This 15-track comp (re-mastered from original tapes) was selected by Love And Rockets and spans their entire career and all labels. Includes rare 7-inch single versions previously unavailable, along with sleeve notes by... more » the band. Beggars Banquet. 2003.« less
This 15-track comp (re-mastered from original tapes) was selected by Love And Rockets and spans their entire career and all labels. Includes rare 7-inch single versions previously unavailable, along with sleeve notes by the band. Beggars Banquet. 2003.
"Several of L&R's signature tunes rightfully make their appearance here, along with a couple of questionable selections. My personal favorites are well represented here...the psychedelically-tinged sing-along "Kundalini Express", the mind-altering masterpiece "Yin and Yang and the Flowerpot Man" and the subversive pop classic "No New Tale to Tell", in which Messrs. Haskins, Haskins, and Ash use a flute solo to an even greater effect than one of Ash's savory, understated, yet compelling guitar refrains. While I was happy to see that "Mirror People" and its explosive riffing were included along with the stately tone poem "Haunted When the minutes Drag", I disagree with the inclusion of any of the material recorded after 1989 other than "Sweet Lover Hangover".. If that makes me an elitist urban sophisticate, so be it; but the band took a left turn at a tangent when they flipped over to techno from which they never recovered.
"
All aboard...
Barbara Streisands Love Slave | MI | 07/05/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Last year, Love And Rockets finally came out with their best-of compilation. It's worth the purchase for any newcomers to the band since it has lots of their best songs such as Kundalini Express, Dog End Of A Day Gone By, and No New Tale To Tell. It's also essential for the longtime fans too because it has the rare 7-inch versions of Ball of Confusion and Yin & Yang The Flowerpot Man (the ones that were used in the music videos). Plus a single version of "Mirror People" which is way better than the one on their album "Earth Sun Moon". Personally, I didn't think Holiday On The Moon and It Could Be Sunshine should of been included on here, I would of preferred to see All In My Mind, Motorcycle, or If There's A Heaven Above to make the cut but unfortunately they didn't. Well, if you bought this and liked it, I recommened picking up Express next."
Good, but should've been better
MantoM | Chicago, IL | 04/03/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I'm a long time fan of the group, but am a little puzzled in the arrangement of this compilation as some of their best tunes were omitted in exchange for some of their lesser work. For example, "Holy Fool" and "Sweet Lover Hangover" shouldn't be on this list. Intuition tells me they're on the CD for marketting purposes to sell the album than anything else as younger fans know these songs more than the others. Other suspect choices include: "It Could Be Sunshine", "No Big Deal" (this mix anyway), and "Holiday on the Moon". While not bad songs in their own right, they would never see daylight on my Love and Rockets top 20 list. Some songs I was hoping to see were "The Light", "An American Dream", "My Drug", "All In My Mind", "The Teardrop Collector" and a few others.To do a proper Love and Rockets greatest hits album really requires 2 discs as they really have that much good material as they also tend to write longer length songs than your average rock band. This would also provide the opportunity to slip in a few lesser known tracks that only existed on B-sides of the obscure singles. "BikeDance", "Lucifer Sam", and the alternate mixes of songs that were often better than the album versions such as "This Heaven (Lost in it mix)", "RIP 20 C", and "Mirror People" (which forntunately made it on this disc).If you're new to Love and Rockets, this is not a bad sampler disc, but be aware that some of the regular albums will have just as much punch. Newcomers should start with "Express" then move onto "Earth Sun Moon", then "Lift" to get a taste of the full gamut."
Overall good collection.
H3@+h | VT | 06/09/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Now that this is finally out, I see that it is almost as good as I expected. 15 remastered songs from every album except "Hot Trip to Heaven", so that album must have been pretty bad. The big hits are all present. "Kundalini Express", "Ball of Confusion", "No new tale to tell", "Holy Fool", and of course "So Alive". I personally would have liked a second track from "Lift", something else from "Earth-Sun-Moon", and at least one song from "Hot Trip to Heaven". But at least the first four albums do have 2-4 tracks taken from each one. Also, the songs I did not know are all as good as the ones I did. So if you're looking for roughly the best of "Love and Rockets" remastered on one cd, get "Sorted". It will go perfectly between your "Cure" and "Depeche Mode" best of's."