Why "Greatest Hits" collections don't cut it anymore..

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e.g. Suede, Pulp, Catatonia

1) When you have all the singles, why bother?
2) One new track doesn't make it (got to make a remix/live/bsides extra CD freebie...)
3) Downloading / CD burning from singles to make it yourself...
4) ALbums were treated nicer than 7" singles, nowadays if you don't treat all CDs with kid gloves, you caint play'em...

Any more theories?

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Some "Greatest Hits" are just put out so damn prematurely (eg Beth Orton), that they're only drawing tracks from 2 or 3 albums that people probably own anyway. Then again, maybe the record companies figure that no-one is going to be interested in these bands in three years or whatever, so they may as well try and squeeze every last drop of curdled cream from the tits of their prized cash cows.

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:12 (twenty-one years ago)

how about maybe those bands just suck?

― M Matos (M Matos), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:22 (twenty-one years ago)

doesn't work. collection has up to twenty singles on it, all or most were top thirty, last album made top ten at least, greatest hits album makes number thirty two with an empty milk bottle.

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:25 (twenty-one years ago)

(Christ, I've been a grouch on here! but not in real life, lately! go figure.)

anyway, I didn't mean the bands you named specifically (though, uh, Catatonia?!), but some bands just don't sound good with that kind of treatment, for whatever reason--their albums work best as albums and the songs off them don't work elsewhere nearly as well, or maybe they're just not very good at making singles.

― M Matos (M Matos), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:26 (twenty-one years ago)

The problem with the Suede one was surely that everyone who actually liked the band already had all those songs, which might say something about Suede being a love-'em-or-hate-'em kind of band. I'm much closer to being in the former category.

I can't think of many examples of bands whose studio albums sold very little, but whose greatest hits albums sold by the truckload - the only example I can actually think of is Hot Chocolate.

― Damian (Damian), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Boney M?

― Siegbran (eofor), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:31 (twenty-one years ago)

and the Beautiful South

― the surface noise (electricsound), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:34 (twenty-one years ago)

if I'm not mistaken ABBA Gold has outsold their entire catalogue by itself.

― M Matos (M Matos), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, the Beautiful south anti-own this thread (can you do that?)

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:38 (twenty-one years ago)

At their peak of popularity, Boney M had #1 studio albums in the UK, but a greatest hits album would be a one-stop now, I guess. And yeah, the Beautiful South is a good example. But then I suppose it gets into people who buy one CD a year versus people who buy five CDs a week.

― Damian (Damian), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Where does REM's best of being at number one in the charts this week fit in?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:43 (twenty-one years ago)

I refer you to the extra CD of bsides...

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:45 (twenty-one years ago)

that seems suspicious at best, laughable at worst

― M Matos (M Matos), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:46 (twenty-one years ago)

That's not on all versions, though, that's just on the special edition. Which I couldn't find anywhere.

(Obvious explanation for success: own "What's The Frequency Kenneth?" without having to own "Monster")

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Hmmm, well, they haven't sold that much since Automatic For The People, really, have they? So it's a chance for people to catch up on ten years of not bothering with REM, or something.

― Damian (Damian), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:50 (twenty-one years ago)

so, the fewer the actual no of big hits, the better?

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 7 November 2003 11:51 (twenty-one years ago)

The difference between REM and say, Suede, Catatonia or whoever, is that the general public likely enjoyed REM's singles but didn't love them enough to buy the albums. Give them a CD of just singles, and bingo, everyone buys it up. The double disc argument doesn't work cause it isn't out yet (in Canada, at least) until the 18th.
With bands like Suede, people who liked the singles bought the singles, albums, and bootlegs, and therefore, don't need the greatest hits.

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Friday, 7 November 2003 12:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Jonathan says exactly what I wanted to say but couldn't. :)

― Damian (Damian), Friday, 7 November 2003 12:34 (twenty-one years ago)

The relative success of R.E.M.'s new best-of is pretty much a no-brainer - it actually has a bunch of hits on it that still get airplay, and it's a great record for people who are casual fans of the band (and there are a LOT of casual R.E.M. fans). It also gives the casual fans a chance to hear the more popular songs from the albums they may have skipped the first time.

Also, "Bad Day" is doing pretty well as a single so far, so a lot of folks may be buying it because they like that song.

Don - it's more accurate to say that R.E.M. hasn't sold well since Monster, since that album went triple platinum (even though about 2 million of those cds ended up in used bins). Hi-Fi went platinum, Up went gold, and Reveal sold a bit less than gold.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Friday, 7 November 2003 13:31 (twenty-one years ago)

already had all those songs

Keep in mind with Suede that there was both a new single on there (which admittedly had just been released) plus one other wholly new song "Love The Way You Love" -- presumably it was being earmarked as the next single but I'm not sure about that now. That said, Mark's third point strikes me as the best in ways...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 7 November 2003 14:16 (twenty-one years ago)

greatest hits albums I'm looking forward to (that may or may not ever come out)

Superchunk
Linkin Park
Suede (I didn't know they had one!)
Missy Elliott (or even better a box set of Timbaland-produced hits)
A solid Madonna box-set (no remixes or edits, please!)
Pearl Jam
Sebadoh (Bestadoh!)

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 7 November 2003 15:25 (twenty-one years ago)

i wonder if Liam Howlett is still totally opposed to a Prodigy Greatest Hits, assuming he was (i'm SURE he was).

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 7 November 2003 15:30 (twenty-one years ago)

The Sugababes best-of will be KILLER.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Friday, 7 November 2003 15:33 (twenty-one years ago)

but will it have 'Killer' on it? heh

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 7 November 2003 15:35 (twenty-one years ago)

That's what I meant! Like sinead O'Connor's, it will contain one track, repeated 12 times. (copyright Melody Maker 1992)

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Friday, 7 November 2003 15:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Superchunk is perfect for comps -- see Tossing Seeds

― christoff (christoff), Friday, 7 November 2003 15:38 (twenty-one years ago)

apart from suede and REM's, i got recently the primal scream one (only from screamadelica on, and, like with suede, if you like the band you already own those songs), and the essential billy bragg (a double-cd that was perfect for me, since i've loved him throughout the years but only own the albums with wilco).

― joan vich (joan vich), Friday, 7 November 2003 15:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Suede (I didn't know they had one!)

Only just came out and hasn't been released in the States. Very much doubt it will either.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 7 November 2003 18:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Those bands are album bands. Their fans already have their albums, and there is no need for the singles. A "best of" by a typical singles act will sell.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 9 November 2003 01:29 (twenty-one years ago)

y'all also should remember these things tend to sell as catalog items rather than right out on the first week. Def Leppard's Vault didn't sell like Hysteria in the first week but sells more now (which is wrong, but anyhow).

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 9 November 2003 01:34 (twenty-one years ago)

oh! and seperate Chris Knox and Tall Dwarfs best-ofs would rock too.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 9 November 2003 01:39 (twenty-one years ago)

a strictly nineties prince one

― cinniblount (James Blount), Sunday, 9 November 2003 01:42 (twenty-one years ago)

How about a Madonna 2 CD "Best Of" containing the actual 7 inch versions rather than new mixes or album versions?

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 9 November 2003 03:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Most embarrassing Greatest Hits CDs:

Toad the Wet Sprocket
Live
Gin Blossoms
Buffalo Tom
Dinosaur Jr.

― Chris Ott (Chris Ott), Sunday, 9 November 2003 04:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Gin Blossoms were excellent, so shush.

Why has no one mentioned this yet?

http://store4.yimg.com/I/cdtales_1747_2335808

although i bet i'd actually enjoy half of it, liking the Gin Blossoms and all. Even so, Semisonic!

― derrick (derrick), Sunday, 9 November 2003 06:20 (twenty-one years ago)

I didn't say I didn't like the Gin Blossoms, they were better than REM in the 90s.

― Chris Ott (Chris Ott), Sunday, 9 November 2003 06:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Wyclef Jean? Huh?

― Bryan (Bryan), Sunday, 9 November 2003 06:22 (twenty-one years ago)

here's a challenge, maybe should be another thread:

try making a Can best-of
(hint: it's hard to avoid tapping Ege Bamyasi heavily)

― Paul (scifisoul), Sunday, 9 November 2003 06:26 (twenty-one years ago)

It's amazing, the number of abjectly shitty bands who have received that 20th Century Masters treatment by MCA or whoever is in charge of that catalog at the moment.

― Broheems (diamond), Sunday, 9 November 2003 06:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Those compilations are usually pretty short, regardless of the band, aren't they?

― Damian (Damian), Sunday, 9 November 2003 09:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh yeah, there should be a proper Kraftwerk compilation - none of that re-recording nonsense (I do like The Mix, granted.)

― Damian (Damian), Sunday, 9 November 2003 11:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Other potentially decent future greatest hits albums:

Stone Temple Pilots
Nelly
Garbage
Wilco (more like a "retrospective," actually...)

― John Fredland (jfredland), Sunday, 9 November 2003 13:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I think a Stone Temple Pilots one is due soon (but whether Señor Weiland's legal problems have put the kibosh on it for now is another matter.)

― Damian (Damian), Sunday, 9 November 2003 13:57 (twenty-one years ago)

big ditto to stp comp

― cinniblount (James Blount), Sunday, 9 November 2003 15:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Greatest Hits albums don't work anymore because bands no longer have non-album singles. Unless, of course, you're Belle and Sebastian.

Somebody please make a Can Greatest Hits CD tracklist. Talk about a band I've been wanting to get into but have no idea where to start.

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Sunday, 9 November 2003 16:02 (twenty-one years ago)

get ege bamyasi and work either backword or forward

― cinniblount (James Blount), Sunday, 9 November 2003 16:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Why not just get Cannibalism I and II??

― dlp9001, Sunday, 9 November 2003 16:24 (twenty-one years ago)

haha I love the Dino Jr. Greatest Hits! and the Sublime 20th Century Masters one. Didn't know about the Semisonic one and I'd probably buy the Gin Blossoms one if I found it cheap (where else am I gonna find "Til I Hear It From You," the goddamn EMPIRE RECORDS SOUNDTRACK?!?!?!).

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 9 November 2003 17:48 (twenty-one years ago)

I keep thinking I'd buy the STP one until I remember how many hits I DIDN'T like. I'd probably just settle for an MP3 of "Big Bang Baby."

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 9 November 2003 17:49 (twenty-one years ago)

aaargh - I mean WHY is it so hard for people to get these things right?

― cinniblount (James Blount), Sunday, 9 November 2003 18:27 (twenty-one years ago)

worst of all is the best of the stone roses...

more or less the first album with ten story love song tacked on...

― paulhw (paulhw), Sunday, 9 November 2003 23:57 (twenty-one years ago)

that semisonic record is the most hilarious thing i've seen in a while. i was convinced that was a hoax.

― MerkinMuffley (MerkinMuffley), Monday, 10 November 2003 01:48 (twenty-one years ago)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00008NGI3.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

I can't figure out if "20th Century Masters" is supposed to refer the to the musicians or the recordings ('master recordings').

― Phantom Twinkies, Monday, 10 November 2003 02:38 (twenty-one years ago)

he totally looks like he's gonna kick your ass for saying that.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 10 November 2003 02:40 (twenty-one years ago)

that semisonic record is the most hilarious thing i've seen in a while. i was convinced that was a hoax.
Well, even though I actually like both "Chemistry" and "Closing Time", I am a bit baffled by the publication of a Semisonic best of. I mean, really...they've only put out two records...wait a few years until they get enough of a discography to work with.

― Lord Custos Omicron (Lord Custos Omicron), Monday, 10 November 2003 02:43 (twenty-one years ago)

(xpost)
and as for Billy Ray Cyrus...he only had, what, 2 hits, and both are pure merde.

― Lord Custos Omicron (Lord Custos Omicron), Monday, 10 November 2003 02:44 (twenty-one years ago)

fools. Billy continued to rock the world of country long after the pop world had cast him aside. And I really wanna copy of Semisonic's song about mixtapes.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 10 November 2003 02:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I have to assume you are being facetious, Miccio...
If you aren't here's the real deal:

Before the Pop World Cast Him Aside: Put out "Achy Breaky Heart", a song so bad it codifies everything that C&W-haytas hate about C&W.
Before the Pop World Cast Him Aside: Put out "Busy Man", a song that lifts nearly enough from Clint Black's "Better Man" to come close to plagarism...and lifts it's storyline from Harry Chapin's "Cats in the Cradle"...and gives it a happy ending which defeats the entire point of the song.

Overall. It's hard to decide which smelled worse.

― Lord Custos Omicron (Lord Custos Omicron), Monday, 10 November 2003 02:55 (twenty-one years ago)

"haytas"?

― cinniblount (James Blount), Monday, 10 November 2003 02:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Because it's C&W. Do. You. See?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 10 November 2003 03:08 (twenty-one years ago)

hahahahaha!

― Lord Custos Omicron (Lord Custos Omicron), Monday, 10 November 2003 03:10 (twenty-one years ago)

the Hot Country Top 40 chart legacy of Billy Ray Cyrus (and he had a bunch more that just missed it):

1992 Achy Breaky Heart No. 1
1992 Could ve Been Me No. 2
1992 Wher m I Gonna Live? No. 23
1993 In The Heart Of A Woman No. 3
1993 She s Not Cryin Anymore No. 6
1993 Some Gave All Hot Country No. 52
1993 Somebody New No. 9
1994 Storm In The Heartland No. 33
1994 Words By Heart No. 12
1997 It's All The Same To Me No. 19
1999 Busy Man No. 3
2000 You Won t Be Lonely Now No. 17

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 10 November 2003 03:22 (twenty-one years ago)

not that I've heard any of these aside from "Achy Breaky" but STILL.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 10 November 2003 03:22 (twenty-one years ago)

How I envy you.

― Lord Custos Omicron (Lord Custos Omicron), Monday, 10 November 2003 03:29 (twenty-one years ago)

"Well, even though I actually like both "Chemistry" and "Closing Time", I am a bit baffled by the publication of a Semisonic best of. I mean, really...they've only put out two records"

If the non-album song "Wishing Well" is on the best of, that would almost justify it. Truly one of the best Queen-inspired tunes I've ever heard.

― dlp9001, Monday, 10 November 2003 03:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Billy Ray Cyrus? Weird Al Yankovic to thread then!

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 10 November 2003 03:55 (twenty-one years ago)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000001EUX.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Two Greatest Hits albums. Different tracklists.

― Cat Named Sloopy, Monday, 10 November 2003 05:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh yeah, there should be a Pavement best-of... or at least something like a singles comp, but sticking to singles would exclude things like Grounded, and we can't have that happening.

― Damian (Damian), Monday, 10 November 2003 09:54 (twenty-one years ago)

best ofs and greatest hits *should not* include tracks that were on albums and not released as singles. otherwise you're messin' with the winning formula

― the surface noise (electricsound), Monday, 10 November 2003 10:51 (twenty-one years ago)

My big problem with Greatest Hits collections is that I'm generally too embarrassed to buy them. Owning the Greatest Hits, or the Best Of, feels like admitting that you don't have any albums. I don't know exactly why this is shameful, but it is.

(NB: I am listening to 5ive's 'Greatest Hits' at this very moment.)

― cis (cis), Monday, 10 November 2003 11:49 (twenty-one years ago)

A Timbaland boxset would be the bestest thing evah.

― Nick H, Monday, 10 November 2003 11:55 (twenty-one years ago)

best ofs and greatest hits *should not* include tracks that were on albums and not released as singles. otherwise you're messin' with the winning formula
Yeah, but shouldn't it work like this:
Greatest Hits == Actual "Hits" as in it got on the Billboard Charts.
vs
Best of == Which should contain the "Best" regardless if it got on the charts or not.

Example: The Police had several hits, unfortunately, they had bad taste when it came to which tracks to release as singles. Case in point... instead of releasing "Canary in a Coalmine", they released "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"; and instead of releasing "Bring on the Night", they released "Walking on the Moon".
So sensibly, "DDDD,DDDD"/"WotM" are confirmable "Hits" without actually being their "Best"

― Lord Custos Omicron (Lord Custos Omicron), Monday, 10 November 2003 12:38 (twenty-one years ago)

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