Search - Concrete Blonde :: Recollection: Best of

Fantastic but forgotten...

L. Alper | Englewood CO | 02/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Concrete Blonde was one of the best bands of the late 80's/early 90's but unfortunately never got the recognition they deserved. "Recollection" is a wonderful overview of this neglected band.From the punk/garage sound of the early "Still in Hollywood" (which ranks right up there with X's "Los Angeles" as a civic booster) to the evocative vocal stylings of "Tomorrow Wendy" & "Everybody Knows" the various facets of multi-talented Johnette Napolitano are well represented. Johnette is not only one of the greatest rock vocalists in recent memory, she also wrote or co-wrote nearly all the material on this album. Anyone who has ever heard the amazing "God is a Bullet" can attest to her song writing skills; her singing can ring with fury or croon tenderly as on "Joey". Rediscover this amazing band with "Recollection" just as I did. You won't regret it!"

Absolutely Amazing

Tony Pizzuti | Corvallis, OR USA | 11/15/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard of this marvelous band about the same time that most of America did...1990--"Joey". I liked them well enough but it wasn't until about five years later when a friend of mine bought this CD to replace her worn out one. I listened to it and immediately went out and bought my own copy. I made as many people listen to it as I possibly could. Four years down the road I made my girlfriend listen to it (she had never even heard of CB) she instantly loved it and one upped me. She went out and bought "Recollection" which I have since stolen from her. I would have a new favorite track on it daily...which in turn made me go out and buy all of the CB albums so I could hear all the songs that weren't considered "great hits". Needless to say, there isn't much of their music that I don't absolutely love. How could anybody not fall in love with Johnette's phenominal, diverse voice? Even the few songs that I don't particularly care for are worth a few listens. Only Johnette could do such a wonderful cover of "Mercedes Benz", you could almost believe Janis was reincarnated as Johnette. For anyone that even remotely likes this now defunct band...buy this CD and you will be a fan. A couple of candles and this CD and you're looking at the most relaxing evening ever."

Excellent and underrated.

H3@+h | VT | 02/09/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I can't imagine why this is currently out of print, but it's the best place to start your "Concrete Blonde" collection for sure. It also takes pretty evenly from their first 5 albums. Included here is "True", "God Is A Bullet", "Joey", "Someday", and "Heal It Up". Everything on here is great, but I do miss "Song For Kim", "Long Time Ago", and "End Of The Line". Also the original "Bloodletting(The Vampire Song)" would be nice, and maybe a b-side like "I Want You". But we do get "Everybody Knows" from the "Pump Up The Volume" soundtrack, and a live "Mercedes Benz", among 16 other tracks. As far as collections go, you may have to settle for "Classic Masters", or "Still In Hollywood", but I would search for this myself."