5 comments about Greatest Hits.

1. Journey has a special place in the heart of anyone who fell in love in the 1980s. Having seen them with Glass Tiger on their Raised on Radio Tour, I can say Steve Perry was Journey. Anything else was Bad English (not a bad group either).
   
   This CD has what you are looking for. It is something to put in the car on a 1 hour drive and loose yourself. Be careful not to play air drums on Separate Ways (Worlds Apart).
   
   If you like a couple of Journey songs, but don't have all of these in your MP3 collection, download them now. But listen to them in order.
   
   I bought my original CD in 1988, the day after Thanksgiving at the Strawberries at Downtown Crossing in Boston. When I got married in 1997, this was one of only two duplicate CDs, me and my wife had (out of 400 CDs).
   
   A must. Listen to tracks 10 and 11 and tell me I am wrong.
   
   If you feel that loves unfair, you just ask the lonely.
   
   This is a CD that needs to be converted to Guitar Hero IV or Rock Band.



2. I love this CD..I have it in my car and listen to it over and over again. It's great!



3. Simply the best, most popular songs you'd want to hear over and over again. I can't even believe I spent less than $10 on something so great!
   
   Sit back, relax, and enjoy....or take a drive; either way, you just can't be disappointed with Journey!



4. Purchased this with pepsi points and am very satisfied and it was mailed very quickly.



5. if you don't want to buy several of their CD's, this is a great choice. I would have perferred some more of the older stuff.

5 comments about Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

1. This album is super sweet. I can listen to "Lovely Rita" over and over again. The only song that is kind of a bummer is "When I'm Sixty-Four". The only reason that I put what I did as my title is that many people think that this is the greatest record ever made, well I have news for them. The "White Album", "Rubber Soul", "Revolver", just to name a few. If you don't already own this, what are you waiting for, get it today.



2. The best from the BEST! When my Sgt. Pepper CD dissappeared I had to replace it! Although I still think listening to the original vinyl is the best way to savor this extraordinay album ... I NEED to be able to take my music with me. Amazon's price was fair and the shipping was fast.
   Everyone should have a copy of this Beatles' classic.



3. What if, Paul Mcartney would make one last "BEATLES" record ?? All he has to do is REMASTER this album.......BUT.....add the 2 missing songs to this same album , with a different line -up. The famous "PENNY LANE" and "STRAWBERRY FIELDS" would be added. It was the biggest screw-up in rock and roll to leave them off.........SO FIX IT !!! Make this new album a SPECIAL RELEASE, seriously. Eveybody knows this album should have had those songs any-way. There's plenty of room on CD's. Heck, you can even leave off the "WITHIN YOU,WITHOUT YOU song ( Everyone hates it anyway ). This new ST. PEPPER album would be a great way for PAUL to end his career.....AND........He would actually FIX HISTORY.



4. I'm not much for worshipping sacred cows. I wouldn't call PET SOUNDS or DARK SIDE OF THE MOON masterpieces, even if "the experts" say that they are. And I don't really care if SGT PEPPER is the birth of modern pop music or important regarding the evolution of artrock.
   I just think that the songs on SGT PEPPER are really good. Good enough to get 5 stars.



5. It's funny how history works. When it came out in 1967, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was a seismic event. It was an instant cultural touchstone, a musical icon, a psychotropic chunk of pop art product that glistened with possibility and newness. It was, famously, the album that signaled the rise of rock `n' roll as an artform rather than a teenage flavor-of-the-decade. It was bold, energetic, and state-of-the-art. It was conceptual- even the packaging and cover art were part of the journey. It was innovative. In a visionary synthesis of Chuck Berry and Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson and Karlheinz Stockhausen, the Fab Four sought to combine experimentation and melody, innovation and whimsy, futurism and present...ism. It was the album that made it officially OK for popular artists to use tape loops and weird (read: non-European) instruments and genre hopping. Sure, other bands had been experimental before them, but the Beatles were the first megastars to do it over the length of a full album. Impressive.
   
   So, I'm not going to deny the historical significance of this album. I'm not quite insane enough to do that. I won't try to refute its influence, either. But what I am going to complain about is its listenability. Its raw musical value, if you will. Evaluating music on an intellectual level is interesting and useful, but it's all academic if the stuff doesn't make for a good listening experience. And by that measure, the Beatles have done much, much better than Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
   
   It hasn't aged all that well, you see. I can do without a lot of this stuff: "When I'm Sixty-Four" is a cutesy music hall exercise that, all these years later, sounds cheeky and not all that entertaining. "Lovely Rita" and "Good Morning Good Morning" sound absolutely generic, and "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!" is (how do I put this delicately?) annoying and stupid.
   
   Even some of the album's better songs aren't exactly top-drawer material: "She's Leaving Home" is sad and pretty, "Getting Better" is pleasantly bouncy (good lyrics, too), and "Within You Without You" shows off George's sitar fascination to trippy effect, but none of those three are particularly special. Same goes for the rocking title track.
   
   But having said all that, I still do think that this is a pretty good album. If the review so far has seemed harsh, it's because I've learned to hold the Beatles to a pretty high standard. A five-star Beatles album (Rubber Soul, Revolver, etc.) needs to be saturated with pure gold. On this disc, I only count a few true gems. "A Day In The Life" is the shiniest. It's an absolutely gorgeous song, a symphonic tale of quiet desolation and muted melancholia. I also like the quintessentially psychedelic "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," and the inexplicably delightful "Fixing A Hole."
   
   Rock historians, Beatle maniacs, and those who are trying to collect all of the obvious touchstones of musical history should certainly pick this up. Otherwise, think twice.

5 comments about Bob Seger - Greatest Hits.

1. This doesn't strike me as a "Greatest Hits" exactly, but is a good studio collection for a great sale price. All in all, it has a nice mellow quality about it, but if you're looking for something with more "adrenaline", go for the live recordings of the "Nine Tonight" cd.



2. gran coleccion de canciones...ya se...faltan algunos temas..sobran algunos, pero pienso que es una obra muy recomendable sobretodo para los que se arriman por primera vez al trabajo de este sencillo pero interesante artista...



3. I received the product quicker than I expected, which was great. The price was good. I love ordering from Amazon.



4. Audio quality wasn't up to par with modern CDs. I bought this for a couple of songs but I'm not a big Seger fan overall. I think these songs are best remembered and not purchased. If you must, buy a single from iTunes or something similar and save $10.



5. I purchased this CD for my daughter for Easter. It was a HUGE hit AND surprise! Great music!

5 comments about The Beatles 1.

1. This is a wonderful collection of twenty-seven of The Beatles most popular songs all of which reached number one in both the UK and the USA. Spanning the years 1962 (LOVE ME DO) to 1970 THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD this is a great album to introduce younger music lovers to THE BEATLES music as well as to ignite the memories of baby boomers. A short booklet with pictures of original record covers as well as the date each song was recorded and the dates that song was number one in the US and UK is included.



2. What else can you say about the greatest pop band in history to date? This album showcases all the bands "number 1 hits". All the tracks are remastered, and there are enough of them on the disc to keep the new or old Beatles fan singing for quite some time. Yes, all these songs are available on some other album, but this disc reveals to you in chronological order how the Beatles tunes could change and the listeners changed with them. From the poppy love songs of the beginning, to the trippy songs in the middle, and back out the other side with the mature songs of the later years. All in all a great summation of the Beatles amazing talent. If you're an old Beatles fan who wants to hear them again, or a newbie who's just getting started, this album is a great compilation in my opinion.



3. Purists have and will continue to argue this particular release into the ground with a host of complaints that range from "The audio mix is bad!" to "Lady Madonna was never number one on the charts!" But while it may come as deep shock to them, not every one approaches The Beatles as if they were holy relics, not everyone considers them "essential," and not every one feels it necessary to purchase every album the band made.
   
   Quite obviously I tend to fall into this category. I like quite a few of The Beatles' recordings, but they never spoke me in a gotta-have-it way, and although I like "Come Together" I'm not going to buy ABBEY ROAD in order to obtain it. But while this compilation doesn't include every one of my favorites, it does include enough of them to make me willing to put a few of my hard-earned dollars on the table.
   
   It is true that #1 is open to "number one according to who?" arguments, but even so the collection does gather twenty-seven of the band's best known and most popular releases--and also offers a fairly good overview of their style as they moved from mop-top-pop to psychedelia with plenty of innovation and serious musicianship along the way. It may be true that some of the songs sound better in original monoaural; it may be true that every selection could stand a meticulous remastering--but I personally had no complaints about sound quality.
   
   This is really a recording for two classes of listeners: novices who know little about the band and would like to test the waters and old hands who like certain songs but don't like them well enough to go to the expense of replacing scratched up albums with CDs. You'll still have to do that if you want the likes of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," "Strawberry Fields Forever," and "Octopus Garden"--but this collection really does hit most of the obvious notes.
   
   GFT, Amazon Reviewer



4. It's hard to find a reason to buy this CD for a long time Beatles fan like me, who owns all their entire catalog. I admit that I would never buy such a compilation, but finally I did because I've found a reason: the remastered sound. The songs sounds better than ever and certainly the sound of this CD has no comparison with the released official albums. If Apple or EMI someday decide to update the sound of all Beatles CD's the way they did with this one, I would no doubt to replace mi collection.



5. It's pretty hard to beat the Beatles if you're into the oldies. The best part of this title is it's so complete and it brings back so many memories.

5 comments about Abbey Road.

1. So I was just idly surfing Amazon, reading reviews and whatnot when I decided to search the Beatles' catalogue. Abbey Road is the first you get when you punch the group's name in. The reviews, naturally this being the most popular band ever, were mostly positive. Positive reviews tend to bore me, so I decided to look at the negative (1 star) reviews instead, just for a laugh. But the thing is I've always been a bit insecure about my love of the Beatles. There is always a voice in me questioning "what if it is all hype? What if there's really nothing spectacular about them and you're just following along with the rock critics and fans?". Some of the 1 star reviews brought these feelings back as I tried to recollect what this album sounded like. It really didn't seem spectacular at all. The songwriting seemed superficial and the instrumentation seemed mediocre. Logic forbade me to continue to praise them.
   So then I put the boys to the test and grabbed this album and gave it a listen (I'm listening to it now actually), and all I can say is, well, I like it. Alot. There is a certain charm in the melodies and lyrics, often times playful but somehow epic, even meaningful in an insane way. The Beatles inhabit a pop music dreamland on this album. Everything sounds perfectly placed, all the parts nuanced. It always sounds oh so cheesy when I think of it afterwards, but when I've got a Beatles album on, I am inside it and I am happy. A cheerful trance of sorts.
   I'm sure once this album is over and a few days have passed I will again wonder why I let the Beatles fill space in my CD collection. I may even regret writing this review, or this 5 star rating, then I'll listen to them again.



2. So it occured to me one day that I didn't own a single Beatles CD. Can you even believe it? Arguably the best band in all of rock and roll and not even a greatest hits on my shelf.
   
   Since I'm a tad obsessive when it comes to stuff, I decided I didn't want any run of the mill Best Of, but instead wanted to go through and buy the albums from these boys the way they were originally sent out, so I decided I'd start with the albums that were what many considered to be innovative and the ones I knew I always wanted but never got.
   
   Now my first impulse was to buy "the white album" but upon closer inspection I realized I wanted Revolver and Abbey Road first. And this week we have been playing this little gem on and off. I
   
   I knew this was one of the last Beatles albums but what I didn't know is that it WAS the last Beatles album ever recorded, Let It Be was released after this but it had already been recorded by the time the boys headed into Abbey Road. I knew I wanted this album the minute I realized "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" was on here as for some reason that is my ultimate favorite Beatles song, I know I'm very strange.
   
   But also on this 1969 masterpeice is "Come Together", "Octopus' Garden", and "Something" to name but a few of the familiar tunes.
   
   A sort darker than the way the Beatles bounced into the world only a mere 5 years before, the reason this band is so important and influential is the fact that those 5 years saw these boys doing what no one had ever done before, coming up with insane and strange mixes to add to the guitar pop they brought to life.
   
   From one direction to another these four boys are remarkable and every single piece of genius is evident on Abbey Road. The songs are more experimental than most of what you hear even today yet they are familiar and long lasting. I sing along with every single song, I feel every single emotion and believe me when you hear me running around screaming "I Want You" you know it's absolutely stunning!
   
   There are probably more important Beatles albums and perhaps more entertaining albums in the catalog but since this is my very first Beatles ever (a hundred and one years later) I think it will remain a favorite for years and years.



3. the best band that ever recorded on this planet has achieved musical genius on Abbey Road. there will never be a better band!!!!!



4. What a great lp It tops most of there lps . What a swan song for the Boys, Just if they stayed together for a few more years wow.



5. An incredible work of music. Simply a masterpiece, and in my opinion has to be the best rocknroll/pop album of all time.
   
   
   and if you'd like a laugh, read the the 1-star reviews.

5 comments about O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits.

1. This is a great CD to have for the variety of hits. Many of the "Best of" collections are missing a few songs because Aerosmith jumped around between recording companies. This one has Dream On which is missing on many of the collections.



2. Aerosmiths music stopped being relevant after "Draw the Line", perhaps before that... everything since has been AOR pop drool!!! What's this??? another scooped together "greatest hits" package? wow...thanks (yawn)
   
   
   Like the Stones and countless Heart, Styx, BOC, etc... bands that continue to tour americas backwaters....know when to "hang it up" and bow out with grace.
   
   It's time to stop wearing spandex and chasing teenagers when your AARP card shows up in the mail



3. This is not a bad collection of songs by any means. My problem lies in what is absent. There is a WHOLE LOT missing from Aerosmith's 70's heyday. Thirty songs on here and only ten are from the 70's. I'm sorry but that is just too much post-70's material. Where is "Walking The Dog", "Train Kept a Rolling", "Chip Away The Stone", "Kings And Queens". But in all fairness the name of the collection is "Ulitmate Hits" not "Best Of". And for better or worse Aerosmiths "greatest hits" came from 1987 on. And there is really nothing wrong with that material. "Permanent Vacation" was my first real introduction to the band back in 87 when I was in high school when they made there comeback, but where I have a problem is that there are umpteen Aerosmith 80s/90s greatest hits packages already. "Big Ones" and "Young Lust" were already out there with most of this material already on it. Did we need another double CD that was primarily dedicated to this same period. To me it would have been more beneficial for a pre "Permanent Vacation" era compilation. Pretty much the only thing available as a compilation that covers this early era of the band are the old "Greatest Hits" (not enough material) single album and the box set "Pandoras Box"(a bit too much material). All in all the material is not bad but much like my complaint of the Bruce Springsteen "Greatest Hits" package, too much is dedicated to late 80s/90s material and the early era is far too ignored.



4. As other reviews have mentioned, all the classic material from the band's heyday is absent.....How you could issue a collection and not have Toys in the Attic is beyond me.........What a let down...they should have called this Greatest Hits from the bands reunion...forward. Way, way too many tracks on here that had outside writers...I want to hear Aerosmith, not writers...that's what Country music is for.
   
   Check out the Fozzy All That Remains Reloaded Cd for some great american rock and roll.All That Remains Reloaded (W/Dvd)



5. I bought this Cd for my husband but I love it too. Which we rarely agree on music.

5 comments about The Who: The Ultimate Collection.

1. I've been a fan of theirs since the mid 60's and always felt their earlier recordings to be the most exuberant, spontaneous and foppishly creative. After their peak with Who's Next (1971), they took themselves way too seriously with Quadrophenia and then after that they sounded angry and lost their youthful innocence, which was so charming to begin with. To me, the first CD is the best, it features early quirky gems like: The Kids Are Allright, Happy Jack, Boris The Spider, I'm a Boy, Pictures of Lilly, I Can See For Miles, Substitute, I Can't Explain and others through the Tommy opera and parts of Who's next. CD 2 picks up with some of Who's Next then finishes through Quadrophenia, By Numbers, and Who Are You. I hardly listen to CD 2. For me, early Who is the best. Keith Moon was a very original drummer. I could never understand however, why they would destroy their instruments. If someone put a smudge on my guitar, I couldn't sleep at night. Yet, Townsend would smash his Les Paul or Strat to bits for effect. Maybe back then, it was for rebellious shock value, but today it looks stupid, senseless, violent and wasteful. The music is still very cool however. In my opinion, the three Who CDs to own are this one, The Who Sell Out (1968) and Who's Next (1971). Live at Leeds (1970) is also highly recommened if you'd like to catch their live jamming at their peak too. This collection however is ESSENTIAL for any rock fan or historian.



2. This has to be the greatest collection of songs from The Who , a lot of classic's like who are you and the rest of your favorites , great collection , highly recommended.



3. Recently, what's left of The Who (Daltrey and Townshend) showed that they could still produce interesting music, with their "Endless Wire." A great album? No, but a solid one. And this collection of 35 cuts in all provides a terrific introduction to The Who's oeuvre. There can be questions about why certain cuts were included and others were excluded, but this is not one of those flawed compendia with idiosyncratic selections. The 2 CD set begins with "I Can't Explain" and ends with "Eminence Front," with a lot of music in between.
   
   A sampler:
   
   "My Generation." An anthem of the 60s generation for many. A certain poignancy in this phrase:
   
   "Talkin' bout my generation,
   Hope I die before I get old."
   
   Two of The Who did die before their time (Keith Moon and John Entwistle). The instrumental work is raw and pulsating. Roger Daltrey's vocal work is an exemplar of rock and roll. One of their earliest hits--and it still sounds good today!
   
   "Boris the Spider." Come on, how could I leave this quirky song off this brief description of my reaction to a few cuts! An odd little number (one of the few not written by Townshend--in this case Entwistle did the job). The focus is on Boris the Spider, "crawling up the wall." Nice guitar work and cool singing.
   
   Then, "Pinball Wizard." This is from the rock opera, "Tommy." What a toe tapper! Daltrey's singing is excellent; he shows a lot of growth as a singer from the early days of the group. This is about a character who "sure plays a mean pinball." Didn't Elton John later have a hit with a cover of this song? I recall his version being fine, but this is the real deal.
   
   "Baba O'Riley." I used to think that the name of this song was "Teenage Wasteland," for references to that phrase in the latter part of this 5 minute piece of great music. The sound shows a maturing of The Who as a group. The keyboard in this song adds a delicious element t5o the music. The guitar work is neat, Moon's drumming is great, and Daltrey's singing measures up. Again, a great 5 minutes of rock and roll.
   
   And on it goes. . . . "Won't Get Fooled Again," "The Kids Are Alright," "Happy Jack," "I Can See for Miles," "Summertime Blues," "Long Live Rock," "Squeeze Box," "You Better You Bet," "Who Are You?," and so on.
   
   Who could resist such a plenitude of The Who?



4. All the big hits and some lesser known tunes as well. A must for devotees of the British Invasion era.



5. I was recommended this collection as the best compilation of The Who hits. And indeed, the selection of songs is great.
   
   But what does that matter when the listening experience is dull and flat. If you turn it up, everything is getting loud and tiresome with no impact. If you turn it down there is still no impact, and it is still tiresome and dull. I simply can not listen to this. It may work as background noise when you are cleaning your house, but for an enjoyable listening experience, go digging for original, non-remastered releases.
   
   True musical enjoyment is impossible with this release.

5 comments about Rubber Soul.

1. I was amazed to find a couple of songs on here that I didn't remember. This has a lot of my favorites. If you are a Beatle fan, I would definately recommend 'Rubber Soul'.



2. My favorite Beatles album, actually. Others were more experimental, influential, and innovative, but Rubber Soul is really the bee's knees, musically speaking. Chronologically speaking, it captures the Fab Four at a crossroads, bridging the gap between their tenure as the world's smartest teen pop band and rock `n' roll's preeminent celebrity mad scientists. As such, it captures the best of both worlds: The songs are smartly crafted pop classics with perfect melodies, but they're also bold and original. The lyrics are subtly poetic, the instrumentation is rich and complex, and even the most innocuous tracks burble with exciting new ideas.
   
   "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" is a sepia-toned miracle, full of folk and mystery and parallel-universe pop melodies. It also has some of the best use of a sitar on a Beatles record. "In My Life" is a tearjerker that can really jerk tears, a haunting work that's full of memory and melancholy. "Drive My Car" is really fun and really groovy, and the guitar solo is wonderfully, unbelievably, quintessentially 60s.
   
   But the real draw of this album is the underappreciated gems. Rubber Soul is full of `em. Take "You Won't See Me," for example. It would have been the highlight of just about any other 60s group's career- it's an absolutely flawless pop song, from harmonies to lyrics to chord progressions. It's cool, it's wistful, it's catchy, it's dynamic, and it's fun. Perfect, I tell ya! "I'm Looking Through" is absolutely gorgeous, and "Wait" has one of the most bewitching choruses in history. I even like the much-maligned "Run For Your Life," because it creates a genuine sense of menace and aggression. Marvelous!
   
   To top it off, the cover art is hipper than anything else in existence. Be hip and buy Rubber Soul. Bon Appétit.



3. A lot has been written and spoken about "Rubber soul" It is basically The Beatles coming of age release. Their work takes on a more reflected and personal identity. They sound more mature in their singing, playing and songwriting. At no time though does this CD sound heavy handed or preachy. Some of the pop sheen is still present, but their melodies and subject matter have a very passionate feel to them. They were still writing in a "singles" (45's) mode and so most everything on the CD sounds like it could have been a hit single in 1965. For that matter probably could be a hit record these days too. Really the only true throwaway song on here is Ringo's "What goes on?" Everything else brims with worthy craftsmanship. Imagine how good this album would have been had they included "Day tripper" & "We can work it out" instead of issuing them as a double A side single.



4. I received this CD as a gift and was very disappointed to find that the songs were not the same as on my old record. I've Just Seen A Face was my favorite song and it is not included.



5. Whenever Sid is driving in his car on a crisp autumn day the first thing he thinks about listening to is some Beatles. And, Rubber Soul just might be the best album the Fab Four ever made. "Drive My Car," the first track is good, a solid single for the lads. But, Sid tends to dislike many of the guys' "hits." It's the second track, "Norwegian Wood," that really kicks off the brilliance in the effort. This is one of the best song the group has ever done, and it is never mentioned in a listing of their better tunes. The whole album is excellent with the exception of "What Goes On," sung by the one and only Richard Starkey of course. The highlight, though, is the incomparable "Michelle." Sid defies you to find a sweeter ballad. If you can't groove with the mellow licks at the end of the song, Sid doesn't know what to tell you.

5 comments about The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac.

1. When Fleetwood mac took a longshot chance on an obscure Los Angeles duo named Buckingham/Nicks, even they probably had no clue just how greatly their fortunes would turn. But the creative chemistry was almost immediate: the Fleetwood Mac album made huge inroads in the US and "Rhiannon" became the greeting card that marked the arrival of Stevie Nicks.
   
   That is where this double CD Best Of picks up the story. For all you whiny purists who grouse that the pre-Buckingham/Nicks material is not here, this is a HITS compilation. It covers a quarter century of a band that centered on the core members (even as they revolved in and out) from 1975 on. While Bob Welch and Peter Green each contributed, they came and went quickly and the alchemy that gelled when the band entered the studio for Rumours, frankly, didn't happen until this line-up was in place. Nicks' sensual spaciness balanced Christine McVie's earthiness, Buckingham's guitar playing brought new spark to the band, and his sonic ingenuity prodded Mick Fleetwood and John McVie to new heights.
   
   Which means that most of these songs are from that incredible one/two punch of "Fleetwood Mac" and "Rumours," with the band baring themselves even as their emotional lives were splintering. It makes songs like "Dreams" drip with emotion, even as "Go Your Own Way" cajoles the lover on the way out the door. It was impossible not to relate to at least something there, making "Rumours" one of the best selling albums of all time.
   
   After that, where would anyone go? Since the relationships had hit their peaks of instability already, the band took advantage of their status to experiment with the wildly ambitious (but overblown) Tusk. Featuring one of the most bizarre top ten singles from a star band ever in the title track, it also has to claim responsibility for the wave of pop songs incorporating marching bands. The mad tinkering was balanced by the hits, which included Nicks' "Gypsy."
   
   By now, the band was also feeling their own personal creative powers, which meant just about all members hitting the solo spotlight (and the bona-fide superstardom of Nicks once Bella Donna emerged). When the band reconvened for Mirage, the results were still pretty...but not revelatory. The album hit number one, both Nicks' "Gypsy" and McVie's "Love In Store" captured the sound, but the fire that burned in "The Chain" was nowhere to be found. Same for Tango in the Night, which often felt like Buckingham's solo work with "Family Man" and "Big Love" leading the parade. Even so, Nicks and McVie balanced things out with "Seven Wonders" and "Little Lies." Buckingham split at this point, and his creative sense was missed on Behind the Mask (represented here by only one song). Even though the band reunited once President Bill Clinton asked them for a performance of "Don't Stop," the only album they recorded together was the live The Dance, and three songs are from that (including Buckingham's solo "Go Insane"). The studio versions would have been better, hence the four star ranking.
   
   However, if you were listening to the radio from the mid-70's through the end of the 80's, these were the songs and sounds that filled the airwaves. For many of us in our 40's and 50's, a great part to the soundtrack of our lives. To this day, "The Chain," "Don't Stop" and "Rhiannon" can lift memories from the past.



2. Wow, listening to these songs never gets old. They are in many ways musical masterpieces deep with meaning, provocative, and deliver outstanding rock still over thirty years.
   
   This is a great CD to bring to the beach - it's good and long, there are a LOT of [excellent] songs. Actually they are ALL excellent.
   
   Stevie Nicks (one of my favorite female singers) still delivers her one-of-a-kind voice that is as unique and special as she is. If you want a real treat, check out her site at nicksfix.com
   
   Pure timeless rock - 10 Stars!



3. Haven't ever owned a Fleetwood Mac album although I play a D tuning version of "Never Going Back". I bought this CD to bring an order for something else up to $25 so I could get the shipping charge waived.
   
   Glad I did. This is a really nice sampling of their best songs and I find myself enjoying most all of them.



4. I must have received a different version than everyone else. My first CD contains no songs except those that are buried within Fleetwood.exe and Dreams.mov. This should have been a bonus CD and CD 1 should have been left the way it probably was originally. I don't want songs buried in QuickTime movies. For some strange reason, they don't want to play in my CD player. Pathetic.



5. I have not been able to stop listening to this cd for the several weeks i have owned it. I totally missed Fleetwood Mac the first time around (i'm 26), so I am just now getting into it and am loving it. I have always heard a few of thier most popular songs and even though this is a greatest hits, i had not heard some of the songs and i love most songs on this album now!
   excellent!

5 comments about The Beatles (The White Album).

1. Although I tend to prefer The Beatle's earlier work, this album is one of their best in my opinion. Double CD and all the songs are great. Worth every penny! You really can't go wrong with any Beatle album.



2. Beginning with the release of Rubber Soul in 1965, The Beatles began to be recognized as major, "serious" artists whose best songs stood comparison with great classical music. As their music became more ambitious, they drew progressively away from their rock and roll roots. After their last scheduled concert in August 1966, The Beatles gave up live performance to become exclusively a studio band. Their withdrawal reached its limits in 1967's Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, when they assumed the identities of fictional performers. The pendulum turned the following year. As suggested by its self-title, The Beatles (The White Album) was an effort by The Beatles to return to their original essence. In this quest, they faced great difficulties arising both outside and within the group.
   
   The first obstacle The Beatles confronted was that of history. Between the time of their first stardom in the early 1960s and their making of The White Album in 1968, the world transformed. The album was recorded during a time of political assassinations, Vietnam War casualties, and a sense of impending chaos. At a fundamental level, the meaning of everything had changed. In The Beatles' darker tone and loss of ebullience, one can sense how deeply affected they were as their musical home in rock and roll became a foreign place "back in the U.S.S.R."
   
   In addition, the individual Beatles had by now drawn far apart musically. John Lennon's shattering introspections ("Yer Blues," "Happiness Is a Warm Gun") had little in common with Paul McCartney's bursts of pure melody ("Blackbird," "I Will"). In songs such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," George Harrison emerged on The White Album as Lennon and McCartney's compositional equal, upsetting a balance in which his two band mates had been the dominant songwriters. Ringo Starr, too, moved more to the forefront with the recording of his first song, "Don't Pass Me By." Although The Beatles were still an ensemble, the White Album became very much a collaboration of four solo artists.
   
   Searching for their past, The Beatles broke new ground. The White Album's range is vast, with calypso ("Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"), blues rock ("Yer Blues"), early heavy metal ("Helter-Skelter"), Indian-influenced rhythms ("Dear Prudence"), 1930s dance hall ("Honey Pie") and electronic sound collage ("Revolution 9") just a few of the forms represented. Instrumentation varies from the sparse guitar and bird song accompaniment of "Blackbird" to the luxurious, full orchestration of the concluding lullaby "Good Night." There are contrasting lyrics of distant love ("I Will") and uninhibited sex ("Why Don't We Do It in the Road"); pastoral repose ("Mother Nature's Son") and insomnia ("I'm So Tired"); forfeited time ("Long, Long, Long") and birthday celebration ("Birthday"). There are parodies of The Beach Boys ("Back in the U.S.S. R.") and The Beatles themselves ("Glass Onion"). Each of the album's nearly thirty songs and assorted fragments is unique. Together, they make up a library of styles reaching across all of music.
   
   To truly listen to The White Album is to wonder if, in the midst of its immensity, The Beatles have found their old voices. It is a question vital not only to these four musicians but to our entire era, for what we are asking about The Beatles we must also ask of ourselves. As we drift into a trackless future, is there a way back to our foundations? Somewhere in The White Album is an answer.



3. The Beatles (aka The White Album) is a fascinating mix of many diverse styles and finds the Beatles stretching out a bit more as far as stylistic daring goes. As a casual Beatle fan, however, I feel there is also a lot of what I do not love about them all that much. There are too many lightweight songs mixed in with the bona-fide genius of others. I am sure die hards love this sort of thing and find the appeal of those songs all the more endearing. I am, however, not in that category and can't help but feel there is one solid single album somewhere in between these grooves. I mean, all double albums give a band the opportunity to branch out and approach styles they would not normally test out for the public. That's not the problem. The problem lies in the filler material, in which there is plenty of.
   
   I cannot blindy call this album a Beatles' classic when in comparison to "Abbey Road", "Revolver" and "Rubber Soul". EVERY song on those mentioned albums was stellar (well, maybe not Yellow Submarine) but you get the point. Unlike popular belief, The Beatles weren't always perfect and The White Album, which for most of it is as good as good music gets, is the real beginning of the cracks that had begun to appear in their relationships with one another. You have Fluff like "Wild Honey Pie", "Bungalow Bill", "Why Don't We Do it in the Road", "Honey Pie", "Savoy Truffle", "Good Night" and the eight minute catastrophe of "Revolution 9" alongside masterpieces such as "Dear Prudence", "Ob La Di", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Blackbird", "Birthday" and "Helter Skelter". Even the version of "Revolution 1" is not as good as the single version.
   
   All that being said, any understanding of the developement of modern pop music must start with The Beatles. The White Album, however, is not the place to start, in my opinion. Yes, it is better than just about anything else that was released during it's time by bands working the same territory, but it is not the best The Beatles have to offer. This is along the lines of "Let it Be", "Magical Mystery Tour" and (oh here come the comments) "Sgt Pepper". All classics, but not the creme de la creme.



4. Released forty years ago, "The Beatles" aka "The White Album" is notable for many reasons. It's the Fab Four's only double album. It differs greatly from the band's previous two psychedelic albums for a more back-to-basics approach which would continue with their following albums. It's a sprawling and at times schizophrenic record that documents the falling apart of the band as most songs are primarily composed by whomever is singing the lead with the rest of the boys as backup band. Though this is true going back to about "Beatles For Sale", it especially applies to this album as Ringo briefly quit for a while with Paul playing drums on "Back In The U.S.S.R." and a few other songs; Yoko Ono's presence in the studio which irritated everyone with the exception of John; and other personal events that had the band unraveling.
   Kicking things off to a rousing start is "Back In The U.S.S.R.", an inspired mixture of Chuck Berry and The Beach Boys. Sung by Paul with wonderful backup singing by John & George, it has a great melody and witty tongue-in-cheek lyrics. John's "Dear Prudence" with a sweet, cascading guitar line the boys became known for follows. This song was inspired by Mia Farrow whom they met during their stay in India for the purpose of studying meditation with Maharashi Mahesh Yogi. Next up is the lyrically self-referential "Glass Onion", another brilliant song by John. For me, the pseudo-reggae of Paul's "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is cute but ultimately somewhat forgettable. It's another of the Beatles' children's songs in the tradition of "Yellow Submarine". "Wild Honey Pie" is another track that could easily have been left off the album, sounding totally like filler. John's "The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill" is mainly notable for its satiric lyrics and Yoko's unique backup singing. Its melody is especially weak when compared to George's stately, lovely "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" which follows. Graced with guitar solos by George's pal Eric Clapton, this song firmly establishes Mr. Harrison as a songwriter on par with Lennon & McCartney. "Guitar" also utilizes that trademark cascading guitar figure that bonds the verses with the choruses. This song is beautifully straight forward, abandoning the psychedelia (which I nonetheless adored) of compositions like "Within You Without You" from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "Blue Jay Way" from "Magical Mystery Tour". "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" is a song in three parts and the second song from this album in which John mentions guns. Spooky. In light of his tragic assassination in 1980, was this guy psychic? The verses on this one are a bit folk, the bridge is bluesy and the chorus is inspired by doo-wop. Again, the lyrics are delightfully tongue-in-cheek. Paul's "Martha My Dear" is a great little number that was inspired by his dog. John follows this with another bluesy tune, "I'm So Tired". Paul's sublime "Blackbird" was inspired by the American Civil Rights movement. It's just Paul, an acoustic guitar and birdsong and it's absolutely lovely in its simplicity. George's "Piggies" is another satire, this time concerning class differences. The first reference to Bob Dylan on "The Beatles" is "Rocky Raccoon" with Paul emulating the American poet in the lyrics and general form and tone of the song. Ringo makes his writing debut with the country song "Don't Pass Me By". The lyrics are dryly funny but like the songs that immediately precede and follow it (Paul's "Why Don't We Do It In The Road"), the tunes sound a bit tossed off, a bit throwaway. "I Will" is another very pretty song by Paul that is instrumentally minimalist with just acoustic and bass guitar. Disc 1 ends with John's ode to his mother, the delicate acoustic guitar ballad "Julia". It's a very touching song and its simplicity, it mirrors "I Will" perfectly.
   
   Disc 2 opens with the rocking "Birthday" which is followed by John's "Yer Blues", a tortured blues number that references "Ballad Of A Thin Man" with the line 'just like Dylan's Mr. Jones'. Paul's gorgeous "Mother Nature's Son" is next. Largely acoustic, it also features a lovely horn section. John brings back the rock 'n roll with "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey" with its rollicking guitar bits. The piano-driven "Sexy Sadie" was written by John about the boys' fallout with the Maharishi. Lovely background vocals enhance an already terrific song. "Helter Skelter" proves that although best known for his beautiful ballads, Paul could rock like a hell-hound. 'Blisters on my fingers', indeed. Did he invent heavy metal with this song? I believe it predates Black Sabbath's debut album by a couple of years! George's "Long,Long,Long" makes a 360 degree turn from the heavy rock of "Helter Skelter". Anchored by organ, this song is a sublime marvel. The shift in tone, like so many from this album, is what gives "The Beatles" the schizophrenic feel I noted earlier. The version of "Revolution 1" on this album is quite different than the single version. Its focus is more acoustic and again owes a debt to doo-wop. I don't share Paul's love of the music hall/vaudeville genre but if you're curious about it, the second (!) "Honey Pie" is a great example of it. George's tribute to sweets, "Savoy Truffle" follows. It's a nice little rocker with swinging horns. John's haunting, beautiful "Cry Baby Cry" precedes the Beatles' most experimental track, "Revolution 9", which was constructed from various tapes John made. His association with avant-garde artist Ono becomes crystal clear after a listen to this mind-blowing 'song'. Paul & George had enjoyed making tracks out of tapes going back to "Pepper's" at least but had never released them under the Beatles name. It has enormously influenced my own music. If you enjoy "Revolution 9" then check out the works of Karlheinz Stockhausen, one of the original practitioners of musique concrete. "The Beatles" fittingly closes with "Good Night", a wonderfully wistful tune perfectly sung by Ringo.
   Needless to say and despite its flaws, "The Beatles" is an essential part of this amazing band's catalog. You won't regret owning it.



5. Disc 2 skips in the begining.......not cool..but it was great to hear this CD since I traded my white album years ago to my brother!