The Best of Bob Welch

Bob Welch

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 1991)
• Original Release Date: November 19, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B0000032ID
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,280 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Solo Summation, December 16, 2000

By	J. Collins "Paradise Bar & Grill" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Leave it to Rhino Records to produce a "Best Of" that actually tries to cover all the bases, AND provides accurate annotation/liner notes. Though Welch hit the million-selling mark with his album "French Kiss" and produced a handful of Top 40 singles, his career as a successful solo artist was short-lived. The Fleetwood Mac association (including the terrific Lindsey Buckingham arrangement of "Sentimental Lady" and a small assortment of vocal guest spots from the Big Mac) didn't "define" Welch's solo catalog, though it did give him a big push in the music market. The tracks in this Rhino collection span '76 through '91, and give a well-rounded look at Welch as a composer, performer, and Pop "presence."

Welch's first music foray in the post F.M. years was Paris, a power/metal trio that included bassist Glenn Cornick from Jethro Tull, and Hunt (son of Soupy) Sales who went on to join David Bowie's Tin Machine. Though Paris was treading familiar (and somewhat trendy) musical ground at the time, their first (self-titled) album was a murky mess that produced no hits. The followup, "Big Towne 2061" was a measurable improvement, both musically and lyrically, but the album didn't click with listeners. Paris disbanded, but Welch (still under contract to Capitol Records) perservered as a solo artist.

This "Best of" includes four of Paris' better offerings as a prologue to Welch's solo material. Stylistically, the Paris cuts pale next to Welch's rock-solid solo tunes, but their inclusion is nonetheless welcome as neither "Paris" or "Big Towne 2061" ever made it to official CD re-releases. Welch's "essential" hits (tracks 5-9) appear on a Curb Records "Greatest Hits" as well, but this CD includes an appropriate selection of 'near misses' ("Rebel Rouser," "Future Games") and significant album tracks. While not a definitive career retrospective (no Welch compositions from the original F.M. albums and zero cuts from his two RCA Records solo offerings), this "Best Of" is an excellent sampler likely to satisfy longtime fans as well as new listeners. Music lovers in the latter category would do well to purchase one or both of the Demon Records "2fer" discs that are available as import selections here at Amazon. The discs that combine "French Kiss" with "Three Hearts," and also "The Other One"/"Man Overboard" will give fans new and old the very best of Welch's solo output, and keep his hits in their proper context.

-Stoned Soul

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasantly Surprised! , April 12, 2005

By	musicfanatic - See all my reviews

I must admit, I got this CD, mainly for the songs "Sentimental Lady", "Ebony Eyes" and "Precious Love". I discovered that there is so much more to Bob Welch that those three songs, I was pleasantly impressed with all of the songs! Bob Welch has so many different styles and he is very versatile. Just my opinion, but I think he sounds just a bit like Glenn Frey, of The Eagles. Anyway, I would recommend this CD to any serious music lover, it is impressive.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for the casual fan, but it could have been better., September 18, 2001

By	Matt (WI United States) - See all my reviews

For those who are looking for just the big hits, this CD does the job. Bob Welch was an artist of many styles, from hard driving rock music one moment, to mellow ballads the next. This disc represents mostly his Capitol / EMI Records output, which may leave die-hard Welch fans longing for more. As hard as Rhino tried, it's tough to represent an artist of many music styles to one CD.

The disc starts us off with 4 selections from Welch's failed hard rock band "Paris", however, this is the only CD I know of where you can get anything of Paris' material, since both their albums are out of print. Overall not bad, but not the pinnacle of Bob's career either.

Next the big hits came with "French Kiss" & "Three Hearts" which make up the bulk of hit material here. Leading off with the Lindsay Buckingham re-arrangement of "Sentimental Lady", which is the longest running of the 3 or so versions of this song on CD. Also featured is the big hit from 'Three Hearts', "Precious Love"....which has that underlying disco beat to it. Other noteable cuts from this CD include "Ebony Eyes", "Ghost of Flight 401", and "Church".

Finally we come to the last half of the disc, which is really spotty. These tracks come from the 2 most interesting albums in Welch's Capitol output.."The Other One" and "Man Overboard". Because there were no 'hits' off these 2 albums, I'm sure Rhino had a tough time picking and choosing tracks to put on this CD. This is why I docked off a perfect 5 stars for 4....These albums could and should have been represented better. Had this been a 2-disc compilation, that would have been possible. The other Welch compilation (Bob Welch - Greatest Hits, from Curb Records)
has "Spanish Dances" (from "The Other One") and 2 from "Man overboard" ("Jealous" & "The Girl Can't Stop"). Had those tracks, along with what's on this disc, plus the best from his Mac years, and 2 RCA albums (also out of print), this would have been a excellent compilation.

Despite their failed attempt at covering everything Welch has done, this is still good for the person who just wants 'the hits' and nothing more.