Okay, someone mentioned the Barenaked Ladies had a Greatest Hits album out in one of the other threads, and it reminded me of something I dislike.
I really do wish greatest hits albums wouldn't come out until the group was disbanded. What you usually get is a group that is still together, puts out a greatest hits album, then they are still together for a few more years, then they have to put out Vol. II. And all you really needed was one album that has all the good stuff from the two voulmes and has none of the "filler" material. Its seems to me that saying you have to put out two different albums just to contain your greatest hits is a little pretentious. That should be reserved for unique artists that have so many hits that they have to put out more than one.
I'm going to have to disclude solo artists from this, uh, whining rant, because they never really retire. (See Celine Dione and Garth Brooks)
edit: Okay, I just remembered Cat Stevens retired for real, so I'll amend that with "Unless they go on a religious journey." "We'll have a . . . a fire fight, mortars exploding, bullets flying, Vietnamese screaming . . . There is nothing offensive about it."
A spokesperson for 'Vietnam Village' a 1976 Florida Tourist theme park
I don't know if I'd go so far as to demand that a group disband before such an album, since really it would be a bit silly to make say the Rolling Stones unable to do a GH album 40 years after they started. I'd say you're allowed on such album every 10-15 years. Since you mentioned BNL, I'll use them as an example. For all those folks who just now got into them last 2-3 years, this is a chance to sort of catch up. But now that they're all up to speed, no need for another such release until say 2017 or so. Though some groups should never be allowed such an album. I would have sworn I saw Tesla's greatest hits for instance. Now I loved "Love Song", but for crying out loud it's TESLA!
Well, this is really more of a whining rant on filler material than anything else, I guess. The Rolling Stones would be an example of a group with enough hits that it makes sense for them to make as many greatest hits albums as they wanted whenever they wanted. I'm referring to groups who don't really have enough to make a greatest hits album, yet, and they put out something with filler material. I guess some examples would help.
Timbuk 3 Kajagooogoo Big Country Fun Boy Three
These guys all have greatest hits albums, while they were sitll together, no less, why? And anytime I have to mention Fun Boy Three, you know it can't be a good thing.
An example of someone who can put out as many greatest hits albums as they like is Billy Joel (yeah, I know, solo artist). But still, Greatest Hits I & II had 20 songs and 2 originals. All 20 songs were charted hits and the other 2 songs became charted hits. That's a pretty good batting average.
"We'll have a . . . a fire fight, mortars exploding, bullets flying, Vietnamese screaming . . . There is nothing offensive about it."
A spokesperson for 'Vietnam Village' a 1976 Florida Tourist theme park
All fair and well-taken points, and I agree with all of them. My personal beef with GH albums is the whole licensing from different record company problems. Like with the Replacements, whose GH was missing some of their best albums because the first record company wasn't involved in the process. Someone needs to come up with some procedure where as long as a company gets a cut of the profits they cannot hold back permission for a GH album to have all of an artists work available to it.
If you really want a track listing I can give you one, but I'll pass for now. Don't look down on me too much though, I needed to buy 1 more cd from BMG to end my torturous membership so out of a pang of nostalgia I bought it. I was in like 6th or 7th grade when they came out.
I am not speaking ill of you for owning it, but rather of whomever decided Cinderella had Great Hits to put out in the first place. And I'm sure we all have that one album we bought to appease a record club that we would never have otherwise bought. I know I have the Batman Forever soundtrack for that reason.
And I'm sure we all have that one album we bought to appease a record club that we would never have otherwise bought. I know I have the Batman Forever soundtrack for that reason.
There, I feel better now.
Mine was the Verve Pipe cd. What happened to them after "The Freshman?" I can't remember any other single from them. Incidentally, having "verve" in your band's name must be bad karma. The Verve Pipe and The Verve each had one good song, and then faded away.
-The Big Kat "It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care." -Peter Gibbons, Office Space
I happened to see The Verve Pipe 3 times in one year. They seemed to be opening for everyone. This was before "The Freshmen" came out. They came across really well on stage, so when "The Freshman" hit the radio, I bought the CD and it was REALLY FRIGGING BORING. They had another song called "Photograph" that was alright but everything else pretty much sucked.
I'm glad Jobberman reminded me of seeing the Verve Pipe live, because I saw them on a real one-hit wonder concert bill. The opening act was Tonic who were having their one big song. The middle act was K's Choice, who despite being amazingly good and having my future wife (though no one has told her this news yet) Sarah Bettens as lead singer, had only one semi-hit with "Not An Addict", and the headliner was Verve Pipe right at the peak of "Freshmen" running the charts. The disposable nature of that show is scary in hindsight.
I'm confused. This is the 2nd or 3rd time someone has called Tonic a One Hit Wonder. And being a fan of the band, and also working in radio, I don't know which song was their One Hit, since they hit #1 with all of these songs on the rock charts (in chronological order):
Open Up Your Eyes If You Could Only See You Wanted More
While they also had 3 other songs in the top 20 in theRock charts, so can someone clarify for the non-Pop radio listening me?
"You can see a million miles tonight, but you can't get very far." - Adam Duritz
I don't think Tonic is a one-hit wonder. Even though I hated "If You Could Only See", it was still a hit. I loved "You Wanted More", I think it was on the American Pie soundtrack. Maybe some other soundtrack, but it is a great song.
-The Big Kat "It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care." -Peter Gibbons, Office Space
Interesting to note that no one's yet picked up on two other reasons why record labels put out greatest hits albums: A) The band's broken up, or behind on a studio album, and the greatest hits album is something fairly easy to put together to add one album to fulfill the band's obligation to the label.
B) The label wants to see how much interest there is in the band before re-signing them to a new deal.
That's what happened with Tesla with their greatest hits album in 1995. I'm thinking something similar was the cause with Def Leppard and "Vault" around the same time, but don't quote me on that.
Oh, and to you Tesla-haters on the board... "Love Song"..."Signs"..."Modern Day Cowboy"..."Lil Suzie"..."Gettin' Better"..."Edison's Medicine"..."What U Give"... etc. etc. Please do us all a favor and don't mix Tesla, who were blue-jeans-and-California-laid-back guys, in with the rest with the crappy 80s glam metal bands like Cinderella, Winger, et. al., less you be punished with listening to Bulletboys albums.
"People say that if you don't love America, then get the hell out. Well, I love America." - "Born on the Fourth of July," 1989. "One day, we will be reunited. But until then, my spirit will always be with you." - "Mortal Kombat," 1995.
I suppose it would be sad of me to say that I have not ony the greatest hits of Tesla, Cinderella, and Def Leppard in my collection, but I also have the Poison, Great White and Warrant greatest hits collections too. What can I say? I'm a sucker for greatest hits albums when I used to enroll in Columbia House or BMG under the many different variations of my name, and it was before file sharing when I could get the few songs of most of these guys I liked online for free.
I'm still trying to figure out how in the world the Barenakedladies conviced themselves that they needed a greatest hits album, or for that matter, what they put on it? If I had a million dollars only takes up 2 1/2 minutes, ya know.