Few bands can crank out one classic album after another—obvious exceptions being the Beatles, U2, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Nirvana, Miles Davis, the Sex Pistols … did we already mention the Beatles? But for bands whose genius is a bit more hit or miss, there is the greatest hits album, that perfectly edited compilation of singles and album highpoints that—when it all comes together just right—elevates a band from a perpetual three-star act into a stratospheric five-star favorite that you’ll wonder how you ever lived without. (How do you think I got suckered into buying the entire Billy Joel back catalog?). Here’s a quick look at 10 bands whose incredible career-spanning compilations outshine any of their individual works, according to Aidin Vaziri's article at Gibson.com.
# David Bowie Best of Bowie
Why pick just one Bowie era when you can have them all? From Thin White Duke to silver-haired fox, this comprehensive two-disc set covers all of Bowie’s career highlights, including classics like “Ziggy Stardust” and “Rebel, Rebel,” plus guilty pleasures like “China Girl” and Tin Machine’s “Under the God.”
# Bob Dylan Dylan
The folk hero has released something like 573 official albums, some of them very good, others not so much. Why risk blowing $12 on a lousy one when you can just get this three-disc trawl through the best of the best? And by that we mean it includes the oft-covered “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Lay, Lady, Lay,” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”
# Duran Duran Greatest
They may have successfully put the pastel suits behind them but these high-flying British new wave icons never managed to make another album as good or as popular as their 1982 sophomore release, Rio. But, as this 19-track compilation reveals, they kept cranking out Killers-inspiring singles like “The Wild Boys” and “Notorious” well into the grunge era, where this compilation leaves off with the moody “Come Undone.”
# James Brown 20 All-Time Greatest Hits
Quick—which James Brown album has “Night Train?” What about “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag?” “Say It Loud—I’m Black and I’m Proud?” Who cares? They’re all here, along with every other incredible, essential funk track known to the history of man. Not a single grunt or slap-bass note is wasted.
# The Clash Essential Clash
London Calling is great and everything, but do you have 17 hours to spare to listen to 1980’s triple album Sandinista! just to find out it only has a few good songs? This two-disc set does what the Clash promised but sometimes failed to deliver—it cuts the crap and offers 40 vital punk-ska-reggae-rock classics, including “White Riot,” “Train in Vain,” and, yes, “Rock the Casbah.”
# The Rolling Stones Forty Licks
Honestly, this is a toss-up between the Stones’ two compilation albums Forty Licks and Hot Rocks 1964-1971. But since Forty Licks draws the best songs off some of the band’s least impressive albums it takes the cake for having the insight to place “Miss You” and “Shattered” alongside “Ruby Tuesday” and “Paint It Black.”
# New Order The Best of New Order
This group has released nearly as many best-of compilations as actual albums, if not more. That’s because they know that by lining up all their moody, pulse-quickening synth-pop singles such as “Bizarre Live Triangle” and “Blue Monday” back-to-back, it effectively renders all competitors—Depeche Mode, Erasure, the Pet Shop Boys—totally useless.
# Blondie Greatest Hits
“Heart of Glass.” “Rapture.” “Atomic.” Could Debbie Harry and company possibly do anything wrong? Well, yeah, if you go back and listen to the albums that spawned those songs. Instead, stick with this flawless set.
# The Doors The Best of the Doors
Ever heard The Soft Parade? If you thought it sounded like Jim Morrison retching for half-an-hour, you’re not the only one. The Best of the Doors—a classic, recently expanded set—strips the band of their pretension and propensity for bluesy filler and reveals them as the ultimate singles band, capable of bending weird psychedelic trips into amazing pop fodder like “People Are Strange” and “Love Her Madly.”
# Journey Greatest Hits
Along with Def Leppard, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, and Styx, Journey could eliminate everything else they ever put out before their greatest-hits sets and the world would be no worse for the wear. Not when “Open Arms,” “Lights,” and “Don’t Stop Believin’” all happily coexist right here. Such is the power of an effective greatest-hits disc!
Thanks for the article to Gibson.com.
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