Cornelis Vreeswijk "Cornelis' Bästa" (1985)

Cornelis' Bästa, compilation

release date: 1985

format: 2 cd (2010 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5]

producer: various

label: DB Records - nationality: Sweden

Best of compilation by Dutch-Swedish troubadour Cornelis Vreeswijk is the only compilation released during his lifetime. The album was originally released as a triple vinyl album on the Norwegian DB label. The album is a mighty fine collection, although, it still feels insufficient. A 2003 2 cd-only compilation with the same title but a different release issued by Metronome appears as a better choice in representing his best material; however, in the case of Vreeswijk with his vast repertoire of songs, any compilation would come out as insufficient but if you only want one album this isn't bad at all.

Vreejswijk deserves this type of recognition, although, his studio albums are preferred over the many compilations. His status as singer / songwriter and a genuine Nordic troubadour puts him on the shelf among the best.

Fats Domino "Fantastic Fats (Sixteen of the Greatest Tracks by Fats Domino)" (1965)

Sixteen of the Greatest Tracks by Fats Domino (compilation)

release date: 1965

format: vinyl (1968 reissue)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

producer: Felton Jarvis

label: Stateside / Columbia - nationality: USA

Compilation album by Louisiana-born Fats Domino (aka The Fat Man - Antoine Dominique Domino Jr.) (Feb. 26, 1928 – Oct. 24, 2017).

Chet Baker "My Funny Valentine [Essential Jazz Masters]" (2006)

My Funny Valentine [Essential Jazz Masters] (compilation)

release date: 2006

format: digital

[album rate: 3 / 5]

Compilation album by Chet Baker, which seems like a reissue but is filed as a 2006 album release, however, all tracks must have been recorded in the 1950s and/or 1960s, which is quite evident from the mono recordings. It features live sessions, hard bop jazz, as well as his romantic cool jazz ballads including one vocal jazz track, which sort of comprises all his styles but also makes it a very uneven compilation of songs.

Elvis Costello "The Best of Elvis Costello - The First 10 Years" (2007)

The Best of Elvis Costello - The First 10 Years (compilation)
release date: May 1, 2007
format: digital
[album rate: 4,5 / 5]
producer: various
label: Hip-O Records - nationality: England, UK

Best of compilation by Elvis Costello compiled by Costello himself is a strong contender to the best single disc compilation around with his earliest - and best - material. The selection starts off from the debut album My Aim Is True (1977) and ends with his last album released on F-Beat, Blood & Chocolate (1986). A couple of fine things about the album is how all studio releases except (the shallow) Goodbye Cruel World (1984) from this ten year period are represented, and that the songs appear in chronological order. The total of 22 tracks is made up from three taken from Costello's first three albums, My Aim..., This Year's Model (1978) and Armed Forces (1979), then two from albums 4 and 5, Get Happy!! (1980) and Trust (1981), one composition from his 6th, Almost Blue (1981), then again three from his 7th, Imperial Bedroom (1982), two from his 8th, Punch the Clock (1983), two from his 10th, King of America (1986), and one song from his 11th, Blood & Chocolate. Of course there's no way he would be able to satisfy everyone's taste and personally; I miss more from Get Happy!! and Blood & Chocolate and I could live without few of the selected, but ultimately, it's impossible to pick 22 tracks only, and when going for 1-3 songs from these albums, it's a pretty decent job.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Chet Baker "Embraceable You: Chet Baker Sings and Plays" (1995)

Embraceable You: Chet Baker Sings and Plays (compilation)

Release date: Jun. 19, 1995
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

This is a fine album if one hasn't got Chet in the collection. The songs are of the romantic and more melancholic type that was his biggest strength. His soft and clear voice and trumpet sounds much alike - in agony of love lost or a love never realised. The album contains 13 fine jazz ballads written by Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, Rodgers & Hart, among others.

Thin Lizzy "Wild One - The Very Best of Thin Lizzy" (1996)

Wild One - The Very Best of Thin Lizzy (compilation)

release date: Jan. 9, 1996
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: Vertigo Records - nationality: Ireland

A compilation album by Thin Lizzy released as a 10 years commemoration tribute to Phil Lynott, who passed away Jan. 1986. Now, this is a mighty fine collection of 19 tracks featuring both hard rock energetic rock classics and more soft rock ballads. It represents most of Lynott's career in Thin Lizzy and also contains the early Thin Lizzy classic "Whiskey in the Jar" a traditional arranged by Lynott, Bell and Downey that many associate with the band but which wasn't released on any of their studio albums. And then there are two live recordings showcasing the strength of the band's live performances.
This compilation probably isn't the best with the band but it's also a rather impossible task to make the one best of compilation with a band, who has been through such diverse stages. Some people really like their early works, others prefer the simplistic hard rock-period, and even in that segment you'll find various preferences - some will enjoy the heavy metal-sound and others the twin-guitar harmonies - and then there's the big portion of pop rock-balladry that have found way to another segment of fans. And you  just cannot satisfy them all. Some will have an affection for the Eric Bell-period, the Robertson-Gorham period, the Gary Moore-influence, and the Snowy White-era. You'll find dozens of best of albums, some 2-disc compilations, some even more extensive but they probably won't feel completely satisfactory anyway. I like the 2020 3-disc Essential issued by Universal, which in a way is like an extended version of the album mentioned here, as it both gives room for classics from various stages, including hard rockers, softer ballads, and some live versions - only with a broader repertoire - but to imagine that you will be able to go out and find a single-disc or a single vinyl album containing the best songs is not likely.
Recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Q magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Fine Young Cannibals "She Drives Me Crazy - The Best Of" (2008)

She Drives Me Crazy - The Best Of (compilation)
release date: 2008
format: 2 cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: Music Club Deluxe - nationality: England, UK

2-disc best of compilation album by Fine Young Cannibals released on the BBC Worldwide parent-label Demon Groups' sublabel Music Club Deluxe (with a speciality of re-issuing 2 cd compilations).
The album contains 30 tracks (15 on each cd). The back cover reads "This collection boasts hit singles, 12'' mixes, key album tracks and rare B-sides. Enjoy." There's a decent description on the formation of the band, its short-lived career and what became of the three band members, and the selection of songs is fine without being what it could have been, had they put more energy in the selection of compositions, e.g. making an effort to put important releases in chronological order. The band only released two albums, which means that most of their album songs are included, and then you only wonder why some of their biggest hits from the second album, "Good Thing" and "As Hard as It Is" are not even here when instead several songs are represented in more than one version. The band made so many great tracks that it's hard not to like almost no matter how it was put together, but with material like that, you could at least pay the band a little more respect. Despite my verdict as a 4/ 5 stars' album, I would instead recommend purchasing their two studio albums.

T. Rex "Gold" (2018)

Gold (compilation)
release date: Sep. 7, 2018
format: 3 cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: various
label: Crimson - nationality: England, UK

Best of compilation album by T. Rex released by Demon Music Group and by Demon Records for the double vinyl issue and by Crimson for the cd issue. The double vinyl album contains 24 tracks (6 on each side), but the cd issue compiles 45 compositions (15 on each disc), which is such a major difference that you practically speak of two different releases.

There are so many best of albums by T. Rex that it's more than difficult to pick the best or just one that attempts to embrace all the great songs on one album, and in that regard Gold really doesn't differ from the rest. You can't put a finger on the selected tracks but you always ask yourself why a certain track or more aren't there. At least they got it right in one small regard, or it only appears so at first sight: they may have put the early tracks first and later songs at the end, but it's really far from chronological order. And I mean, when you have access to all this splendid material couldn't you just make an effort an compile it as they were released?! This leads to my biggest complaint: the album starts out with three songs credited Tyrannosaurus Rex... Three! The double vinyl album contains two tracks by the same band, but the formative and highly interesting beginning, which at least should have counted 5-8 fine tracks, is not represented like the later years. And speaking of which, there are simply way too many not great songs on this best of compilation to call it truly great despite the effort in collecting many of the single releases that never found their way to studio albums. Even worse is that a bunch of truly great songs are not here - where are "Chariots of Silk" from Unicorn, "Pavillions of Sun", "Lofty Skies", "Elemental Child" and the title song from A Beard of Stars, "Jewel" and "The Visit" from T. Rex, "Mambo Sun" and "Girl" from Electric Warrior, "Baby Boomerang", "Spaceball Richochet" and "Chariot Choogle" from The Slider, "Tenement Lady" from Tanx, "Sound Pit" from Zinc Alloy..., "My Little Baby" from Futuristic Dragon? Way too many iconic songs from the hands of Bolan are missing out.

I know the album is credited T. Rex, but when you actually go back and pick the band's earliest works, you could at least have picked a few more before selecting all the well-known hit songs of the early 1970's. Overall, the album is an interesting look into the vault of Marc Bolan compositions, but it's simply too mixed in way to many ways to actually leave you satisfied with just that.

There are more than... what? At least 150 different best of releases with selected songs by Tyrannosaurus Rex, T. Rex, and Marc Bolan, I guess, and still, there are, not one single truly great compilation album to be found, as far as I know, that attempts to give you the best songs of the '60s, the early '70s, and Bolan's later years up until his last studio album Dandy in the Underworld (1977). My advise is to make your own playlist of his best songs, as there's definitely enough material to fill a double album.

Etta James "The Essential Modern Records Collection" (2011)

The Essential Modern Records Collection (compilation)
release date: Apr. 5, 2011
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
label: Virgin Records - nationality: USA

15 track compilation album by Etta James primarily focusing on the earliest sessions recorded by Etta James for Modern Records between 1955 and 1957, which means that the album is not a normal best of collection trying to embrace all of an artist's career.

Etta James "Her Best - The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection" (1997)

"Her Best - The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection", compilation
release date: 1997
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: various
label: Chess - nationality: USA

20 track compilation album by Etta James.

B-52's "The Best of The B-52's - Dance This Mess Around" (1990)

The Best of The B-52's - Dance This Mess Around (compilation)
release date: 1990
format: vinyl
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: Island Records - nationality: USA

Best of compilation album by B-52's focusing on the band's first two albums. The band had only just released its "comeback" album Cosmic Thing in '89 on a new label, Reprise Records, so their old company, Island Records found it timely to issue this collection of old material.
[ 👍allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "The Very Best of Elvis Costello & the Attractions" (1994)

The Very Best of Elvis Costello & the Attractions (compilation)
release date: Oct. 25, 1994
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: Demon Records - nationality: England, UK

Best of compilation album released on Costello's former record label with songs spanning from his earliest albums to Blood & Chocolate (1986) after which he signed with Warner Bros. And just this label had earlier in '94 (Mar. 8) released Costello's Brutal Youth, which had been seen as a "return" despite having already released two other albums on Warner since his '86 album; however, both Spike (1989) and Mighty Like a Rose (1991) had been reviewed and possibly intentionally released as bolder mainstream albums, and Brutal Youth was compared to his more power pop-shaped '86 release.

This is not the best "best of" album you'll find with Costello, in fact there are so many best of albums claiming to contain his "hits" that it seems like an endless project to list them all. The first official album making the attempt to compile a best of album is The Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions from 1985 issued on Columbia exclusively for the North American market containing 19 tracks, and a similar, though not identical, release The Best of Elvis Costello - The Man issued by Demon for the UK and Japanese markets containing 18 tracks. These two issues originally had the same front cover as background but "only" twelve tracks in common and a completely different playlist. Later issues of the UK version have a different cover. In 2007, Hip-O-Records issued the album The Best of Elvis Costello - The First 10 Years compiled by Costello himself, which basically is a (fine) combination of the two former best of albums containing 22 tracks.

Demon also released the extensive album Girls + £ ÷ Girls = $ & Girls (commonly referred to as Girls, Girls, Girls) subtitled "The Songs of Elvis Costello / The Sounds of Elvis Costello & The Attractions" from 1989 containing 47 tracks, and in 1999: The Very Best of Elvis Costello containing 42 tracks. Apart from these, Demon and associated labels have released various compilation albums, and also Warner / WEA has issued a number of Costello compilations like Malice and Magic (1994) and Extreme Honey (The Very Best of the Warner Bros. Years) (1997).

Forced to choose just one of the many best of albums, I would go with the 2007 Hip-O-Records issue.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Zucchero "All the Best" (2007)

All the Best (compilation)
release date: Nov. 23, 2007
format: digital (2-disc)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Released as 'Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari'. This is a fine double compilation album if you don't have Zucchero in your collection. It contains 35 tracks most of which are in Italian. It also contains "Wonderful Life", a song by British singer Black from his debut album Wonderful Life (1987), also released as a cover version by Zucchero as a single release earlier in 2007, which didn't make it to an album but was a rather big hit, again as it was for Black.

This is a highly recommended album.

Kent "Best Of" (2016)

Best Of (compilation)
release date: Sep. 16, 2016
format: 2 cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: RCA / Sony Music - nationality: Sweden

Best of is a best of compilation album by Kent released as they prepare the disbandment announced for Dec. 17, 2016. The album contains 24 tracks from all 12 studio albums with the addition of 4 new songs.
The album is truly a fine an exquisite listen. The first immediate, yet obvious observation is all the great songs that are not represented here. But how should they find room for all the fine music released by the best Scandinavian act for the past 20 years?! They should then have released a 4-disc album, and even then, many would miss their favourite songs. Instead we have this: A truly fine documentation of a beautiful musical journey.
I still find it hard to believe they end it here, while still producing great music.
Needles to say, the album reached #1 on the Swedish albums chart list. Now all we want is an updated B-side compilation album like B-sidor 95-00 from 2000, although, it would have to span 4 discs.
Highly recommended.

Bjørn Tidmand "Bjørn Tidmand's bedste" (1970)

Bjørn Tidmand's bedste

release date: 1970

format: vinyl (MOFK 102)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,75]

producer: ?

label: Odeon - nationality: Denmark

Best of compilation by Danish schlager pop vocalist Bjørn Tidmand.

The album was part of my parents' record collection, and it's an album I vividly recall from my pre-teen years. I'm still doubtful as to whether I actually acquired this myself as one of my first vinyl purchases, and perhaps then alongside Stop en halv by John Mogensen or together with I Don't Believe in If Anymore by Roger Whittaker. The price tag on the front cover could indicate this was on sale - say in '75, and then it makes perfect sense. Fact is, I really enjoyed Tidmand at that age, and together with Mogensen and Roger Whittaker, he could have been one of my first choices when finding music on my own. Back then, Tidmand soon slipped my mind when music by ABBA and Boney M was more to my liking, and in retrospect, Tidmand is associated with schlager music that I don't find that appealing but who undoubtedly back in the 60s an even in the mid 70s, he was quite popular among my parents' and my gran parents' generations.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

ABBA "Greatest Hits" (1975)

Greatest Hits (compilation)

release date: Nov. 17, 1975

format: cassette / vinyl (1976 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5]

producer: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus

label: Polar - nationality: Sweden

Best of album by ABBA released only 2½ years after the band's debut album Ring Ring (Mar. 1973). At this point, the band has released three studio albums and one best of album The Best of ABBA (Aug. 1975), however, that had only been released outside of Scandinavia by other labels, which made Polar, who issued music by ABBA in Scandinavia compile an 'original' best of album, which is this one. Also, all twelve songs from the international album are found on Greatest Hits with the addition of two songs to the tracklist (3 for the 1976 issue).

The album was actually my first physical issue by ABBA. It was a Christmas present at age 10 from my parents in '75, and it was the Danish cassette-issue of the album with 14 tracks. Only a few years back from now, I purchased a used issue of the Scandinavian '76-reissue, which comes with the band's then new single "Fernando" as a bonus track. I was pretty happy listening to ABBA as young but I never paid much attention to their discography and basically only ever owned two original albums by ABBA back then: this one, as my first ABBA-album, and the studio album Arrival (Oct. 1976), which I was handed as a Christmas present in '76 - also in cassette format. After that, I even purchased a poster for the album, which hang in my room for the following 5 years, I guess, before being substituted with a poster with gothic rock band Bauhaus.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection. 

The Divine Comedy "A Secret History: The Best of The Divine Comedy" (1999)

A Secret History: The Best of The Divine Comedy (compilation)

release date: Aug. 30, 1999
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: various
label: Setanta Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

7th album release by The Divine Comedy is Neil Hannon's first best of album. The album contains 17 tracks and it's a fine collection of songs for anyone not familiar with The Divine Comedy. For someone who knows some of his albums, I suggest that you buy the original albums, as these songs come from albums with either conceptual tracks or various styles and subject matter.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

"The Best of Country and West" (1967)

The Best of Country and West, compilation

release date: 1967

format: vinyl

[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

producer: ?

label: RCA Victor - nationality: Germany

Compilation album of classic country songs in a German pressing. The album comes with various different covers, and it was originally released in Germany only. Later it has been issued for the Dutch, the Italian, Swiss, and Norwegian markets.

This particular issue was part of my parents' record collection, and I recall playing this at age 6-10 years old on a portable turntable. At an early age, it was actually one of my favourite albums. It's not that country music as such was something my parents listened much to - perhaps I really enjoyed this because I also happened to really like watching western movies. I still recall a few of my then favourite tracks: #A1. Charley Pride "Detroit City", #A3. Hank Snow "The Golden Rocket", #A6. George Hamilton IV "Steel Rail Blues", #A7. Skeeter Davis "The End of the World", #B2. Norma Jean "You're Driving Me Out of My Mind", and #B4. Floyd Cramer "Hey Good Lookin' ".

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

The Killers "Direct Hits (2003-2013)" (2013)

Direct Hits (2003-2013) (compilation)
release date: Nov. 12, 2013
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Mr. Brightside" - 2. "Somebody Told Me" - 3. "Smile Like You Mean It" - 4. "All These Things That I've Done" - 5. "When You Were Young" - 6. "Read My Mind" - 7. "For Reasons Unknown" - 8. "Human" - 9. "Spaceman" - 10. "A Dustland Fairytale" - 11. "Runaways" - 12. "Miss Atomic Bomb" - 13. "The Way It Was" - 14. "Shot at the Night" - 15. "Just Another Girl"

5th album release by The Killers is their first best of compilation album. The band has enough material to choose from, and several great tracks have been omitted, which seems strange when there's room for two new songs on this best of collection. "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" and "Bones" are just a few great ones missing, however, it's still a fine collection with tracks from all of their so far four studio albums and recommended for anyone without all their albums.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Tom Waits "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, & Bastards" (2006)

Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, & Bastards (compilation)
release date: Nov. 20, 2006
format: cd (3-disc box set)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits
label: ANTI- - nationality: USA

A compilation album, and there's some when a man has made music very consistently for four decades. This is not the usual Best of kind of release. First thing that differs is that it's a box set of 3 discs. Well, that should maybe do it in comprising his long career but that's not really the way it has been compiled. Apparently, Waits had wanted a release with some of the songs that had been left out of albums throughout the years and he intended to make a slow ballad-like disc of all his softer songs and a raw and ferocious disc with his energetic complementary side, but then Brennan came up with the idea of three discs 'cause they also needed room for the ones that didn't fit either of the two labels. So the songs are intentionally placed according to style and temper, so that the first disc of "Brawlers" are tracks that rock. They are his blues rock and most poignant rock tunes. The second disc of "Bawlers" is a collection of singer / songwriter ballads and vocal jazz songs, as many of his albums contain these two complementary tempers, and the last disc of "Bastards" is reserved for his experimental cabaret and art rock... or you could say the ones that don't fit in - the most... 'crazy' stuff, perhaps. In this way it's a fine box set, and it's a rare compilation that makes it all a whole, although the individual songs have been written in different periods of time, so according to your mood and / or interest, one may select a specific musical style.