Here’s a sampling of the latest treasure trove of CD’s that I’ve unearthed at thrift stores and yard sales. If you want to fill your IPod or MP3 player cheaply, there is no better way. I’ve graduated to my son’s old IPod because at 800 songs I maxed out the MP3 player. Anyway here’s another list of recommendations and caveats.
Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Volume One and Two – Why name the damn thing 1 and 2? Couldn’t some enterprising exec at Columbia Records just issue them separately and increase profits? Or just name the damn thing Volume I. I don’t consider Mr. Joel’s music to be “rock” music. First of all, after Jerry Lee Lewis, name a true rock star that just plays the piano. His attempt to inject his music with a little punk energy in his album Glass Houses was as laughable as Linda Ronstadt covering Elvis Costello songs. (I believe Mr. Costello issued some sort of cease and desist order to Ms. Ronstadt about future songs.) That said there’s plenty to like here (Uptown Girl, The Longest Time) as well as plenty to avoid (the overwrought Goodnight Saigon, the awful Piano Man, The Stranger, etc.). If Tin Pan Alley still existed, Mr. Joel would be king, but again that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
At least he was married to Christie Brinkley.
The Raspberries – Capitol Collectors Series – The Raspberries, led by Julliard grad Eric Carmen, were a prime progenitor of what is know n as “Power pop”, melodic pop songs with a little oomph behind them. Critics have given them there due, but they never really got beyond cult status with the fans. They had a few singles crack the top forty, most notably, Go All the Way, Overnight Sensation and I Wanna Be With You. Mr. Carmen had a knack for writing (and stealing - see Rachmaninov) great melodies and being part of a group kept his sappy instincts, for the most part, in check. Check out his first album for the mawk unchecked. The Raspberries, however, are worth checking into.
He's wondering where his career went.
The Kinks – The Ultimate Collection – The Kinks are one of my all time favorite bands and they released a string of great albums in the sixties starting with Face to Face and arguably ending with Muswell Hillbillies that few bands can rival. This collection collects most of the best songs from their entire career; however, for true Kink cultist there are some omissions. There’s nothing from the aforementioned Muswell Hillbillies and only two songs from their entire RCA catalogue. This isn’t a bad thing because a lot of the RCA stuff was made up of terrible theatrical concept albums that probably had to be seen performed to be truly appreciated (or not). Some of the memorable stuff from their early Arista albums are also left off (no Low Budget, Juke Box Music, Sleepwalker, Misfits). This is still a fantastic collection and should be a gateway to their late sixties albums (The Village Green Preservation Society and Something Else) and the rest of their music. Oh, and Waterloo Sunset is the best pop song of all time.
Phenomenal Cats!
100 Hits of The 50’s – I got this with about 20 other CDs for 10 bucks. Go me.
Most people think of music of the 1950’s and can’t get beyond Elvis Presley. This 4 CD collection to some extent sets the record straight. You have pre-Elvis music like The Weavers, Hank Snow, Hank Williams, Nat King Cole, Lefty Frizell, some songs from movies, Bing Crosby duetting with everyone and their mother and Rosemary Clooney. The Elvis era stuff includes the Coasters, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Duane Eddy, Little Richard and Carl Perkins. No Elvis, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, or Buddy Holly. I guess the record label didn’t have access to these performers. It’s obviously a more pop oriented collection and provides a decent overview of the decade. And you can cherry pick the best songs.
David Bowie came later.
