Best of

The Wipers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Restless Records
• ASIN: B000003BGW
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #312,565 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Nothing Left To Lose

2. Way Of Love

3. Some Place Else

4. The Chill Remains

5. Soul's Tongue

6. Blue Cowboy

7. Taking Too Long

8. The Circle

9. Romeo

10. Messenger

11. Better Off Dead

12. No Solution

13. My Vengeance

14. Just A Dream Away

15. Different Ways

16. Losers Town

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 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

This review is from: Best of (Audio CD)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A recent discovery, December 10, 2000

By 

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

This review is from: Best of (Audio CD)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Place to Start, July 15, 2007

By 

Chris G. "hopebliss" (IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of (Audio CD)

This is the place to start for anyone who is interested in The Wipers.
A good helping of songs on here, 16 in all. The Cd also contains three extra songs not on the cassette. Of course I think nowadays, no one buys cassettes anymore, vinyl, yes.
This Best of release doesn't include everything. Unfortunately there are no tracks from some of their earlier works such as 'Youth Of America' and my favorite 'Is This Real ?'
Besides that, this is the one disc Cd to get (Get the Box set if you can).
It includes some of the Band's finest tracks.
"My Vengeance" has a classic psychadelic rock feel and features the best guitar passages on this album.
"Better Off Dead" is the earliest song on this compilation. Truly a standout and it shows the listeners a taste of Greg Sage's aggressive punk-like attitude.
"Blue Cowboy" really shows Sage's songwriting talent. A more laid back ballad while "Romeo" is a catchy, straightforward Rock hit.
As the guitar blazes through I just love it when Greg Sage Screams - "JUUUULIET!!"
Sounds like a true Rock n Roll force, and if you ask me this is a band that needs to be paid more attention to by the mainstream public.
Sadly, the band never got their due.
Greg Sage and The Wipers were key influences on bands to come in the late 80s noise rock and the early 90s grunge era.