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An Optimistic Thought....

shamanstudios | SW Florida | 03/26/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"....would be that others will discover TRAVELOGUE and hear what a great band Blues Traveler is.TRAVELOGUE has something for everyone. If you're a casual fan or new to the band this is an excellent intoduction to their sound. Almost every hit single and concert staple is here (with the most annoying exception of "Most Precarious" from SRAIGHT ON 'TILL MORNING). The chronological format is always the best for these types of albums, and the digital remastering is incredible! This is why die-hard fans who already own most/all of BT's albums should buy this collection. These versions sound sooo much better than the original CD's. A worthy purchase to hear these songs in a remastered format. Also, an incentive for the die-hards would be to have "Regarding Steven" in it's studio version on disc (previously the b-side to "Runaround" and not included on their commercial breakthrough album FOUR). Aside from that, not much else here for the BT groupy.Concentrating on the FOUR (5 songs) and BLUES TRAVELER (4 songs) albums the song selection is dead on. They included one song ("Just for Me") from their last studio effort BRIDGE (I assume to cover all their studio albums), but "Most Precarious" would've been a better closing song. Hell, at 79:57 you can't argue with the song selection that much. Special guest appearances from Joan Osborne, Gregg Allman, Chuck Leavell, and Warren Hayes on some songs is an added bonus.The booklet is real decent as well providing writing credits and which album the songs appears from. You also get the essentials for each album's individual credits including the musicians performing.I can't say enough about how great TRAVELOGUE is. A solid 5 stars even with the exclusion of "Most Precarious." The improved sound of the early material makes up for this one set-back."

He blows and sucks on harmonica.

H3@+h | VT | 07/21/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A solid 17 track remastered collection. Half the songs are from either the debut, or "Four". The remaining tracks come off the other four albums. Of course being a "Best of" disc, this does have the hits "But Anyway", "Run-around", and "Hook". But most of the rest is just as good, if not better. My current favorite is "Canadian Rose", about a girl he met in Burlington Vermont. This also has "Regarding Steven", which was on the live album "Live from the Fall". Not alot of long drawn-out jams on this one, but they sure can do it when they want to, and "John Popper" can play the harmonica better than anyone I've ever heard. Whenever I hear "But Anyway", I still think of them at the end of the movie "Kingpin" dressed like Amish, and rockin' out. If you're looking for your first, or only BT album, this one will go perfectly between your "Black Crowes" and "Phish" cd's."