Search - Murray Head :: Murray Head - Greatest Hits [Resurgent]

Murray Deserves a Little Respect

David Cooper | Vancouver, Canada | 11/17/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am tired of reading people bash Murray Head for they are mad this album is not filled with songs like One Night in Bangkok and that the version is different from the hit. Well it really isn't. This version is the version from the play Chess and is an extended version of the hit. It adds a 1.20 instrumental and then the song is exactly the same.

Murray didn't change anything, but include the real version. The hit just cut the intrumental.



Now to review the cd:



Murray Head's hero was John Lennon and like Lennon he is an intellectual songwriter. He doesn't do Top 40 and One Night in Bangkok is not really reflective of his style.

If people want Top 40 go buy Hits of the 80's and other collections like that, but stop bashing Murray for his songs are well more thoughtful & well written than the flash in the pan song Bangkok, which is so dated now.



Murray appeals to people who want something deeper than mindless pop.



I have all his records and this album sadly is not really a Greatest Hits album. It is missing several of his best songs like Last Days of an Empire, HeY Lady & Going Home from his best album Voices, Countryman from Between Us, In the Heart of You from Sooner or Later, and Nothing to Lose & Make it Easy from Innocence.



What is on here is a collection of songs handed picked from his albums and obscure songs from movies.



There are some great songs like the heartfelt Never Even Thought - a remake from Say it Ain't So and better than the original, When You're in Love - a moving song about breaking up which we can all identify with, Dearest Anne, a lovely song from a movie, Affair Across a Crowded Room from Voices and Mademoiselle - another remake, but a wonderful song about an aging belle of the ball.



There are other good songs too like Say it Ain't So, another remake of an old song, not as good, but not bad, Los Angeles, No Mystery, With or Without Me,and You Are.



It has a decent version of Bangkok if you like that, but not the radio version.



It does have a few French songs and only has a few duds like All The Way and Maman.



If you want Top 40 pass on this, but if you like John Lennon, then maybe this album is for you.



I would though tell you to buy Voices first - one of the best, unheard albums of the early 80's - came out in 1980.

"