At one time the "greatest hits album" was a collection of the best recordings a musician or band had to offer, the cream of the crop. These days, performers often use such releases to snake their way out of contracts, revive interest in a dormant career or provide filler and fan-teasers until their next bona-fide release comes along.
The latest albums from artists ranging from Joni Mitchell to Van Halen fit under the umbrella of "greatest hits," but one could easily wonder why musicians of their caliber aren't delivering more substantial multidisc boxed sets.Here are reviews of some new greatest hits releases in stores, as critiqued by Deseret News staff writers Scott Iwasaki (S.I.), Jeff Vice (J.V.), Ray Boren (R.B.), Chris Hicks (C.H.) and Carma Wadley (C.W.):
JOHN ANDERSON; "Greatest Hits" (BNA/BMG).
Along with country's resurgence over the past few years has been a merger of sorts with old-time rock 'n' roll. As a result, more people have been paying attention to this musical style's artists - country music has become a vital part of today's popular music.
John Anderson, the red-head from Apopka, Fla., has been a major player in this evolution.
Anderson hit the charts with "Wild & Blue" in 1983, an album that featured his trademark hit, "Swingin'." His latest release, a greatest hits package, spotlights his talent with cool honky-tonks ("Money In the Bank" and "Country 'Til I Die") and heartfelt ballads ("Mississippi Moon" and "I Wish I Could Have Been There"). He also does a couple of remakes (Dire Straits' "When It Comes to You" and the Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands to Yourself"). - S.I.
CLINT BLACK; "The Greatest Hits" (RCA).
Since Clint Black hit the charts in 1989 with his debut, "Killin' Time," he's had a string of multiplatinum albums. To celebrate and mark the end of an era, he's put out a "Greatest Hits" album.
In addition to the popular non-single track "The Hard Way," this release is highlighted by Black's duet with Wynonna, "A Bad Good-bye."
Other guest musicians on the collected tunes include the Eagles' Timothy B. Schmit, Kenny Loggins and fiddler Mark O'Connor. - S.I.
MARK CHESNUTT; "Greatest Hits" (Decca).
It helps to have the musical gene. Mark Chesnutt, the son of Bob Chesnutt, a regional star in Texas, hasn't many albums to his name, but he's got a knack for playing with feeling.
This is the real deal. There's nothing drugstore about this cowboy. And to prove it, his greatest hits album is filled with songs that didn't necessarily hit Billboard's Top 100 Singles chart, but which can be considered favorites of lovers of both old and new country music.
The album contains Chesnutt's standards such as "Bubba Shot the Jukebox," "It's a Little Too Late" and "Ol' Country" as well as some newer tunes like "Let It Rain" and "I'll Think of Something." - S.I.
GEORGE CLINTON; "Greatest Funkin' Hits" (Capitol).
The self-proclaimed master of P-Funk is overripe for a greatest hits compilation. A ground-breaking musician who's jammed with Bootsy Collins and other funkmeisters crafted was the leader of Parliament and Funkadelic in the '70s.
With bopping dittys such as "Atomic Dog" and "Do Fries Go With that Shake," this collection shows how he mixed the attitudes of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone into something distinctly his own. - S.I.
COWBOY JUNKIES; "Studio: Selected Studio Recordings 1986-1995" (RCA).
The surreal tones of the Cowboy Junkies bring to mind desert highways, rustic diners and a dreamy haze.
Margo Timmons' clean vocals, her brother Michael's drifting guitars and other brother Peter's laid-back drums and Alan Anton's rambling bass set the band's trademark grooves on songs like "Common Disaster" and a remake of the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane." "Studio . . ." is a collection of the band at its finest. - S.I.
THE CULT; "High Octane Cult" (Reprise).
You can remove the chaff from a Cult album, but you can't remove the pomp and circumstance.
Even the best albums from the beloved gloom-rock-cum-pop-metal band ("Love" and "Electric") were marred somewhat by the strutting macho persona of singer Ian Astbury.
Fortunately, this well-chosen hits collection deletes some of Astbury's biggest excesses, but there are still some clunky moments (like the smarmy "Edie") and two previously uncollected tracks aren't exactly high-lights. - J.V.
JOHN DENVER; "Reflections: Songs of Love & Life" (RCA).
In a career that has spanned about four decades, John Denver has achieved fame as a songwriter, performer, actor and activist. Starting as an aspiring folk musician in the '60s, his first break came when he was chosen as the lead singer for the Chad Mitchell Trio. Less than two years later, he was zooming up the charts on his own, with a distinctive voice and style. Since then have come more than 30 albums, including at least three greatest-hits compilations.
His latest, "Reflections," is not billed as a greatest hits collection, although some of the all-time favorites are there. It is more of a biography, tracing his life and loves - from an early relationship with the Bobbie of "For Baby (For Bobbie)" to the years with Anne Martell (Annie of "Annie's Song") to his environmental work ("Calypso"). Along the way, there were other musicians who strongly influenced him (the Beatles and James Taylor, for example). And other emotions and experiences.
His life has had its ups and downs - including a failed marriage and troubles with alcohol. But he has always remained true to his music. And if there's one message he'd like to share it is probably this: "In the midst of this incredibly insane world with all the terrors and problems, life is worth living." - C.W.
JOHN ENTWISTLE; "Thunderfingers: The Best of John Entwistle" (Rhino).
A great title and a worthwhile look at the work of the underappreciated bassist of The Who. Overshadowed in many ways by the other three-quarters of the legendary band (windmill-guitarist-songwriter Pete Townshend, mighty vocalist Roger Daltrey and manic drummer Keith Moon), Entwistle, a stoic onstage, has always been an innovative bassist, brass player and songwriter in his own right with a taste for the dark side.
Over the past 25 years he's released a half-dozen albums on his own, and this collection samples five of them recorded from 1971 to 1981. The songs include "My Size," a wonderfully rumbly and enigmatic sequel of sorts to "Boris the Spider"; an uncharacteristically pensive road song, "What Are We Doing Here"; the understated "I Believe in Everything" (which would be a fine theme song for "The X Files") and the Spectoresque pseudo-love song "Drowning." Other tracks offer twisted observations, iconoclastic anthems and songs about ne'er-do-wells like a momma's boy, a peeping Tom, other assorted losers. Many a Who fan would be surprised at the stylistic diversity. - R.B.
THE DOORS; "The Doors Greatest Hits" (Elektra).
Originally released in 1980, "The Doors Greatest Hits" rose to No. 17 on the Billboard charts. By 1981, the album was certified platinum. In 1991, the album was reissued on cassette only and rose again No. 17.
This time around "The Doors Greatest Hits" is on CD. The songs have been remastered and, what's more, the disc is an enhanced CD that can be used in a CD-ROM drive. Along with "The Ghost Song," originally released on Jim Morrison's spoken-word album, "The American Prayer," there are two more bonus tracks - "The End," the wild version from the film "Apocalypse Now," and "Love Her Madly." There is a complaint, however. The new tracks knocked the spiraling "Not to Touch the Earth," part of Morrison's poetic epic "Celebration of the Lizard," from this reissue. - S.I.
FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS; "The Finest" (London/MCA).
More than six years have past since the Fine Young Cannibals hit the big time with album "The Raw and the Cooked" and the No. 1 hits "She Drives Me Crazy" and "Good Thing." Fans are still awaiting the band's return to the studio, which doesn't seem likely anytime soon, because while the lads were recording songs for their third album, they mutually decided to disband - rather than release an album of mediocre grooves.
In response, MCA Records has released "The Finest," a greatest-hits compilation from the English pop trio that is deliciously fun and nostalgic.
Of major fan interest may be three new songs - "Since You've Been Gone," "Take What I Can Get" and "The Flame" - which were recorded just before the group split. - S.I.
HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS; "Time Flies . . . The Best of Huey Lewis & the News" (Elektra).
Well, pop-rock with a nostalgic spice of hip doo-wop harmonies came in the form of Huey Lewis & the News in the early 1980s. And Elektra Records attempts to keep the music alive by releasing this album.
While it's called "The Best . . . ," and does include "The Power of Love," "The Heart of Rock and Roll" and "This Is It," there are a couple of notable songs left off. The lost recordings include the No. 1-charting "Jacob's Ladder," the No. 3 "Hip to Be Square" and the Top 20 "Walking On a Thin Line."
But all's not lost. The album contains three new tracks, "Easy to Believe," "When the Time Has Come" and "100 Years From Now." - S.I.
LL COOL J; "All World: The Greatest Hits" (Def Jam).
The groove thang of LL Cool J (born James Todd Smith in Queens, New York) was discovered in 1995 by then college senior Rick Rubin during Def Jam's formative years.
Cool J, who is now a TV star with his sitcom "In the House," collects his more significant tracks on "All World . . . " But not only are there streetwise raps ("I'm Bad"), sexual innuendo ("Back Seat") and hip-hop bumps (most of the songs on the album), there are a few sentimental chants, including one featuring Boyz II Men ("Hey Lover"). This is a well packaged hits collection that will probably not appeal to all rhythm & blues lovers, just a select few. - S.I.
MARSHALL TUCKER BAND; "Country Tucker" (ERA/K-Tel International).
The Marshall Tucker Band easily fits on a list of Southern-rock pioneers. And K-Tel International has compiled the band's more country-sounding tunes in "Country Tucker."
The music, though firmly based in the South, does have a pop flavor to it, with songs like "Heard It in a Love Song" and "Can't You See." Fans will kick back and remember, while those not familiar with the band might want to look for the 1978 "Greatest Hits" for a better introduction to this six-man band from South Carolina. - S.I.
JONI MITCHELL; "Hits" (Reprise)
JONI MITCHELL; "Misses" (Reprise)
OK, Joni Mitchell fans - and who else would be interested? - let's start off by clearing up some misconceptions. "Hits" and "Misses" are two separate albums, not a double-disc set. And the "Hits" are not all hits in the traditional sense. Mitchell doesn't have enough chart-singles to make up an entire album.
On the other hand, the "Misses" are also fine songs, and some - "For the Roses," "A Case of You" - are not unfamiliar.
That said, there's plenty of material here to please those of us who have loved Mitchell through her more experimental works, as well as those who may have stopped buying her records around "The Hissing of Summer Lawns."
"Hits" starts off with the wonderful "Urge for Going," which isn't on an album, though it was recorded in 1967, a year before her first release. All of Mitchell's most famous songs - "Chelsea Morning," "Big Yellow Taxi," "Woodstock," "The Circle Game," "Both Sides Now," "Free Man in Paris" and "Help Me" - are here.
And though "Misses" includes lesser-known, quirkier songs (though the really quirky stuff is absent), like "Nothing Can Be Done," "The Magdalene Laundries" and "The Reoccurring Dream," it is proof that Mitchell's writing skills have not waned.
Yet, while I enjoyed these collections, they are not likely to replace my frequent rotation of her best albums - "Blue," "Clouds," "Ladies of the Canyon," "For the Roses," "Song to a Seagull" and "Court and Spark." - C.H.
COLLIN RAYE; "Hits" (Epic).
Collin Raye's "Hits" is a gift to his fans and a tip of the hat to those he calls some of "Nashville's best songwriters."
The package spans his five-year career with Epic Records. And in it he manages to collect some of his well-loved tunes, such as the older "If I Were You" and "Somebody Else's Moon" as well as the more recent "I Think About You" and "My Kind of Girl."
If you love Collin Raye, you'll undoubtedly like what this compilation has to offer. - S.I.
ROGER & ZAPP; "The Compilation: Greatest Hits and More" (Reprise).
The soul band that gave us "More Bounce to the Ounce" back in 1980 released its first greatest hits a few years ago. This time around, Roger Troutman has compiled smooth grooves from the band's later albums, his own solo albums and various soundtracks.
There are also some new tunes, such as a remake of Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City" and Dolly Parton's (and Whitney Houston's) "I Will Always Love You," which is sung by Shirley Murdock - a hard thing to do because of the impact of Houston's version had on the easy listening crowd - and the Commodores' "Easy."
And in keeping with the holiday season, Troutman even added "Please Come Home for Christmas" to end the album. - S.I.
MICHELLE SHOCKED; "Mercury Pose: 1988-1995" (Mercury).
Some deem her music to be "folk." Others call it "the blues." But whatever it is, she plays and sings with an earnest passion many another artist lacks. Maybe its because she really lived some of her songs - or maybe she's just good.
Michelle Shocked's provocative lyrics concerning homelessness ("Street Corner Ambassador"), women's issues ("Prodigal Daughter"), spirituality ("On the Greener Side") and heartbreak ("Stillborn") are highlighted by intricate arrangements that capture each song's essense.
Shocked, once a homeless musician herself, uses her narrative style to enhance the stories she wants and has a need to tell. - S.I.
SIMPLY RED; "Greatest Hits" (EastWest).
Simply Red's soulful grooves come through on such dance songs such as "Money's Too Tight to Mention" and "Right Thing." The band also created slow-dance faves, such as the No. 1 "If You Don't Know Me By Now" and "Holding Back the Years."
The English "group" - really a solo project centered around singer Mick "Red" Hucknall - has collected those and other tunes - including a new hip-hop-flavored song called "Angel" - in this set. - S.I.
SPLIT ENZ; "EnzSo" (Epic).
Having already released more than one greatest-hits collection, New Zealand's Split Enz return to the scene of the crime with "EnzSo."
And what the band does to some of its pop classics - aided and abetted by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the New Zealand National Youth Choir - is truly criminal.
Swelling strings turn the heart-rending "I Hope I Never" into a sugary overload on the level of an over-frosted cake, while "I See Red" stutters along with a clunky orchestral arrangement. - J.V.
SQUEEZE; "Piccadilly Collection" (A&M).
Brit popsters Squeeze already released one greatest-hits package ("Singles: 45s and Under"), so the reasoning behind this compilation is extremely faulty.
"Picadilly Collection" features four songs from the aforementioned collection and, not too surprisingly, they're the best ones here as well. Elsewhere, it picks some uneven songs from five other Squeeze albums.
There are also some rarities, such as "Spanish Guitar" and "What the Butler Saw," but frankly, fans would be better served by picking up the earlier singles collection instead. - J.V.
'TIL TUESDAY; "Coming Up Close: A Retrospective" (Epic/Legacy).
'Til Tuesday and singer Amy Mann hit the scene with the abused-woman anthem "Voices Carry" in the mid-'80s. But many of her earliest observers failed to note how how multidimensional Mann could be. Her songs merged craftlike pop with intelligent lyrics about life, love and being.
Fans of `Til Tuesday, or of Mann, now a solo artist, will find themselves drifting into day-glo nostalgia with the tunes "Voices Carry," "Coming Up Close" and "What About Love." A good many of them will also probably yearn for days gone by. - S.I.
PETER TOSH; "The Best of Peter Tosh: Dread Don't Die" (EMI).
Why try something again when you've already done it right the first time?
EMI Records already released "The Toughest," the definitive collection of songs from the late reggae singer Peter Tosh, in 1986. Ten years later, they've released a companion album of Tosh hits, which features some of the same songs and pales in comparison.
While live versions of "Get Up, Stand Up" and "Equal Rights" are riveting, the inclusion of Tosh's embarrassing cover of "Johnny B. Goode" and the dull "Glasshouse" is befuddling. - J.V.
VAN HALEN; "The Best of Van Halen, Vol. I" (Warner Bros.).
For Van Halen, lead singers can be a pain in the neck. Although David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar had their moments, they divided fans (and nearly the band itself). But when the stage antics and cheers fade, a true fan will recognize that the band Van Halen is about music.
Van Halen could have, and probably should have, produced a five- or six-disc boxed set, because some obvious "greatest hits" choices didn't make this anthology. A majority of those were the remakes - "You Really Got Me," "You're No Good," " Pretty Woman" and "Dancing in the Streets." Still, other well-known and charting songs, such as "Feels So Good," "Top of the World," "Love Walks In" and "Black and Blue," also failed to make the cut this time around.
The songs that did make the lineup include "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "Runnin' with the Devil," "And the Cradle Will Rock . . .," "Unchained," "Humans Being," "Poundcake" and "Why Can't This Be Love."
Still, we must keep in mind, as the title says, this is only "Volume I." - S.I.
JOHN WAITE; "Falling Backwards: The Complete John Waite Vol. 1" (Chrysalis/EMI).
John Waite was the voice of the Babys and Bad English, as well as one of the more popular solo artists of the 1980s. With a career full of hills and valleys, Waite and EMI Records have nevertheless found a way to respectfully represent his voice, diversity and lyrics.
"Falling Backwards . . ." not only features Waite's most notable solo tracks, "Change" and "Missing You," it includes a hit from his most recent Imago album, "Temple Dog," called "Downtown." The album also digs up songs by Waite's old bands, the Babys ("Head First") and Bad English ("When I See You Smile") as well.
Still, one question remains: How can you have anything that's called "The Complete . . . Vol. 1"? - S.I.
BEBE & CECE WINANS; "Greatest Hits," (EMI/Sparrow).
The seventh and eighth children of David and Delores Winans, Benjamin (BeBe) and Priscilla (CeCe) grew up in a musical family, including four of their brothers, who formed a gospel group known as the Winans. BeBe and CeCe were originally part of a family team known as "The Winans Part II" and sang with the PTL Singers, attracting attention with their gospel rendition of the pop hit "Up Where We Belong."
A record contract came along in 1987, and in the nine years since, they've become gospel music's premiere duo, known for their upbeat, uplifting style. "We send out a message of hope," says BeBe, who does a lot of the writing for the pair. "It's music from the heart, and I think that's why it goes straight to the hearts of others."
The "Greatest Hits" packages includes eight charted singles, four tracks from four of their five Capitol/Sparrow albums and two new recordings: "Feels Like Heaven (With You)" and "Up Where We Belong." - C.W.