Search - Concrete Blonde :: Still in Hollywood

This band's B-sides would be another band's greatest hits

Allan Rousselle | Somewhere along I-90, USA | 01/30/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This collection really does come off as a "Greatest Hits" collection: it spans the band's career ("It'll Chew You Up and Spit You Out" is an alternative take of "Still in Hollywood" from their first album, up through a couple of B-sides from their Mexican Moon singles) and features a wide variety of styles that accentuate the things that the band does best.And, on top of all that, these songs are simply great. "Free" is one of my favorite singles by Concrete Blonde... I still don't know why it doesn't appear on their album of the same name (I had acquired a copy as a b-side on the vinyl single for "God is a Bullet"). Their rendition of "Little Wing", from the same era in the band's development, is simply divine. "Everybody Knows" is a classic cut from the "Pump Up the Volume" movie soundtrack, and is one of the better renditions of this Leonard Cohen song. And, for all of the great music, these are mostly tracks that cannot be found on any of the band's studio released albums. This "bonus album" hangs together extremely well, almost as if it had been planned all along.In addition to the b-sides and compilation releases, there are several live tracks that capture the energy of their concert performances. "Roses Grow" and "Sky is a Poisonous Garden" in particular show how the band can rock out when it has a mind to do so. The accoustic version of "Joey" is good, but their punk version (which they had performed at a few shows) is much more entertaining. Too bad it didn't reach a commercial release.Certainly this is not as tight an album as Bloodletting or even Mexican Moon, but anyone who enjoys Concrete Blonde owes it to themselves to pick up this album. Highly recommended."

Amazing live tracks and b-sides

jon sieruga | Redlands, CA USA | 08/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An odds-n-ends collection that plays like a terrific, album-proper release. "Little Wing" and "Simple Twist of Fate" are must-haves for fans. Note: two great live tracks are missing (Jimi Hendrix's "Castles Made Of Sand" and Tears For Fears' "Shout", which isn't very good but does have some hilarious repartee between Johnette, Jim and the audience), these can be found on the "Mexican Moon" cd-single. I really admire Johnette's husky-smooth voice and her wide-eyed attitude towards life (she's completely unjaded, always in awe). This is one fabulous CD--it should've sold 5 million."

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A. Ort | Youngstown, Ohio | 08/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An essential to anyone's collection. Several of the more popular reasons would be for the acoustic rendition of Joey (originally aired on an MTV segment), Everybody Knows (from the film Pump Up the Volume) and a remix of Bloodletting that is phenomenal.



A live version of Tomorrow, Wendy and 100 Games of Solitaire are two of my favorites from the album. Some mellow cuts and some rocking ones render this a must have.



It's a chance to recognize their range and how talented this band really was (is?). They are one of the most underrated bands out there."