Customer Reviews

The Best of the 70's: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection

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Here's the latest entry in the Seventies compilation sweepstakes. How is it different from the rest? It really isn't. Many of these songs have been anthologized ad nauseam. The lone exception is Cat Stevens' "Wild World." [I can't recall Stevens ever having shown up on an anthology before.] Don McLean's "American Pie" is the full 8:38 version and not the radio edit single which included only Part I as the A-side and Part II as the B-side. These are all great songs, and if they are missing from your collection this is a more than competent collection of some of the decade's biggest hits. Although it should be noted that all of these songs were released in 1974 or earlier with the exception of 1976's "Show Me the Way." [Maybe this should have been retitled Best of the Early 70s.] My only concern is that you don't get much bang for your buck. For example, look at the Totally Hits and Now That's What I Call Music series. They sell for about the same price as these 20th Century Masters series, yet they average about 18 songs per CD where these average only 12. It simply becomes a matter of how badly you want to add these songs to your collection.

When I listen to music, my main emphasis is on the 1950s and '60s. There really isn't much music I like from the '70s, and it seems like the only exceptions are on this album. I love all of the songs on this CD, and I personally don't care which half of the decade they come from. At the end of the day, the songs themselves sell the album, not when they were recorded.

"Maggie May" is, and always will be, a classic, and the unedited version of "American Pie" was a treat for me (I've bought several other compilations that only had the edited version). Other stand-outs are Peter Frampton's "Show Me The Way" and Cat Stevens' "Wild World."

If you are looking for a more complete compilation, this isn't it. But if you like the songs, then go for it.

20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the 70's is a budget priced CD that has a very misleading title. Yes, you will get some incredible `70s tunes; but they're practically all from the first three or four years of the decade! This is a big disappointment for me; although what we go get is very good up to a certain point.

Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" starts the album with a beautiful classic rock ballad. This number has an awesome `70s sound to it and the vocal effects are wonderful! "Wild World" by Cat Stevens is a much more cynical track that Cat performs flawlessly; his voice never sounded better and the key changes make this tune so beautiful that it pulls at my heartstrings every time I hear it! The piano arrangement is particularly well done.

Listen also for Lynyrd Skynyrd's incredible "Sweet Home Alabama;" they sing this wonderfully and it reminds me of what a great band they really were. Of course, Rod Stewart's "Maggie May" is a huge highlight of this album; "Maggie May" is one of the best songs of the 1970s.

There's a nice live track of Peter Frampton in concert doing his "Show Me The Way;" the guitars work wonders for this number and I like the percussion, too.

"Daniel" by Elton John is a touching number; and Gladys Knight & The Pips do a bang-up job on "Midnight Train To Georgia." Great!

The album ends with Don McLean's famous "American Pie." This makes for a strong ending to this all too brief album.

You get basic information about the songs in the liner notes; but that won't fix the problem with this CD. There's nothing from the late 1970s! I find the title to be misleading and the track list is insufficient.

Overall, if you DO want great `70s music from just the first several years of that decade, I guess you could choose this CD but there are still others that could do a better job of even just that. This truly is a CD for only the casual fan.

This album is another example of crap compilations. Where's the Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, Television, or even the Ramones? This CD is completely one sided.