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Producer Jacques Morali had a vision for a group that would speak out for the concerns and sensibilities of the (then) unsung Gay populace that was struggling to find a voice in the late 70s. Village People was the end product of that vision. Ads were taken out and actors were hired to play 6 arch-typical (or stereotypical) Gay male types; icons, if you will: A Soldier, A Biker, A Cop, A Construction Worker, A Cowboy, and An Indian. Four songs were constructed and made into an album: Village People. The songs celebrated four hotbeds of Gay male activity: San Francisco, Hollywood, Fire Island, and Greenwich Village. The songs were also trendsetting and funky, filling dance floors from coast to coast. This was the start of The Village People, and all four of those songs are included in this greatest hits package. That first album was really the creative zenith for the group. Lead singer Victor Willis soon took over as the lyricist for the guys, and he came up with a big, big song for the follow-up album. Macho Man gave The Village People their first crossover success, going top 10 on three charts. To me, it was their last song worth a damn, but the Macho Man album did so well, it was ripe to be cloned. And it was cloned not once, but twice, on the albums Cruisin' and Go West. Cruisin' contained the campy "Y.M.C.A.", which topped the charts and spawned the most ridiculous dance sensation since The Freddy! Go West had on it the cartoonish "In The Navy", which was picked up as a recruiting tool by the U.S. Navy, until it was explained to someone of high rank, just what it was about the Navy that The Village People were championing! After a great first album, The Village People's three follow-ups all had one big hit and a host of other songs that we'll magnanimously refer to as "filler." Nothing else they put out as a single ("Ready For The 80s" "Can't Stop The Music" etc.) was even close to being
a hit. But for what it's worth, the hits are here. And since the entire first album is, too, I give the whole thing four stars. If you didn't know that The Village People had a life before "Macho Man," then you need to check out tracks 4, 5, 9, and 11 on this CD. Knowing that this group once had a strong direction, a strong message and a strong groove, it was hard for me to see them commercialized and homogenized, and turned into (what amounts to): An all-male group of male impersonators that masquerades as itself. Can you dig it?

THE VILLAGE PEOPLE, of course, were not an organic band; they were deliberately created through a series of auditions and then costumed, choreographed, and unleashed in a collection of images that might have been dreamed up by gay erotic artist Tom of Finnland: muscular with theatrical costumes cut to show every possible bulge, voices that screamed with an excess of testosterone, and both unexpectedly combined with a bouncy beat. The result is a type of musical camp unlike anything heard before or since, and I'm still amazed that they got away with it.

Given the somewhat flabbergasting nature of the band, its easy to overlook the music--but strange to say, given the homoerotic slant, their recordings remain a staple of everything from highschool proms to stadium sports events: fun, and funny, and excessive, and extremely memorable. The sound is aggressive, to say the least, and determinedly so, and all the hits are here, and all of it packed with as much unsubtle innuendo as possible. There's "YMCA," and who among us can't jump up and immediately do the contortions required to spell out the letters? Not to mention, of course, speculate on the impact the Village People might have had on that venerable organization. There's the notoriously homoerotic "Macho Man" and the infamous "In The Navy," which poses the musical question 'What am I going to do on a submarine?' Many of the more popular recordings are presented in what is described here as the 12" versions--and what more can we say about that? For the most part, each recording blends over into the next, so the whole thing plays like one long leather bar dance floor mix.

THE VILLAGE PEOPLE's music will never be accused of being great art, and their albums were essentially filler collected around a couple of big-sell recordings, so don't feel you're missing out on anything by not buying the original releases--this is the way to go. The perfect recording to liven up a cocktail party, beer bust, biker rally... lots of bass-pounding, wall-shaking fun!

This is one major Village People CD that their fans cannot afford to be without! We get great songs by the group and there are even a few 12 inch single versions of some really great dancing numbers. The Village People sound great on this album and I always enjoy listening to this one.

The CD starts with their instant classic "Y.M.C.A.;" they sing this really well and the disco flavor of the music makes me want to dance! The tune has a great beat and I think you'll like this one, too, even if you're not a major Village People fan. Listen also for the twelve inch dance music version of "Macho Man;" this number celebrates masculinity and they sing this very well. The beat is solid and this is another great tune you can dance to easily.

"San Francisco (You've Got Me)" is both an ode to San Francisco and a song about the good quality of life for gay people in San Francisco; and "In Hollywood (Everybody Is A Star)" is a campy, fun tune about a guy's dreams of becoming a major Hollywood star! Many people will be able to relate to "In Hollywood (Everybody Is A Star);" and it's very well done with good percussion and great tempo changes all along the way.

"In The Navy" continues that Village People sound with a solid underlying beat and fun, campy lyrics that actually work rather well. There's also a twelve inch dance version of their incredible "Go West;" "Go West" was always one of my very favorite Village People numbers. "Go West" sounds relentlessly optimistic and very energetic. They sing and harmonize on "Go West" to perfection.

"Hot Cop" is a cool song about the seductive nature of a cop; and the album ends strong with the twelve inch version of "Y.M.C.A." Great!

Village People fans will love this generous CD with its mixture of regular length and twelve inch dance versions of classic Village People songs. Put this on the CD player and crank up the volume!

The memories alone make you smile! I didn't know that Village People had more hits than just YMCA, Macho Man and In The Navy. I saw a list of Hot Cop, San Francisco/Hollywood, Can't Stop the Music in "villagepeople-official" website and it got me to thinking that there was more to this group. The CD is clean, fun and very danceable. From start to finish, I could sing along. That's a fun CD.

If you like Disco, you will love this CD. It includes the best Songs of VP, and also very good remixes of the best themes. DONT GET CONDUSED! DON'T BUY "The VERY best of Village People", wich cost 2 dollars less. The songs in this last one are not complete!

What party would be complete, even today, without the DJ playing "Y.M.C.A." or "Macho Man"? I have to say that I have never been to a party where they haven't been played. Even at my daughter's high school dances they are always played, which goes to show the timelessness of fun dance songs. The great thing about this album, as well as having original album tracks, it also has 12" versions of some songs that have never been available on album before. As well as "Village People", the B-side of "San Francisco (you've got me)". If you are throwing a party in the near future, remember to grab yourself a copy of this album. A party is not a party without The Village People. Plus all the songs have been digitally remastered, and the booklet contains an essay on the group.

If the Casablanca record label was the Monarchy of the Disco Nation, The Village People were their finest ambassadors. More than any of the prefabricated disco machines that the decade produced, it is the VP's cavity provoking bubble-gum dance records that made strobe lights and disco balls accessible and acceptable to party people of all stripes. Add in the undeniable fact that the innuendo laden singles and their stereotyped get-ups made gay subculture visible and you can actually add the term "culturally significant" to the Village People's list of accomplishments.

But all that pales when placed next to the vibrancy of this solid collection of 12 inch singles and dance mixes. Like all of the best dance floor confectionary creampuffs, the songs here convey a kooky innocence (the Navy had to let in on the joke before they backed off their decision to use "In The Navy" as a recruitment jingle) that remains timeless. And in the post-AIDS decades, the more obvious 70's call to the disenfranchised like "Go West," "San Francisco" and "In Hollywood" are even poignant.

Deny it if you dare, but secretly you know this stuff is great. Just see if your limbs don't start contorting into the alphabet next time "YMCA" gets played on some football arena PA or at your next company party. I double dog dare ya.

I really liked this marvelous album. It made me get up on my feet and dance like a recently freed stallion. At times its hard to finish listening to this joyous San Franciscan romp. Why? The seventies were a grand old time for everyone, so fabulous that I cry looking back at those golden years of glamour. YMCA and Macho Macho Man are loony lucy tunes that make me proud to admit that I am still living in steamy San Francisco. Now this place is Hot and Humid! Hard to live there? Yes! Some of the tunes have always been hard to swallow, but after some practice they all become so deliciously decadent and fun.

This particular record edged out the other "Best of" collections of the Village People on my shopping list because of the quality of the "filler" songs on the disc. This was actually purchased as a present for an uncle of mine who loves the group. It just so happens that he has quite the colorful Fire Island story from his days as a pilot and this cd just so happened to be the only best of collection that included a song of the same name.

Also a very energetic, dancable record, definitely the treatment to get your mood up and your blood flowing in the morning, during rush hour traffic, or any ol' time you feel like bobbing in your seat or dancing around the house. =)

No doubt about it, the Village People were the original "boys' band"; they were put together by a marketing genius and each member of the band was there to correspond to a different fantasy. But boy, did they produce some great toe-tapping, dance-your-[rear]-off music! I still use this album to do aerobics, because from the first bar, you have just got to be moving when you hear them. Definitely the best group of the disco era. Buy the album!!!