This is a starter guide designed to get you introduced to a batch of different bands through compilation albums. Audiophiles are well-known for being skeptical of a compilation's purpose; "just get x and y" albums, they might say when you inquire about where to begin with a band, or at worst "everything". A brilliant compilation can, at the very least, to a superior job of garnering new fans, and, further still, inspire one to track down all of the band's full-length albums or dive deeper into the genre in question.
No, I'm not talking about standard-fare greatest hits packages (such as the useless Time For Heroes Libertines compilation- the group only released two albums!) or bands whose career can be summed up with a straightforward singles disc (take, for example, the Smiths' Singles, or the Buzzcocks' Singles Going Steady, fine places to begin), or, further still, not those over-priced bonanzas that contain all of an artist's catalog with little extra: these are the legendary compilations. There's definitive box sets, and those ones juicy rarities and extras you won't find anywhere else. Since this post limited to my tastes (the bands I've selected, and, in tomorrow's post (EDIT: soon, this is taking a bit of time, it'll be up this week, no worries..), a batch of genres including: girl groups, psych-garage, library music, and mod), I am sure there are plenty of great compilations our lovely readers could recommend in the comments! See also Top Compilations of All-time at Rate Your Music - stay tuned for tomorrow's Starter Guide: Legendary Genre Compilations!
ARTIST-SPECIFIC COMPILATIONS:
All of the best Bauhaus tracks are here, this double-album is a veritable substitute to owning anything else of theirs. Quintessential post-punk and gothic movement precursors. Key tracks: the live version of "Bela Lugosi's Dead", "Kick in the Eye", "Lagartija Nick"
The Beatles -
1962-1966 (Red Album),
1967-1970 (Blue Album)While
1 is lacking (no "Strawberry Fields Forever", since it didn't hit #1),
Past Masters 1 and
2 contain some (*gasp*!) throwaway tracks, and the
Anthology series is really for people who are already into the Beatles, these compilations, at two discs apiece, offer the best intro to the Beatles you can possibly get, barring a decision to just go ahead and listen to all of their studio albums (oh, and start with
Rubber Soul, should you take this route).
Blur -
The Best OfMy immediate purchase after hearing a tape of
There's No Other Way, with b-side "Explain",
The Best Of comes off as more of a personal mix CD than an ordinary hits compilation: these are not in chronological order, and yet the many sides of Blur are all here- the classic Britpop, the introspective, sentimental sides. A definitive introduction,
all tracks are key.
The Cars -
Anthology: Just What I NeededA strangely overlooked group,
Anthology includes not only the string of glorious new wavey- rock hits, but some rare pieces including an earlier (and possibly superior) version of "Night Spots" and covers of "The Little Black Egg" and Iggy Pop's "Funtime". If you have not yet delved into the Cars, grab
Anthology- the time is now! Key tracks: "I'm Not the One", "Candy-O", "Cruiser", "Moving in Stereo", "Panorama"
The Cure -
Join the Dots: B-Sides and RaritiesWhile perhaps not the ideal place to
begin with the Cure (that would be
Standing on a Beach: The Singles), there is stuff here you can't get anywhere else (plus the
Japanese Whispers EP tracks, which are among my favourites). Check out
the Ulitmate Guide to the Cure over at How to Impress a Hipster!
Fad Gadget -
The Best of Fad GadgetWith his studio albums often difficult to come by,
The Best of... encompasses the best tracks and a host of worthwhile remixes. Fad Gadget was the music of Frank Tovey, an under-appreciated master of electronic, post-punk, along the lines of Gary Numan and early Depeche Mode. Key tracks: "Back to Nature", "The Box", "Collapsing New People", "I Discover Love [Extended Version]"
The Fall -
50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong: 39 Golden GreatsWe here at A Future in Noise are going to continue to champion the Fall, for crucial reasons detailed in the recent
Starter Guide: The Fall. Key tracks: "Totally Wired", "Hip Priest", "Cruiser's Creek"
Joy Division -
SubstanceWhile the original vinyl stops with at "Love Will Tear Us Apart", re-issues include an additional 7 tracks- nothing here is pulled from their two studio albums
Unknown Pleasures or
Closer, and yet this is a perfect introduction (this is how I first heard the band), as well as being non-redundant if you do own the LPs. Key tracks: "Transmission", "She's Lost Control" (the electronic, 12" version), "Love Will Tear Us Apart", "No Love Lost" (recorded when they were known as Warsaw)
New Order -
SubstanceUnlike the case with Joy Division's
Substance, the New Order compilation does indeed pull tracks from albums ("Blue Monday" from
Power, Corruption, & Lies, "Bizarre Love Triangle" from
Brotherhood, and so forth), as well as loads of alternate versions and b-sides. Compiled in 1987, it follows that 1989 LP
Technique would also be a necessary purchase, showing quite a different, even more danceable and rave-y side of the group. Key tracks: "Everything's Gone Green", "Temptation", "Blue Monday", "In a Lonely Place", "Hurt"
The Rolling Stones - Singles Collection: The London Years
The Rolling Stones have so much material scattered across releases, the sort of thing that makes my head spin...While Hot Rocks (1964-1971) is decent and Forty Licks includes too much fluff, the 3-disc Singles Collection covers 1963 through 1976 and manages to represent the Stones fairly well by doing so. Key tracks: "Play With Fire", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "19th Nervous Breakdown", "She's a Rainbow", "2000 Light Years From Home", "Street Fighting Man", "Sympathy For the Devil"
The Smiths -
Louder Than BombsAn alternate course of action (opposed to picking up
Singles), and one of the most frequently-cited-as-beloved compilations around, even getting on Rolling Stone's
500 Greatest Albums of All-Time- though, unfortunately, neither "This Charming Man" or "How Soon Is Now?" are not included since they had been released as bonuses on American LPs previously.
Louder Than Bombs paints an accurate picture of the Smiths as the poetic, genius, and jangly pop (yes!) band that they were. There are b-sides and Peel session wonderments present here- key tracks: "Is It Really So Strange?", "London", "Shakespeare's Sister", "Rubber Ring", "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want", "Asleep"
The Who -
The Kids Are AlrightWhile the
Ultimate Collection feels uneven and
Thirty Years of Maximum R&B is a bit much for a newcomer, the accompanying 'soundtrack' to Who documentary
The Kids Are Alright is the right place to start.
Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy is similar in content, and includes a bit of what this doesn't, but the lack of "Young Man Blues" is unforgivable. Everything here is key!
Yello -
1980-1985: The New Mix in One GoSeemingly known only for "Oh Yeah" by most (from
Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Yello pioneered electronica music through the 80's. While
The New Mix in One Go is a remix album, the versions of tracks here are absolutely superior to their original studio versions. Key tracks: "Daily Disco", "Swing", "The Evening's Young", "Pinball Cha Cha", and "Angel No"
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Psychedelic/experimental group Xu Xu Fang (including Bobby Tamkin of the Warlocks and Hovercraft, and Barbara Cohen who sang with Air) are to host a record release show for their new release Seven Days Now at The Echo in Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA at 10 pm tonight. Available for free download are two trippy album tracks: "Your Way", a breezy, trip-hop reminescent tune recently heard on Gossip Girl, and their darkly beautiful cover of the Cure's "Fascination Street".
