Post you favorite "Greatest Hits" compilation.

[The Grace]

As the title says: "Post you favorite "Greatest Hits" compilation by any artist you want.
For this you need to have reasons:

# What makes this the best and ultimate collection?

# What part of the artists career does it cover?

# Essentially; is it the best compilation?

My entry:


Grace Jones - Island Life (Best of Grace Jones).
Island Records 1985.

Period 1977-1985.

Island Life was the first Grace Jones compilation ever.
It covered the basics of Grace' music catalogue, from La Vie en Rose (1977) to Slave to the Rhythm (1985) it had the period covered. Everything from Private Life, My Jamaican Guy, Love Is the Drug, Pull Up to the Bumper, although it also misses a couple of her greatest such as: On Your Knees, Demolition Man, Warm Leatherette, Nipple to the Bottle.
Island Life is still the ultimate collection, in my opinion that is.

[eddie]

This is a tough question because most best of's are not the best of. Some are budget re-recordings while others include the edited single versions. Some single cross-licensed discs are too broad and try to boil a major artist career down to one hour.

There are best of's that come to mind in my collection of 5,000 CD's. For the most part, I hate compilations and prefer original albums on CD with bonus selections. I only considered single disc best of's.

1)O'Jays-Collector's Item
It's been in print since the mid 1970's. It includes the material distributed by Sony from 1972-76. It includes all full-length album versions and includes many ballads that before 2000 were not included on any other greatest hits set. It includes every tracks that was played heavily on Black radio and the quiet storm. You also get to hear there 10+ minute version of "Wildflower." I'm glad to see HIP-O didn't get to boil this one down.
Criticism-no detailed notes of group history

2)Blue Magic-Greatest hits
Distributed by WEA. It includes "Summer Snow" plus the full length version of "What's come over me" which is not what's on the critically acclaimed Rhino set with 20 tracks.
Criticism-Only 12 tracks and notes could be better

3)Sam Cooke-The man and his music
It includes some early Gospel, Rca tracks, and ABKO tracks like "Shake" and "A change is gonna come." It is currently out of print but you can piece it together by buying collections from Fantasy, RCA, and ABKO which gives you more tracks by this legend.

4)Gap Band-Best of on Funk Essentials/Mercury
It adds the 12 inch version of "Outstanding" and includes all cuts that are of the highest energy and quality. There are others in the series but this one leaves the least to be desired from their original albums. They did have some misfires, experiments with Reggae, and made mostly filler between 1985 and 1988. There 1989 Capital album had its moments like Wednesday lover but nothing is included from that.
I would strongly reccommend this over the ultimate collection. For certain you get more tracks but who wants to hear a 3 minute version of Oops upside your head.

5) Candi Staton-self entitled
It includes her Fame tracks which are hard to find yet intensely soulful. It shows her roots which are country, Motown, Stax, and Muscle shoals. Nothing is included from her disco years from WB which another set aptly does.

6) Percy Sledge-It tears me:The best of
A lengthy set which includes many originals and album tracks from his Atlantic period only. It doesn't includes the myriad of cover tunes he recorded and then re-recorded during the years.

[Salsoul1975]

Greatest Hits compilations are never perfect. Of course, those who love an artists' music with a passion are going to be miffed when a hits compilation excluded some songs that should've been on it, or opted for radio-length versions. One of the best greatest hits compilations I've seen (and have) is DANCE, DANCE, DANCE by Chic, which was released in 1991 by Atlantic Records. This is by far the best Chic greatest hits album ever. It contains the 12" versions of their best-known songs (no need to list them) and also some choice LP cuts ("Strike Up The Band", "Savoir Faire", "Chic Cheer"). The only flaw is the inclusion of their 1982 song "Soup For One", which, by the way, is incorrectly timed on the back of the CD cover. It's not a bad song, but it's out-of-place amongst their 1977-79 recordings which make up this entire CD. There was no need to include their post-1979 material, and that was a good thing. Later hits compilations did this and I never considered to buy them.

[eddie]

For me that Chic compilation misses "Warm summer night" a soft ballad and "Open up" an instrumental from 1980. It also excludes any work from Norma Jean's solo album from 1978 which was a solid as any Chic effort. What's up with that "Soup for one" song anyway?

[K-Bee]

Cameo - The 12" Collection And More (Mercury 1999)

- this is probably my fav one. Word Up,She's Strange, Single Life, Shake Your Pants, Back & Forth, Rigor Mortis and a few others are here...all in full extended glory. They even included the Room 123 mix of She's Strange as well.

[LITTLE SCOTTY]

Ok let's star with some of my all time favourite songs......


MUSIQUE- in the bush
T-CONNECTION- do what you wanna do
RUFUS & CHAKA- any love
FANTASTIC ALEEMS- hooked on your love(gianatos mix)
BUMBLEBEE UNLIMITED- everybody dance :D
EASTSIDE CONNECTION- over please

to be continued............

[LITTLE SCOTTY]

Sorry i made a mistake..i've post some songs not "best of" :oops: ....but let me tell that i think "best of" are not so good for the artists because of their more commercialy orientation....but for me it was

best of T-CONNECTION "at midnight"

[eddie]

I love t-Connection's Capital work but not real fond of the earlier stuff. I spin the 2 CD's Capital/Emi put out in the Heart of soul and masters series. I thought the Heart of Soul Series with the Corneilus Brothers, O'jays, Rene and Angela was as good as Polygram's Funk Essential Series. Too bad it was deleted so quickly.

P.S. Out of mistakes come great ideas. Maybe we can set up a thread for best various artists compilation or best box set.