Customer Reviews

80's Gold

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This two CD set showcases 33 number one hits during the 1980s. As a set of #1 Billboard Hot 100 Chart topping hits, this is a wonderful two CD set. On the other hand, however, there is the total absence of music by such performers as Michael Jackson and Madonna. The sound quality is great and the value is good, but it isn't complete without still more other artists.

But don't give up on this one! There are several really good things I can say about this set. The collection boasts catchy tunes such as "Addicted To Love" by Robert Palmer and "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown. The scope of the music is pretty wide: you get aggressive tunes such as "My Prerogative" right along with ballads like "Up Where We Belong" by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes. That's impressive.

I give this four stars for its' very good quality. I would have given it five stars were it not for the fact that Jackson, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper and others just aren't here. Their songs, although maybe not all number one hits, were just as golden. I guess maybe this makes me a purist, but that's my honest opinion.

After all is said and done, the songs picked are some of the very best to come out of the 1980s and I personally like most if not all of these songs. This was my decade in that I was in college at the time; and when I listen to these tunes I have fond memories of when life was a little bit sweeter and easier. However, I just can't help but wish there was more.

I recommend this as great a great starter kit for someone who wants to get into '80s music. It's more for the casual fan of this era as well. As for the purists, they probably have all these songs in their library already and they should clearly continue buying more music to make their collection of '80s gold truly complete.

There have been hundreds of 80s compilation albums on the market in the past decade. But this is a mammoth of a collection right here, with 33 No. 1 songs from that decade! I think that because most of these songs are 20 years old or more, this decade is getting more respected because of the Internet, upcoming 20 to 25-year class reunions and other areas. Purists are going to criticize why Michael Jackson and other artists aren't on this collection, but this is very complete. The Gold series that Universal has been doing since 2005 has done a good job compiling these albums. Standouts--hits from Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Hall and Oates, A-ha, Expose, Bobby Brown, Paula Abdul, Fine Young Cannibals, Belinda Carlisle, the late Robert Palmer and others. Please get this album and respect these songs from a 2006 standpoint. These songs have influenced most of today's music and the numerous rap/R&B and pop/rap collaborations currently on the charts.

Although it does have some songs that I think were not that great, and there are probably some others that should have gone on here, for the price and the great songs that it does have, I would consider it a great purchase for anyone who loved the '80s.

I am really enjoying this cd. It's nice to hear the music I grew up with by the original artists.

I would rate the song selection a solid 8 out of 10 (4 out of 5 for those who are mathematically/ fractionally challenged.)

There are numerous artists for whom much more memorable/ successful tracks would have been better representations. FOREIGNER's I WANNA KNOW WHAT LOVE IS is far more of a 1980's synthesizer pop hit than was the more classic rock styled WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU. HEART would be better served (as would the buying public) with THESE DREAMS instead of ALONE. Additionally, there are some selections that I think both artists and songs should have been omitted in favor of far more representative 1980's classics. FLOCK OF SEAGULLS instant smash I RAN belongs on any 80's pop collection, unlike BOSTON with their lone 80's hit AMANDA. That is not a slight against BOSTON but the band could hardly be strongly associated with the 1980's when even their 1986 album was regarded as a modernized 1970's hit. HEART, FOREIGNER and so many others had numerous 80's hit songs as well as 70's and thus often regarded as disparate career eras.

I would give the sound quality only a 3 out of 10 (1.5 out of 4 stars.)

Not nearly as horrendous as the sound quality on the DELUXE EDITION of THE BIG CHILL soundtrack... but considering the material all emanated from the vastly superior recording technology of the 1980's, the sound quality is pathetic. The bass sounds overequalized while the mid and high ranges are terribly suppressed. Granted, while Ann Wilson's scream in ALONE will no longer blow out your speakers, the keyboards just do not ring on the song TAKE ON ME. FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS and HUMAN LEAGUE sound like old herbavores.

For a vastly superior 1980's pop collection, try the TIME-LIFE MODERN ROCK series, especially the two disc THE COLLECTION set. From 1980 through 1987, the MODERN ROCK series is filled with brilliant songs, nicely remastered (not near the quality of more recent band associated remasters), with a far better cross section of 1980's songs (including I RAN and omitting WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU, et al.)

Before any FOREIGNER fans argue, I am a classic rock fan with a moderate fanship of 1980's synthesizer pop... so FOREIGNER is one of my favorite bands. But all but the most un-level headed would be able to understand that they (HEART, JOURNEY, CHICAGO and so many others) were far more closely associated with CLASSIC ROCK, ADULT CONTEMPORARY and even BILLBOARD 100 charts rather than MODERN/ ALTERNATIVE/ PUNK/ NEW WAVE/ MODERN R&B/ etc., genres.

Overall, not a terrible collection... but not the better of choices. This is a good collection to play in your car when bored, but not for music afficianados.

Enjoy.

It's not just a collection of Eighties tracks, it's a really exceptional collection of eighties tracks. For those of you who follow all the different "Gold" albums that Hip-o Records releases, you may have noticed these guys have the magic touch in selecting good tracks to make up their albums. I'm in no way saying that they're perfect. They're not. But they consistently come close which makes their product a very good buy even if it is a little pricey. Ya gets what ya pay for! Heck, I used to think there wasn't ANY good 80's music!

Woo hoo! This is a great CD set!!

I'll admit it, I came of age during the 1980s, and I still love that great 80s sound. This two-CD set has a great selection of 80s tunes - Don't You (Forget About Me), Take On Me, Axel F., and so much more. The tunes have all be remastered, and sound great.

Yeah, that's a lot of praise, but this CD-set has earned it. I really like listening to these CDs, and I highly recommend them to all 80s-music fans!

80's old is a pretty good collection of hits if you are just starting a collection.

Over all Hip-O records has done an excellent job on their Gold series compilations. Of all the 80s collections out there I think this is the best and it covers all the different styles in the 80s and it is arranged in chronological order which makes it fun tracking the changes over the decade. Almost every style is represented from the soft rock of Christopher Cross, to the R&B of Bobby Brown, to the Brit Pop of Tears for Fears, and the rock of Survivor. There are absolutely no fillers here since this were all chart toppers (though I could have done without "Up Where We Belong").

Some complaints that come up with most all compilations is that it seems like some of the biggest stars are always missing but do to label politics and artists not wanting their music on these compilations you are always going to be missing some major moments of the decade. With that said, for example groups like Journey seem to always be missing but if you are a fan of Journey's 80s hits you will already have their Best of so why would you need the same song you own on this CD as well? So when I buy these compilations I consider it like buying "the best of the rest". Getting a sample of songs from artists that I may not want to buy a full CD of. So I tend to focus on what is here over what isn't. And what is here is some of the best songs from the decade and there is enough variety to keep it interesting from track 1 on disk 1 to the last track on disk 2.

This is a list of 80's Gold and it doesn't have Michael Jackson, Joan Jett, Chicago, or Madonna? Some good material on the disks but far from a complete set.