. But taken together, they create a spirit that reaches back in time. For a once-in-a-while trip through nostalgia, the "Psychedelic '60s" is as good as it gets.
VARIOUS ARTISTS; "HAVE A NICE DAY, VOLUMES 1-5"
Guilty pleasures. There's just no other way to describe this five-volume set of totally forgettable yet undeniably delightful not-so-greatest-hits from 1970 and 1971.
These are songs that stormed onto the charts and quickly back off again, only to be tucked away in the furthest recesses of our collective memories. They were the fluffy stuff that were staples of Top 40 radio, but which no serious aficionado of rock 'n' roll would ever admit to liking.
The 12-song Volume 1 (there are only 10 on the LP version) opens with the song we all don't remember, Spiral Staircase's "More Today Than Yesterday," and proceeds quickly through such gems as Smith's "Baby It's You," Billy Joe Royal's "Cherry Hill Park" and the Shocking Blue's "Venus" (the original from which Bananarama found fame and fortune).
There's the pure puff of "Come Saturday Morning" and the Flying Machine's "Smile a Little Smile for Me" and the Cuff Links' "Tracy," among others. The only tune out of place here is Mountain's "Mississippi Queen," a classic rock song reflecting the genesis of today's heavy metal sound.
While Volume 1 is a mixed bag of bubble gum and guitar rock, Volume 2 keeps to the "Have a nice day" spirit of the collection, with great tunes like "Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes" (Edison Lighthouse), "Ma Belle Amie" (Tee Set), "Reflections of My Life" (Marmalade), "My Baby Loves Lovin' " (White Plains) and "United We Stand" (Brotherhood of Man).
Volume 3 throws in a few favorites like Melanie's "Lay Down," Sugarloaf's "Green-Eyed Lady" and Alive and Kicking's "Tighter and Tighter," but sticks mostly to tunes like Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime" and Bobby Sherman's "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" (12 songs in all).
This is unquestionably the weakest of the five volumes, but is nonetheless a fascinating glimpse at some of the most unremarkable music in a decade that was to offer some of the most forgettable rock 'n' roll ever.
Volume 4 gets back on track with Sammi Smith's "Help Me Make It Through the Night," Brewer and Shipley's "One Toke Over the Line," the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Mr. Bojangles" and the Belles' "Stay Awhile" (12 songs total).
Volume 5 has Lobo's "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo," Richie Haven's "Here Comes the Sun," Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds' "Don't Pull Your Love," Tommy James' "Draggin' the Line" and "Burning Bridges" by the Mike Curb Congregation (12 songs total).
As a whole the five sets are enjoyable, though no single volume stands alone as "great." There's enough collective bubble gum to make even the most ardent fan go into diabetic shock.
Yet there are also enough good tunes to keep you glued, though for how long remains questionable. This five-volume collection quite easily could have been done in two volumes: one highlighting the 14 or 15 best, and one highlighting the 14 or 15 worst. Those in between are best forgotten.