The Best Of The Thompson Twins: Greatest Mixes

Thompson Twins | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B000002VFK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,758 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't quite cover it, but has a few gems...., April 22, 2001

By 

Normand Authier (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Of The Thompson Twins: Greatest Mixes (Audio CD)

This album, released back in 1988, is labelled as a "Best Of" compilation, but I''ve always felt that it had never done the Thompson Twins any justice. Apart from "In The Name Of Love '88" (Remixed by Shep Pettibone), all the other tracks are original mixes from the time that they were originally released BUT six out of the ten tracks were, rather illogically, SHORTENDED from their original form, and it was done rather badly if you ask me (thanks to an engineer named Tuta Aquino). The only gems that are worth listening to are the (formerly) very rare U.S. remix of "You Take Me Up", remixed by François Kervorkian back in 1984 (who isn't credited in the CD). It origianlly had the subtitle "High Plains Mixer" when it first appeared as a 12" single in a plain white sleeve with the Twins logo and the words "Scrictly Limited Editon" on it. This mix is not so rare now, and it''s brilliant. Eaqually rare is the remixed version of "The Gap", a mix that I had never heard before until I bought the CD back in '88, and it has not been edited either. Lastly, there's a previously unreleased version of "King For A Day" which in this form (and did not include electric guitars as on the version that appears on the "Here's To Future Days" (1985) album), is actually a remix of a track that origianally appeared on the B-Side of a single slated for release in Spring of '85 (called "Roll Over"), and was originally called "Fools In Paradise". Note that the lyrics are slightly different before the chorus is sung. There had been other Thompson Twins compilations released over the years, and all of them seem to include something that had never been heard before, but to this day, none of them had done justice to this band. "Greatest Mixes", however, is still the one that's readilly available.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shortened remixes don't make this the "greatest mixes", May 25, 2004

By 

hippiedj "hippiedj" (Palm Desert, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Of The Thompson Twins: Greatest Mixes (Audio CD)

This CD is a letdown. Thank goodness I collected the 12" remixes on vinyl, as this compilation is more of a consumer-friendly release, shortening most of the original extended versions for those that can't handle songs over 7 minutes in length.

LIES is over 1 minute shorter, LOVE ON YOUR SIDE is 2 minutes shorter, HOLD ME NOW is 3 minutes shorter, and DOCTOR! DOCTOR! is 2 minutes shorter. Considering this CD is a running total of 62:37, there's still enough room to have given us the original remix lengths.

KING FOR A DAY resembles neither of the orignal two 12" releases, so this was a pleasant surprise, and since I never had been able to get my hands on the vinyl 12" of the "High Plains Mixer" version of YOU TAKE ME UP (which this CD's track is apparently), I am at least happy to have another version besides the "Machines Take Me Over/Down Tools" release that I have on 12", which runs over 11 and a half minutes!

THE GAP was originally released as a promotional 12" here in the U.S. and thankfully Arista chose to include it here in the entire extended form.

Unfortunately, for the purposes of promoting the newer version of IN THE NAME OF LOVE, we are given the '88 remix, and the ruined 1985 version of LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME, instead of one of the two import 12" versions that were released (sans the horrid guitars and booming chorus). I have both of those, and thankfully you can get the first of the two '84 12" versions on another CD called "The Greatest Hits," which is highly recommended for alternate versions of their songs.

This CD is worth having for some of the fuller tracks, but to shorten already great remixes is a true crime. Shame on Arista for agreeing to this. Buyer beware, you're not getting the "greatest" with this compilation...

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly brilliant re-mix album, January 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best Of The Thompson Twins: Greatest Mixes (Audio CD)

This album opens with the dance-floor classic "In the Name of Love," re-mixed from its 1982 form for 1988 audiences, and the rest of the album isn't much of a step down.

The re-mixing doesn't do anything to affect the effect of the songs. "The Gap" is a tad too long, and "You Take Me Up" isn't a very good song, but all the others contain bone-crushing hooks and steady dance rhythms. "Hold Me Now" is an effective ballad, and other standout tracks are "Love on Your Side," "Lay Your Hands on Me," and "Get That Love."

Worth the money, and simpler than shelling out for the individual albums, the best of which was probably 1984s "Into the Gap."