The greatest Greatest Hits collection

its one of those comps where the extra tracks do a good job of feeling like a natural part of the bands history & catalog, rather than seeming like value-added bonus tracks dug up to sell the comp

gotta say I really love those greatest hits/anthology comps that are half hits/great album tracks and half B-sides, unreleased and rare stuff. like The Kink Kronikles or Sound of Science by Beastie Boys. what other comps are like that?

― frogbs, Thursday, October 1, 2020 9:05 AM (three hours ago)

Eno Box I & II

Early '90s CD era was good for those 2-discers. Legacy was on a roll: The Legend of Paul Revere; Poco's The Forgotten Trail; Moby Grape's Vintage and Spirit's Time Circle come to mind.

Not to mention Rhino's Anthology sets, particularly the Sparks installment.

I thought I had mentioned the Sparks one in this thread, guess not. Yeah, it hits pretty much all the high points (at that time) of a long and varied career.

Lately I’ve been playing ZZ Top’s Rancho Texicano a lot. Does a similarly great job, and I like the way it divides between the straight ahead blues rock on disc 1 and the MTV years on disc 2. Listening to the latter as I type!

Biograph was right in this mold, tho it's a big ol' box set

In terms of unreleased material, it seemed a little stingy, especially when Ten of Swords came out around the same time.

But to be fair, "I'll Keep It With Mine," "Percy's Song," "Lay Down Your Weary Tune," "Quinn the Eskimo," "You're a Big Girl Now," "Abandoned Love," "Up To Me" and the Dec. 4, 1975 performances of "Romance in Durango" and "Isis" were indeed lost classics that SHOULD have been released soon after they were recorded.

"Baby, I'm in the Mood for You," "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and the "Forever Young" demo were all pretty good, very enjoyable.

The live 1966 cuts of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," "I Don't Believe You" and "Visions of Johanna" were great, but not really the best representation of that epochal tour in terms of performance and song selection (for starters, two acoustic performances and just one electric?) - they really should have put out the Free Trade Hall or the Liverpool show in their entirety much earlier.

The heavily edited "Jet Pilot," "Caribbean Wind" and the live "Heart of Mine" were poor choices. "Caribbean Wind" was especially disappointing because it is definitely a great lost song, but they picked a thoroughly crappy version plagued by bad rewrites, a bad arrangement and a bad performance - they should have used the live version (the only live performance it's ever gotten), which was finally included in the Trouble No More Bootleg Series installment.

In Australia this was the standard Dylan best-of for many 80s households, which has a bit of a grab-bag quality - leaning heavily towards the hits natch but some curious selections in there

Interesting. Here is a playlist of that as far as I can tell: https://open.spotify.com/user/nickgino/playlist/1a4jYPZuLAtYtuwlgBCODb?si=FBQm6Kx1Sh-pNlMcloycOA

You should definitely own at least the first four LPs as well, but Bjork's GH is a phenomenal album.

agreed, it has brilliant sequencing and choice of tracks

apparently the sequence is the results of the online fan poll that chose the tracks, in descending order?? don't remember that factoid, wow.

apparently the sequence is the results of the online fan poll that chose the tracks, in descending order?? don't remember that factoid, wow.

Forgot about that poll, but that probably helped. While I'm at it, Kate Bush's The Whole Story is an excellent LP-sized compilation too. For anyone who needs a good introduction or who's not entirely sold on Björk or Kate Bush, those compilations pretty much hit the spot.

Re: some of the curious selections on Dylan's Biograph, I noticed later on that some of them were originally released as singles, which may explain why there were picked for the box set. It's too bad because sometimes when the label needed to put out a single, they didn't pick great much less the best songs from the respective albums. So instead of "Going Going Gone," we get both sides of the single for Planet Waves which also happen to be two of the most disposable songs on there, "Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine" instead of "Highway 61 Revisited" from Before the Flood, etc.

I’ve been jamming Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits album (the green album cover with the flower) and it really is fucking incredible. Just killer pop song after killer pop song all the way through.

^ college dorm room staple

That Dylan Masterpieces collection is a lot of fun.

https://i.imgur.com/3HoiENf.jpg

my man

While exploring Thin Lizzy, I came across this compilation.

(Hoping this image displays properly:)

https://img.discogs.com/E4E5QN9aEofnVTWyPVt66GHvugc=/fit-in/589x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-1437904-1261145046.jpeg.jpg

Originally released in 1981, I believe it's the first hits/best-of that was authorized by Lynott, and it fell out-of-print a long time ago, never getting a reissue during the CD era or later. A shame because I really dig the cover - far better than the unimaginative cookie-cutter designs that were for the posthumous compilations.

I wasn't entirely sold on Thin Lizzy - their recording career feels wildly uneven - but outside of their celebrated live double-LP and Jailbreak, this might be the best place to hear them first. It feels like their best, most concise LP-length compilation. Great introduction and a great summation.

The cover concept is a good idea, but I’m not sold on the “multiple equine asscrack” execution.

Hah! Now that I think about it, I guess those aren't rocks, and they're not getting kicked up.

One that people don’t usually think of is Bob Marley - Legend

― All cars are bad (Euler)

Geir did 13 years ago in this thread.

I think I agree with Legend. Marley is quite frankly the most recognized figure worldwide in reggae music and the album everyone seems to own is Legend.

it should also serve as the only full-length by the artist you need. But feel free to disregard the last part if you like.

It may be interesting to focus on this particular criterion. Though I guess you’d have to set a certain bar, to exclude obvious/inarguable cases of one/two/three-hit wonders, etc.

(and I guess it would probably just turn into the usual round of, “Here’s another band I think sucks...”)

Btw - a great comp not mentioned on this thread (surprisingly, considering its vintage) is ESG’s A South Bronx Story.

Two posters mentioned the Go-Betweens - 1978-1990 above, but this is another compilation where the first disc is a greatest hits and the second is rarities, one side each chosen by Forster and McLennan.

Eric Weisbard in The Spin Alternative Record Guide says that this album "never leaves the stereos" of certain Go-Betweens fans who "become obsessive" for the band as the fans age out of "the conceptual games of alternative". It's a strange image of Go-Betweens worshippers superglueing their copies into the cassette deck.

Now I have the image of a really dense fan supergluing his CD in the tray, only to hear the motor grind to pieces when it fails to spin the disc for playback. But even in jest, that doesn't remotely align with the intellect of a Go-Betweens fan.

These are some 1 or 2-disc compilations of artists (hits or otherwise) that have served me well as either all I need or something good enough to spin when I need a fix of their work:

Fats Domino - My Blue Heaven: The Best of Fats Domino (EMI)
The Carter Family - Wildwood Flower (Living Era)
Mississippi John Hurt - Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 OKeh Recordings (Columbia)
Blind Lemon Jefferson - The Best of Blind Lemon Jefferson (Yazoo)
Little Richard - The Georgia Peach (Specialty)
Ennio Morricone - The Ennio Morricone Anthology: A Fistful of Film Music (Rhino)
ABBA - ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits (Polar)
Leonard Cohen - The Best of Leonard Cohen (Columbia)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Ooo Baby Baby: The Anthology (Motown)

Hard to pick a favorite of those. Probably whichever I am listening to at that moment.

"The Best of Leonard Cohen" definitely checks all the boxes

I have The Essential Leonard Cohen but i don't listen to it much. I usually listen to the first album or watch the Live in London DVD. The latter is probably my favorite Leonard Cohen.

Greatest Live Essential Best Hits

Greatest Live Essential Best Hits: The Anthology

is meaty, beaty big & bouncy still the best who compilation? there's quite a few others (i think i've owned at least three besides that one), but it's hard to argue with the selection, and it flows pretty well.

https://i.imgur.com/ZLdCowt.jpg
This has emerged as my all time fave

is meaty, beaty big & bouncy still the best who compilation?

I'd say yes. Not comprehensive obviously when it was released in 1970, but you can't find a more consistent and concise Who compilation. Great intro, and it doesn't lose much value if you start buying up the proper LP's (My Generation, A Quick One, Sell Out,Tommy,Leeds, Who's Next, etc.)

All my favourites already mentioned other than this early Stones album I stole from my dad.

https://www.discogs.com/The-Rolling-Stones-Rolled-Gold-The-Very-Best-Of-The-Rolling-Stones/release/8445262

As with 'Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy' it's a great sampler of everything good about a band up until just before they got a bit shit.

https://img.discogs.com/BwK2i42svROqDbxgkjDThb_1Rpg=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-633139-1359593747-2661.jpeg.jpg

either of the Girls Aloud compilations are a) cheap from your local charity shop b) bloody wonderful

carissas wierd - 'they'll only miss you when you leave'
pixies - wave of mutilation
neil young - decade
the cribs - payola

Haven't heard every Moloko album, but based on those I have, Catalogue pretty much leaves them in the dust.

I like when they're not comprehensive and can function as their own listening experience.

Elton John "Greatest Hits" and ChangesOneBowie are a good template for how to do this. Starting with their breakthrough hit and covering the next 4-5 years, they also include a couple not-so-famous choices that fit well in the sequencing. And they both work as a snapshot of their career until that point, before they later would score a dozen more hits and earn their "volume two."

The Essential Taj Mahal. I don’t know lots about him, but this contains all the “hits” I knew of, and with two discs I don’t have an urgent need to research his dozens of other albums.

And it’s really good!

I wonder who is the better judge of a greatest Greatest Hits:

- the expert who knows the entire oeuvre and can say, "this covers all you need to hear" or "this is the perfect introduction"

- the neophyte who says, "I am perfectly satisfied with this package and I feel no need to explore further"

?

I have been both and often the latter turned into the former.

Examples:

The first Nick Drake album I heard was the compilation Heaven in a Wild Flower, and having heard all of the other releases, including the archival ones, I still think it's a perfectly chosen and sequenced set. Ending with Time Has Told Me (the first song on his first album) rather than a Pink Moon or 1974 song gives it a regenerative aura.

On the other hand, I bought the Grand Funk Railroad Capitol Collector's Series CD twenty years ago, and enjoyed it all (except their terrible cover of Gimme Shelter), but never felt any need to go further. I do think Nick Drake is on a higher aesthetic level than GFR, though.

I'm not the biggest prog fan - except for King Crimson, there are very few albums that I really enjoy from start-to-finish. Compilations can be tough due to the nature of the music, but there's two that almost stand out as favorites:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51-F%2BdLZTAL._SX466_.jpg

Classic Yes from 1981, compiled by bassist Chris Squire when they temporarily split. It was originally issued as a single LP with a bonus single - the '90s CD release put all nine tracks on one disc.

It's great, but Squire's own "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" is a strange inclusion. (Maybe he wanted more royalties?) A better pick would've been "Going for the One" which was an egregious omission. Also a few substitutions were made where he replaced the studio versions with live recordings. Had he kept the original studio versions and included "Going for the One" this would've been a perfect summation of their best work and a flawless primer.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71%2BWxAVnV6L._SX355_.jpg

A three-CD set released in 2004 in the UK and 2005 in the US. The reverse chronological sequence was a bad idea, and most of it has been needlessly remixed to the music's detriment. But the selection on the last disc covering their earliest years with Peter Gabriel is close to perfect. "Watcher of the Skies" is a regrettable omission, but the disc is already at capacity. If they programmed a double LP with the same track list plus "Watcher of the Skies" in correct chronological order, it would be the definitive Gabriel-era collection. (Only ten tracks, but almost 90 minutes in running time.)

Agh, let me try that again:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51-F%2BdLZTAL._SX466_.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71%2BWxAVnV6L._SX355_.jpg

I've heard both of these compilations, in fact Classic Yes (without the bonus single) might have been one of my first purchases. "The Fish" was often played on classic rock radio segued from "Long Distance Runaround", so it had some claim to popularity.

The last disc of the Genesis collection is pretty good, but "Counting Out Time" is my least favourite song they released between 1970 and 1974. Also, they fade out "Cinema Show" before the "Aisle of Plenty" reprise, which makes practical sense but feels completely interruptive.

I love both these groups too much to imagine confining myself to these track listings, but I can see how they would appeal to a non-fan.

yeah, for me Pete-era GEnesis is an albums act.

http://cdn-s3.allmusic.com/release-covers/500/0000/278/0000278159.jpg

― mookieproof, Tuesday, November 29, 2016 9:52 PM (four years ago) bookmarkflaglink

After the Fact by Magazine is a great encapsulation of their work, and also the only one to feature liner note quotes from Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. Paul Morley, who wrote the notes that quote Bruce, also wrote the notes for the Siouxsie and the Banshees compilation Once Upon a Time, mentioned above.

The last disc of the Genesis collection is pretty good, but "Counting Out Time" is my least favourite song they released between 1970 and 1974. Also, they fade out "Cinema Show" before the "Aisle of Plenty" reprise, which makes practical sense but feels completely interruptive.

Time constraints may have played a role, and they certainly limited their options. The much-longer "In the Cage" would be a better pick than "Counting Out Time" but that's an additional 5 minutes the disc doesn't have without dropping another track. (Would work on a double LP though.)

I love both these groups too much to imagine confining myself to these track listings, but I can see how they would appeal to a non-fan.

A fan will need the albums - if you're all in, you'll inevitably want the conceptual framework that comes with those songs. I think the last three with Gabriel and the first one (maybe two) with Collins taking over as frontman is usually cited as the essential works, but I haven't been able to enjoy them in their entirety. It took a LONG time to get into Genesis, they left me completely cold until I tried just the highlights. I may not be completely sold on them (yet), but I really like the highlights, which is what a good compilation should do as an entry point.