Customer Reviews

20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Since The Tubes rather neatly split their recording career into two distinct periods for two different labels, the only way to get a true greatest hits collection is to buy two CDs. That sufficiently solves your dilemma of where the "hits" are. But since this disc encompasses the A&M years, it essentially is the weird years. "The Millennium Collection" covers the first four Tubes albums, even dropping in one from their punk-jazz experiment "Now." It also pares some of the excess of the first two albums down to the essentials. You get the instant skewed classics "White Punks On Dope" and "What Do You Want From Life" from album number one. I have always considered "White Punks" to be the more insolent twin to Steely Dan's "Show Biz Kids," savagely tearing at the spoiled Hollywoodites The Tubes so loved to lampoon. The band got better fast and expanded their targets for the "Young And Rich" album, getting equal digs at contemporary disco as well as the outrageous Phil Spector/Girl Group send up of "Don't Touch Me There." By the time they got around to constructing a concept album around (what else?) media culture, The Tubes had mastered their game. "Remote Control" is The Tubes' best album, their last shot at eccentric rock vision and social satire. Both "Tubes World Tour" and "I Want It All Now" flirt with the desire of being kings of the culture while at the same time looking at the world with one eyebrow arched.

I hold back on a five star call here because I found the package a bit skimpy ("Smoke" from "Now" and a couple more "Young And Rich" selections would have made this a better set). But if you pick up the Capitol "Best Of The Tubes" in addition to "The Millennium Collection" CD, you'll have as good an overview of the band as you're likely to piece together on your own.

If ever a group have been badly treated by the current holders of their recordings copyrights, it's The Tubes. Amazingly, their superb first album stays in print while the superb second album 'Young & Rich' is long deleted and (unforgivably) their third album 'Now' remains unreleased on CD, which is astonishing when one thinks how many ... lounge albums from the 60s are back again...
If one has to buy a Tubes compliation, it must be for the tracks from 'Y & R' and 'Now': 'Tubes World Tour' from the former is one of the most exiciting pieces of pure 70s rock music ever, beautifully produced, with stunning sequencer runs that make Moroder and tangerine Dream look like pikers, while Roger Steen's textbook lead guitar solo at he the start is what rock is all about. 'Pound of Flesh' from now features amusing lyrics, fantastic synthesis from Michael Cotten that explodes from your speakers at the coda.
Quite simply, The Tubes were one of the finest bands of the 70s (their 80s stuff is fun, but merely the best stadium AOR of the decade when compared to the avant-classic rock they produced from 75-78). Live they were amazing, on record unstoppable. Buy the compliations just to build your collection, but ensure you berate A & M to get 'Y & R' and 'Now'onto CD....

Please don't pay attention to the previous reviewer who referred to this collection as a disgrace and advises readers to buy T.R.A.S.H. instead. The latter has a terrible edit of "White Punks on Dope", the band's signature song, whereas this CD features the song EXACTLY as it was recorded on the first Tubes album. It also features a live version of "Mondo Bondage" that isn't nearly as good as the studio version which appears on this CD (and also on the first Tubes album).

This is by far the better collection, but don't take my word for it. Listen to both and judge for yourself. If you liked "White Punks" as much as I did, you'll pass on T.R.A.S.H. and buy this one instead.

There were two eras of The tubes The kinda dark sexy pron side and the dork side. I loved the porn sex side much, much better then anything else they did.The songs to me were really cool and rocked out alot more then the 80s stuff.This collection is from the 70s,Which I think is there best work.It's not any of that radio crap from the 80s stuff.If you like that era they have a 80s greatest hits, but don't write a bad reveiw because you don't understand what the band was in the 70s.That's just plain wrong!Don't you think?

I wanted something that would cover older Tubes songs. This had what I was looking for and the songs on this CD were full-length studio versions. Other greatest hits had shorter versions and/or live versions.

If your a Tubes fan this is the one, it's missing 2 songs I love, but all songs are classics.

Classic Tubes,Fun rock if you loved "White Punks On Dope" you will trip over this Best of CD.

I guess there are two factions of Tubes fans. Those that liked them before the 80s and those that liked them during the 80s and beyond. I think the latter group is a larger base of people and they will be disappointed buying this CD because it is missing their hits "Talk to Ya Later", "Sushi Girl", "Don't Want to Wait Anymore" and "She's a Beauty". If you're like me and liked those 80s songs then skip this CD and buy their greatest hits from 1981-1987.