The Best of Wipers and Greg Sage

The Wipers

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1993)
• Original Release Date: 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Restless Records
• ASIN: B000003BGW
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #103,051 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A recent discovery, December 11, 2000

By	"almiro" (Clifton, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews

Although I consider myself rather knowledgeable about music, the music of Greg Sage was a very recent discovery. All the songs on this collection prove worthy of many playbacks. Actually, I find it quite baffling that this band did not get more recognition, for it certainly deserved much critical praise. This is guitar driven music that definitely influenced bands such as Nirvana. I highly recommend this album. I only wish that I knew of them sooner.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic!, March 9, 2001

By	Davdi Sutom "kosmonaut" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I have most of the original records these songs are culled from, and fortunately most of them are still available if you look around. Check out Sage's new label as well... Certainly the older albums are classics, but the new ones are just as good and you'll hear how the music has progressed over the years, maturing and getting better all the time. The Wipers never gave a toss about being trendy or sounding like what's popular at a given time. Their music holds up after all these years, unlike so much of the stuff that fills used vinyl and cd bins all over the world.

They have a sound that I can't completely describe here. Some of the songs are blazing with distortion and speed, but through the noise you can hear every single tone and note in the chords being played. On others the band lays way back and takes you on a wistful and sad journey, with the guitar cleanly laying down timeless melodies. The spare instrumentation of guitar, bass and drums is sometimes filled out with piano or percussion, but no matter what, the guitar is ever present and his tone is incomparable. The closest thing I can think of is Hendrix's sound, but somehow Sage is more constrained and subtle than he was and never plays anything "wanky" if you know what I mean. It's not guitar playing for guitar playing's sake, every note counts toward making the song a whole statement. The bass and drums lay down some of the most driving, tight rhythyms I've ever heard from a rock band. The different drummers and bass players on these recordings deserve special praise for creating such a huge, hypnotic sound.

Okay, so this band rocks, and there are lots of other bands out there who do the same, but one thing I didn't mention above is that Greg Sage is also a fantastic singer. No need to hide the vocals under a mix of loud guitars because the guy has a beautiful voice that rings clear and true, always on pitch, full of expression without being overwrought, and able to convey the real emotion behind the songs.

Incidentally, if you get the chance to hear their live recordings you'll be stunned to find out that they sound almost exactly the same as they do on record. No studio trickery involved in these recordings, just masterful playing.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Four stars, but only because of omissions., December 8, 2000

By	Mr. Mark S. Hoffmann "Grant Wattz" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you must only have a snapshot of this incredible band, then a "best of" will do. Criminally, most of their crucial songs didn't even make the cut. Tragically under-represented is the MIND-BLOWING "Over the Edge" album, as well as the "Youth of America" EP. That's not to mention that "Is This Real" ain't even included (rights weren't held by Restless). All bitching aside, this is a taste of one of THE BEST bands of the late 70's and 80's (yah, yah, I know Sage is still around). FIND AND BUY ALL REISSUES. THEY ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON "GIFT OF LIFE" RECORDS.