Customer Reviews

Bananarama - The Greatest Hits Collection

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

All right, this class is BANM-52, for those of you into 80's music studies, and the required text here is Bananarama's Greatest Hits Collection. I would've recommended their first and fourth studio albums, whose key tracks comprise this compilation, but they are criminally hard to get and/or out-of-print. No matter, this single CD collection will do.

For most 80's music fans, their barn-burning cover of Shocking Blue's "Venus" and "Cruel Summer" are their two most famous songs. Don't worry--they're here. Their fourth album Wow boasted five singles, all here, and that was when they exploded, becoming part of the Stock-Aitken-Waterman bubblegum machine. However, I would like to point out that the single versions of "I Want You Back" and their cover of the Supremes' post-Diana Ross hit "Nathan Jones" are on this collection, and are much better than the originals on Wow.

The song distribution per album is as follows, with (C) indicating cover songs:

Deep Sea Skiving (4)--"Aie A Mwana" (C), "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'", "Shy Boy", "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" (C)

Bananarama (2)--"Cruel Summer", "Robert De Niro's Waiting"

True Confessions (2)--"Venus" (C), "Trick Of The Night"

Wow (5)--"I Heard A Rumour", "Love In The First Degree", "I Can't Help It", "I Want You Back", "Nathan Jones" (C)

(New) (2)--"Love Truth And Honesty", "Help!" (C)

That's consistent with how I feel--Wow and Deep Sea Skiving were Bananarama at their best, their self-titled album being the worst.

Of the new tracks, "Love Truth And Honesty" would've fit in their Wow album, which figures as it was produced by Stock-Aitken-Waterman. And speaking of S-A-W, notice that eight of the fifteen songs here are S-A-W productions, including their cover of the Beatles' "Help!" If one thinks about it, the original was also quick-paced, and the Rams' version is just as bouncy.

With the exception of the new songs, this features the original trio of Sarah Dallin, Keren Woodward, and Siobhan Fahey. The Rams at their best--what else can I say? Believe you me, you won't slip with this one. OK, class dismissed.

I love Bananarama and this collection of their biggest hits before
Siobhan Fahey left the group is excellent. Although they hit the Hot 100 11 times, only 3 of those songs made the Top 40 (Cruel Summer, Venus, and I Heard a Rumour). Those songs plus many of their other hits are included here. However, one thing I do hate is when a record company puts out a Greatest Hits package and leaves off some of the songs that were released as singles. Most Greatest Hits packages do this, and this one is no exception. The key tracks missing here are the title song from the movie "The Wild Life" (which peaked at #70 in 1984) and "More Than Physical" (which peaked at #73 in 1986). Since this was issued, they have issued a package called "The Essentials" which includes all of their Hot 100 hits (including the 2 songs missing on this CD). So, if you want all the Hot 100 hits, skip this one and buy "The Essentials". If you just want the Top 40 hits plus some great dance tunes, this will suffice.

This is a great dance and party record because most of Bananarama's classic dance hits are here. "I heard a Rumor", "Love in the first Degree", "I can't help it", "I want you back", "Love truth and Honesty" and of course, "Venus". Pity some of their other chart-topping hits are not included, like my favorite song "More than Physical" off their 1986 release "True Confessions", and "Some Girls" off their 1987 classic album "Wow". Some of the old songs sound very dated but otherwise, this ranks as one of the best "Greatest Hits" compilations ever.

Ah! My ABSOLUTE favourite band has nevertheless made an excellent album. Superb tracks such as 'Venus' and 'I've Heard a Rumour' make this a 'MUST HAVE' for any fan of Bananarama. They don't do much as of late but they will always rock in my heart.

Unfortunately, this greatest hits collection borrows heavily from later albums, which weren't all that great. The best album remains their first one, "Deep Sea Skiving," which unfortunately is not available. The pure, unadulterated fun and girlish exuberance of that album was never equalled since.

Then came the album simply titled "Bananarama." It had "Cruel Summer" on it, but for me the slide had begun. Gone was the exuberant fun, replaced with a much slicker face (both in the music itself and in the girls' new glamorous appearance). It took away most of the fun for me.

If you can find "Deep Sea Skiving" anywhere, get it. That's the best Bananarama.

Totally takes me back to the 80's. I couldn't stop dancing around my office when i found this cd. Great for parties...GET IT...

I absolutely love this album. It is a great collection of upbeat, pleasant and fun music to listen to. I especially like to listen to them in the car when the trip is long and the traffic is bad out there.

Would a fellow Bananarama fan please help me? I was watching VH1's episode of "Where Are They Now?: Girls, Girls, Girls" and this was said: "When American audiences learned [Bananarama] were lip-synching, the pressure of performing began to take its toll." First of all, VH1 also claimed that, when Siobhan Fahey left to form Shakespear's Sister (another personal fave), Bananarama "split." FALSE! Jacquie O'Sullivan replaced Ms. Fahey, and THE GREATEST HITS COLLECTION was released in 1988. The single, "Love, Truth and Honesty" features Ms. Sullivan's vocals and she is also featured in the liner notes. She left the group following the 1991 release of POP LIFE.

Now that I have cleared that up, would somebody please explain this scandal involving the authenticity of Bananarama's recordings. I recently purchased their out-of-print record, WOW!, released in 1987. Within its liner notes, it states, "Bananarama's vocals are recorded on the Calrec Soundfield Microphone." Perhaps, this is a promotional message. I'm really not sure, but I would love for someone to inform me of this scandal.

By the way, since we're on the subject (!), THE GREATEST HITS COLLECTION is a knockout. Smash hits "Venus" and "I Heard a Rumour" are perfection, while WOW! tracks "I Can't Help It," "I Want You Back," "Love In the First Degree," and "Nathan Jones" are testaments to the brilliant pop sensibilities of production trio Stock, Aitken, Waterman. (Check out Donna Summer's ANOTHER PLACE & TIME.)

My Email address: [foreverbangles87@hotmail.com]

Bananarama is one of the most important music in the history of music. Beethoven, Mozart, Bob Dylan, REM - all of these different artists who get all the praise owe everything to Bananarama. This is what high culture is all about.

Good collection of Banarama's music. The album is overall a fun listen; it's good 80s girl band pop. The ones that got the big radio play are here [Venus, I Can't Help It, Cruel Summer] as well as some lesser knowns that are nice and pleasant discoveries [Love Truth and Honesty, Nathan Jones, and Shy Boy]. The album gets kind of weak toward the end, and the remakes of Na Na Hey Hey and Help are not appealing. Good pop overall though.