Go West - Aces Kings Best of (17 tracks) +Album Reviews

Underrated '80s group, solid compilation album!

Preston | nc | 09/20/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I liked Go West's compilation album when it came out in '93. It covered 1985 to 1992 quite well. They made some very solid pop songs, even if they didn't have the sales of other '80s groups. I still like We Close Our Eyes, Eye to Eye, King of Wishful Thinking and others. They tend to venture into jazz a little bit with Still in Love. The '92 songs showed them maturing a bit with their sound with songs like Faithful, getting away from the cheery stuff. I noticed that on their Indian Summer Album. But one of my favorites is their nice remake of Bobby Caldwell's What You Won't Do For Love, perhaps their most played song to this day in stores, even if it peaked at No. 55 on the pop chart. And keep in mind that Ron Fair produced King of Wishful Thinking, the same Ron that did Christina Aguilera's first album, so he's been around more than a decade now! This is a very entertaining album, showing their growth as a group and their lead singer sounded good and soulful on many of the songs they recorded. They were very underrated a group back in the '80s and this compilation demonstrates their true talents."

One of the most underrated and forgotten aces of music

Aaron | Toronto | 08/14/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the best compilations packages i've ever owned by an artist....the great 'From Baltimore To Paris', is a sunset sorrow song that isn't to be missed, neither one of their best, 'Tell Me' that definitely is one for the beginning or end of your party, when you're packin' it in, or just starting to bring over people - hey - you need these kind of songs - everybody always blasts loud stuff to start, well, this is a cool song to pick up the chats gradually or when you'r calling it a night. Thats' when I play it !!"The King Of WIshful Thinking' or 'Faithful' cannot be denied as two of their strongest ones, and in my top hundred of fav songs of all time. A great new version of Smokey Robinson's 'Tracks Of My Tears' or the zippy up 'Call Me' and a phenominal sincere groove, 'What You Won't Do For Love' my personal favourite from them.With every track here, it's too good to be true-every song on this collection was meant to be here. Thanks Go West, and hope to hear you recording again soon. We beg for it !!! Peter Cox and Richard Drummie KNOW HOW TO PRODUCE, WRITE, and COVER classics from time to time. True musicians.Hey, yeah, you guys are Aces and Kings of music."

An excellent compilation

innspectre | WI | 04/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although most of the harder edged songs from the albums have been left out in favor of the soul-flavored tracks, the compilation is an excellent collection of Go West. One thing, the Call Me version is not the indiscriminate mix- which is twice as long from 'Bangs & crashes' but rather the debut LP version. The songs do not sound alike at all to me...and who can compare with Peter Cox's vocal talent? Ok so I sound biased but for good reason. Now I wish everyone wouldn't ask me to borrow this cd. :)"

Great collection from a band that some may not remember

guillermoj | Washington, DC United States | 11/03/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Go West was one of several "blue-eyed soul" post-Wham acts that popped up in the mid-1980's. Go West's debut CD was very successful and garnered a few hits including the lively "We Close Our Eyes" and "Call Me", among others.

This retrospective is expansive as it has 17 songs and makes great use of what can fit on one CD to its benefit as some collections are either lacking songs or just filling space to give the illusion that more is always good.

Unlike some of their contemporaries, Go West's light did not burn out immediately after their first release and they enjoyed other hits, including the beautiful "The King of Wishful Thinking" and "Never Let Them See You Sweat", respectively from the "Pretty Woman" and "White Men Can't Jump" soundtracks. I am not sure how high other songs charted, but to me it's irrelevant as the vast majority are very soothing, including covers of "The Tracks Of My Tears" and "What You Won't Do for Love".

The lead singer has very soulful pipes in the tradition of fellow Brits Paul Young, Rick Astley, and Paul Carrack, and like the aforementioned talent lends itself to different types of songs. There is even is jazzy song titled "The King Is Dead" which deviates from the synth drum sound that dominated the mid to late 1980's. Although there are maybe 2 or 3 songs that are too generic, this release is cohesive, with a plethora of good songs which are representative of the band's time in the sun.

If you like any of the aforementioned artists and have not heard of Go West, you may want to give them a try.

If you are familiar with them at all and enjoyed "We Close Our Eyes", you'll certainly find much more from that well in this release.

"

Satisfactory Compilation!

guillermoj | 07/04/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Throughout the 80's, they were hailed as the Britain's answer to Hall and Oates, but as they leaned towards the 90's, Go West became a more R&B/Soul oriented group, but that didn't stop them from churning out the hits. Their early work like their "Call Me" and "We Close Our Eyes" (both from 1985) and their 1987 follow-up "Don't Look Down (The Sequel)" are must haves for any fan of (80's) music. Also included is the wonderful (Pretty Woman) song "King of Wishful Thinking)""

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