There are a number of reasons why a greatest hits compilation can serve as an artist’s defining work: the artist’s ‘hits’ may be spread over a number of hard-to-find albums (such as James Brown), the artist’s albums may be impenetrable (Zappa) or unlistenable (Donovan) on their own, or the collection may simply alchemize a particular artist’s work into something larger than the sum of the songs collected (James Taylor and Steve Miller, for example).
But regardless of how you define an excellent compilation, here are a dozen artists for whom the advisable place to start listening is a well-constructed greatest hits package…
Artist: Frank Zappa
Compilation: Strictly Commercial: The Best Of
Why: Unless you really care about mudsharks, ponchos and yellow snow, it’s best to skip the smarmy jokes-inside-jokes-inside-jokes that litter Zappa’s albums and cut to the chase with this collection.
Missing: ‘Willie The Pimp’ from Hot Rats
Artist: James Taylor
Compilation: Greatest Hits
Why: The list of songs on the front of the album says it all – not only is his best work is collected here, Greatest Hits represents a cross-section of some of the finest singer-songwriter music of the 70’s.
Missing: ‘Oh Susanna’ from Sweet Baby James
Artist: Steve Miller Band
Compilation: Greatest Hits 1974-78
Why: This is the definitive SMB album, and along with Anthology’s trove of earlier recordings, contains 99% of the Steve Miller you’ll ever need.
Missing: ‘The Stake’ from Book Of Love
Artist: Santana
Compilation: Santana’s Greatest Hits
Why: The iconic album cover, for starters. Plus, the songs inside play seamlessly, charting the birth of Latin Rock.
Missing: ‘Soul Sacrifice’ from Woodstock
Artist: The Beach Boys
Compilation: Endless Summer
Why: One of the great American songbooks, Endless Summer gathers all the band’s hits into a single glorious stretch of bikinis, surfboards, hot-rods and summer days.
Missing: ‘Good Vibrations’ dammit!
Artist: Journey
Compilation: Greatest Hits
Why: Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, Journey’s presence in the 80’s was undeniable. Greatest Hits brings the highlights, and provides all the Journey that most of us will ever crave.
Missing: Nothing!
Artist: Donovan
Compilation: Donovan’s Greatest Hits
Why: Trust me, it’s just better this way. With the exception of Barabajagal, you don’t want to be sitting through Donovan’s full-length LPs.
Missing: ‘I Love My Shirt’ from Barabajagal
Artist: Blondie
Compilation: The Best Of Blondie
Why: All the Blondie you need, and then some. This Best Of could be trimmed to an ep and few would notice.
Missing: Half an album’s worth of hits.
Artist: Lou Reed
Compilation: Between Thought And Expression: The Lou Reed Anthology
Why: This three-disc anthology has all the best bits of Lou’s scattered post-Velvet Underground solo career, and then some. Feedback track from Metal Machine Music anyone?
Missing: An editor.
Artist: Kinks
Compilation: The Ultimate Collection
Why: In 2002, the Kinks finally – finally! – got the best-of collection that they’d long deserved. This generous 2-disc, 44-track compilation hits all the high points.
Missing: A case could be made for ‘Cuppa Tea’ off Muswell Hillbillies, but it feels like hair-splitting.
Artist: James Brown
Compilation: Star Time
Why: This four-disc box set is loaded with funky dynamite, and stands as strong evidence that the Godfather Of Soul was one of the most influential musicians of all-time.
Missing: Nothing.
Artist: John Lennon
Compilation: Shaved Fish
Why: Lennon’s solo work can be fairly… ahem… challenging, but this collection sifts together the most accessible stuff. A number of fine compilations and box-sets of his music have been released in the last decade, but Shaved Fish remains the place to start.
Missing: ‘Working Class Hero’ from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
*****
And 12 more definitive best-of compilations…
Blood Sweat & Tears – Greatest Hits
Duke Ellington – The Blanton-Webster Band
Muddy Waters – The Chess Box
Hank Williams – 40 Greatest Hits
Elvis Presley – 30 #1 Hits
Janis Joplin – Greatest Hits
Prince – The Hits/The B-Sides
David Bowie – ChangesBowie
ABBA – Gold
Queen – Greatest Hits
Aerosmith – Greatest Hits
Sly & The Family Stone – Greatest Hits
*****
Further reading…
Rob O’Connor: The 25 Best ‘Best-Of’ Albums
Tags: Blondie, Donovan, Frank Zappa, James Brown, James Taylor, John Lennon, Journey, Kinks, Lou Reed, Santana, Steve Miller Band, The Beach Boys
12 June 2008 at 1:55 pm |
Frank Zappa is a GOD to me, a genious. “Joe’s Garage pt1&2″.. A MASTERPIECE…
12 June 2008 at 2:42 pm |
The 60s and 70s Beach Boys catalogue currently benefits from great CD re-issues that, in most cases, include 2 full albums plus rarities associated with those albums and most of these discs can be found for about $10, making the greatest hits albums less important or appealing. Buuuut I’m a big Beach Boys fan so I’m totally biased.
12 June 2008 at 4:28 pm |
Yes, the Lou Reed anthology is a tad bloated, but the live recording of Heroin makes it worth the price. You can’t swing a dirty needle without hitting a version of that song, but this one, featuring jazz great Don Cherry on trumpet, gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. Highly recommended.
13 June 2008 at 1:23 am |
A case for Harry Nilsson?
13 June 2008 at 7:26 am |
Nick – Thanks for the suggestion, but since I don’t own Nilsson’s greatest hits, I’d be hard pressed to build the case for him. Nilsson Schmilsson seems to nip my craving every time…
Iggy – Don’t get me wrong, I love the Lou Reed anthology. I will definitely listen to that ‘Heroin’ – not sure I knew it was an alternate version. Also be sure to check out ‘The Original Wrapper’. Hearing Sweet Lou bust a rap is like a musical out-of-body experience.
Kicknz – You make a great point here. I sure wish there was a worthy compilation of The Beach Boys’ 70’s material. My buddy Cordell put one together called ‘No Fun Fun Fun: The Best Of The Brother Records Years’, but since you don’t know Cordell, that nugget doesn’t do you much good.
Sandy – I’ve never really worshipped at the alter of Zappa. I think some of his songs are brilliant, but all the attenuating baggage (weird concepts, in-jokes, odd instrumentation, smarter-than-thou attitude) gives me pause. My friend Fred summed up my feeling on this point when I asked him about Zappa a few years back: “Listening to him makes me feel funny” he said, making a face and sounding like someone who’d been touched inappropriately by his scout master.
Thanks to all who commented! Look for part two of this post coming soon…
13 June 2008 at 7:30 am |
Crossroads?
And for fuck sake man – Marley?
13 June 2008 at 7:44 am |
Both great compilations, no doubt. But with either of those artists, I’d be as inclined to recommend a regular studio album (Clapton – 461 Ocean Blvd, Slowhand, Disraeli Gears, or Derek & The Dominos) (Marley – Exodus, Rastaman Vibration, or Catch A Fire) as the Greatest Hits sets. So that dropped them out of consideration here. For the artists listed above, if you didn’t go to the Greatest Hits, you’d be scratching your head trying to figure out where to dig in. Or at least I would…
14 June 2008 at 10:42 pm |
clearly I lack your sophistication.
If there was ever a wonderful GH album made by a mediocre band, I would say Wings is a great choice. It was a staple of my childhood and great, but Wings’ total catalog made it clear that John carried the Beatles (don’t tell my mom I said this!).
14 June 2008 at 11:09 pm |
Agreed – Wings would have been a great choice here.
Although I must say that ‘Band On The Run’ (the album) has grown on me over the last couple of years. I’m so not sure anymore that Wings’ catalogue is the vast wasteland I once thought it was…
*****
Here are three more collections I’ve been kicking myself for not including:
The Who * Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy
Joe Walsh * Look What I Did! The JW Anthology
J.J. Cale * Anyway The Wind Blows: The Anthology
21 July 2008 at 8:28 am |
[...] By Best-Of Compilations A few weeks back I took a look at some musicians who are well-served by Greatest Hits compilations. Here now are a dozen artists who fit the flip-side of that [...]
11 September 2008 at 7:59 pm |
Totally forgot Toots & The Maytals, who have an excellent greatest hits album…
11 September 2008 at 9:00 pm |
Los Lobos- Just another band from East LA
11 September 2008 at 9:53 pm |
Yep. What he said…
1 November 2008 at 4:17 am |
nice paintings as well as nice collecton.