Best Moves [IMPORT]

Chris De Burgh

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 26, 1985)
• Original Release Date: 1981
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Universal UK
• ASIN: B000006Y1M
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #108,388 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
11 Track Collection of Tracks from the Irish Singer/Songwriter Culled from his First Five Albums.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars De Burgh's early career, January 21, 2004

By	CGC (Marina del Rey, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Of all the "Best Of" compilations released by Chris De Burgh over the years, this is the only one that does justice to Chris De Burgh's early career, when he presented himself as more of a storytelling bard than an adult contemporary pop star. No accident of course, since this compilation was released in 1981, before the successes of songs like "Don't Pay the Ferryman" (from De Burgh's brief period as more of a straight-up rocker), "The Lady in Red," (his soft-rock smash) and "Missing You" (more soft rock).

In the 1970s, however, De Burgh favored acoustic and orchestral arrangements, and his songs would often evoke pastoral imagery and/or period moods, with some religious-themed supernatural elements thrown in for good measure. The best known songs from this period are "Spanish Train," "In a Country Churchyard," "The Traveller," the Christmas-themed "A Spaceman Came Travelling," and the jokey "Patricia the Stripper."

To properly represent this period, any compilation of this period must include "Crusader" (an epic but grossly historically inaccurate art-rock suite). The song is nine minutes long, however, and its inclusion takes up a lot of room on an LP-length collection, which is limited to 40 or 45 minutes. Throw in two new songs (one of which, "Waiting for the Hurricane," fails to leave any impression whatsoever), and that means that a lot of excellent material was crowded out. A perfect collection would have included "The Tower" from "Spanish Train," "Sailor" from "Eastern Wind," and "Carry On" and "The Girl with April in Her Eyes" from "Crusader."

But, even without those songs, this is still an excellent collection, with the added bonus of a live version of "Broken Wings" that is slightly superior to the studio version. A delightful listen for fans of this kind of music, and the only option for anyone wanting material from De Burgh's early career, but not wanting to spend a fortune on five expensive import discs.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Of Chris DeBurgh's Early Career, December 26, 2008

By	The Footpath Cowboy "rockerusa2002" (Kingston, NY United States) - See all my reviews

BEST MOVES, released in 1981, is a great anthology of Chris DeBurgh's early career, when he recorded story songs that evoke the Moody Blues, Traffic, and Donovan. Many of the songs feature pastoral imagery, and a special plus is the inclusion of the nine-minute "Crusader" suite. If there's an issue with this reissue, it's that no additional songs were added to the original album to make full use of the amount of time that a CD can hold. That is an injustice that no person can cope with if they don't have friends to turn to for help. That aside, this compilation must be owned along with DeBurgh's straight-ahead rock CDs THE GETAWAY and MAN ON THE LINE.

5.0 out of 5 stars A true convert, May 30, 1999

By A Customer

This album was my first exposure to Chris de Burgh, given to me by a friend who had returned from Germany, where he is much better known. It was this album and his even better "Man on the Line" that made me a life-long fan. His music seemed to have been written especially for me, but everyone I have introduced his music to has also become a fan--my wife, my college roommate, even my parents (yes, it's music that spans the generation gap).