Mine too. I like some of the alternate takes on the Anthology records (e.g., She's a Woman) but the BBC records are whole songs--many not released later. They show some of the Beatles' influences. Also, their sophisticated vocal harmonies are already in play.
On That Note: You Say You Want a Compilation
- Thread starter cyclones500
- Start date
There was a series of CDs that Time Life had put out in the very late 90s called Modern Rock and each 2-disc set contained two years of 1980s modern rock/new wave/80s alternative (80-81, 82-83, etc). I discovered them in used music shops over the years some time ago. While there are a lot of songs I like on every disc, there's one disc I can play all the way through easily on ye old stereo.
1986-1987 disc two:
INXS - What You Need
Swing Out Sister - Breakout
Thompson Twins - Lay Your Hands on Me
Dream Academy - Life in a Northern Town
The Cars - Tonight She Comes
Boys Don't Cry - I Wanna Be a Cowboy
The Pretenders - Don't Get Me Wrong
The Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene
Eurythmics - Missionary Man
10,000 Maniacs - Like the Weather
Echo and the Bunnymen - Lips Like Sugar
The Smiths - Girlfriend in a Coma
A couple videos from the above:
Lay Your Hands on Me
Digging Your Scene (a peppy, buoyant but deceptively dark song about HIV/AIDS, but nearly a top 10 hit in America in 1986; lyrics appear on the video)
Girlfriend in a Coma
1986-1987 disc two:
INXS - What You Need
Swing Out Sister - Breakout
Thompson Twins - Lay Your Hands on Me
Dream Academy - Life in a Northern Town
The Cars - Tonight She Comes
Boys Don't Cry - I Wanna Be a Cowboy
The Pretenders - Don't Get Me Wrong
The Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene
Eurythmics - Missionary Man
10,000 Maniacs - Like the Weather
Echo and the Bunnymen - Lips Like Sugar
The Smiths - Girlfriend in a Coma
A couple videos from the above:
Lay Your Hands on Me
Digging Your Scene (a peppy, buoyant but deceptively dark song about HIV/AIDS, but nearly a top 10 hit in America in 1986; lyrics appear on the video)
Girlfriend in a Coma
“If I Were a Carpenter” (1994)
This isn’t beginning-the-end classic, but it was novel at the time of release.
Artists mostly in the alt/indie/up-and-comers covering what you’d think would have been considered “unhip” '70s soft-rock in the mid-‘90s.
All the participants show a true affection for the music … some play it fairly close to the original, others take it to new places.
Top of the World - Shonen Knife
Superstar - Sonic Youth
Yesterday Once More — Redd Kross
We’ve Only Just Begun - Grant Lee Buffalo
This isn’t beginning-the-end classic, but it was novel at the time of release.
Artists mostly in the alt/indie/up-and-comers covering what you’d think would have been considered “unhip” '70s soft-rock in the mid-‘90s.
All the participants show a true affection for the music … some play it fairly close to the original, others take it to new places.
Top of the World - Shonen Knife
Superstar - Sonic Youth
Yesterday Once More — Redd Kross
We’ve Only Just Begun - Grant Lee Buffalo
I picked up all these in the 1980s when they were released on vinyl except the first and last volumes.
I present to you all the greatest makeout album ever recorded:
- Add It Up - Best of the Violent Femmes - had some awesome previously unreleased stuff:
- Hot Rocks 1964-71 - Stones compilation - when I was in high school and with little disposable income, it made sense to get a best of rather than the individual albums I sought out later:
- Changesonebowie - David Bowie - just airtight:
- Rolling Stone Women in Rock compilation
- Beastie Boys Anthology
Rhino and PolyGran were killer at compilations for a while:
- Pure Funk and Millennium Funk Party
- History of British Rock
- Nuggets
- No Thanks - 70s Punk
Some other favorites I wore out over the years:
- Three EPs - The Beta Band
- Joe’s Garage 1-3 - Frank Zappa
- 30 Years of Maximum R&B - The Who
Another compilation series in the same vein as Modern Rock mentioned above, Living in Oblivion was a great collection of the same type of music in multiple discs, released on EMI. These had about 19-20 tracks on each one. My favorite overall disc in this collection was Living in Oblivion, the 80s Greatest Hits, Volume 3.
Track listing:
The Human League - (Keep Feeling) Fascination
Scritti Politti - Perfect Way
Bananarama - Cruel Summer
The Dream Academy - Life in a Northern Town
Arcadia - Election Day
Johnny Hates Jazz - Shattered Dreams
Corey Hart - Sunglasses at Night
Timbuk 3 - The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades
The Polecats - Make a Circuit with Me
Stray Cats - Rock This Town
Jellybean - Sidewalk Talk
Talk Talk - It's My Life
Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died in Your Arms
Device - Hanging on a Heart Attack
ABC - Poison Arrow
EBN-OZN - AEIOU Sometimes Y
So - Are You Sure
Tears for Fears - The Way You Are
The Monroes - What Do All the People Know
Perfect Way
Hanging on a Heart Attack
Are You Sure
Track listing:
The Human League - (Keep Feeling) Fascination
Scritti Politti - Perfect Way
Bananarama - Cruel Summer
The Dream Academy - Life in a Northern Town
Arcadia - Election Day
Johnny Hates Jazz - Shattered Dreams
Corey Hart - Sunglasses at Night
Timbuk 3 - The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades
The Polecats - Make a Circuit with Me
Stray Cats - Rock This Town
Jellybean - Sidewalk Talk
Talk Talk - It's My Life
Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died in Your Arms
Device - Hanging on a Heart Attack
ABC - Poison Arrow
EBN-OZN - AEIOU Sometimes Y
So - Are You Sure
Tears for Fears - The Way You Are
The Monroes - What Do All the People Know
Perfect Way
Hanging on a Heart Attack
Are You Sure
Doesn't substitute for having Crosby Stills and Nash or Deja Vu but it has the major hits and more, including a few good alternate takes and some solo stuff. Compiled by Graham Nash.
From the aforementioned compilation. Almost a crime that this version wasn't on an album (although it might have been released as a single, I'm not sure).
This song was originally on the first Manassas album but I didn't discover it until I bought the Carry On compilation.
From the aforementioned compilation. Almost a crime that this version wasn't on an album (although it might have been released as a single, I'm not sure).
This song was originally on the first Manassas album but I didn't discover it until I bought the Carry On compilation.
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“No Alternative” (Various artists, 1993)
This is the third release of an ongoing compilation discography from Red Hot Organization, dedicated to raising awareness for AIDS relief.
Some artists wrote songs specifically for the compilation, some were unreleased tracks that would appear later, a few were covers.
Superdeformed - Matthew Sweet
For All to See - Buffalo Tom
B***h — Goo Goo Dolls w/ Lance Diamond
Verse Chorus Verse — Nirvana (“hidden track”)
Glynis — Smashing Pumpkins
This is the third release of an ongoing compilation discography from Red Hot Organization, dedicated to raising awareness for AIDS relief.
Some artists wrote songs specifically for the compilation, some were unreleased tracks that would appear later, a few were covers.
Superdeformed - Matthew Sweet
For All to See - Buffalo Tom
B***h — Goo Goo Dolls w/ Lance Diamond
Verse Chorus Verse — Nirvana (“hidden track”)
Glynis — Smashing Pumpkins