Customer Reviews

Big Audio Dynamite - Planet BAD: Greatest Hits

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Plante Bad" is an excellent anthology album that manages to capture nearly all of the highlights from Big Audio Dynamite's studio albums and thankfully makes no distinction between the two different versions of the band. All the best songs are here, from the classic samples of the Clint Eastwood Western "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" on "Medicine Show" from the first album to the excellent singles "The Globe" and "Rush" from the B.A.D. II era of the early nineties. For all but the most ardent fans, this is all the B.A.D. you'll ever need to own.

I owned the first cassette by BAD when the first hit the music scene with "C'mon Everybeatbox" and loved it. Recently I wandered by this on the "used" shelf and looked at the tracks and thought, you know I really like all of these songs.

The thing is..I really, really like these songs.

"The Medicine Show" with it's spaghetti western samples looped in is fantastic, the track with the most substance on this CD. I was sort of struck by how innovative it still sounds all these years later. "The Medicine Show" is equally ecclectic and the kitchy "C'mon Every Beatbox" not only musically is enjoyable with the Rap, Rock and Dance Hall styles but lyrically, it's hilarious.

This collaboartion certainly isn't anywhere near the level of musical genius as The Clash, but it's a nice departure from the political heaviness and underlying punk.

Considering most of the choices musically we have out now, this is a good distraction.

From the acrimonious breakup of The Clash - though Joe Strummer later colllaborated with Big Audio Dynamite - came several bands with varying sound from Mick Jones. The group has been known as Big Audio Dynmaite, Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio due to the changes in band personnel and approaches to music.

With elements of the sound he refined as guitarist/vocalist in "The Only Band That Matters," Jones delivers lyrics that are sometimes comparable with the snapshot mosaics of John Dos Passos in his classic USA Trilogy and the spoken performances by Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg. Many of the earlier songs intertwine lyrics with cuts from TV shows, movies and music.

Jones especially shows his brilliance in the still politically timely The Bottom Line, guitar-powered E=MC2 and C'mon Every Beat Box. In Sightsee M.C.! and I Turned Out A Punk, Jones pounds away at issues like mindless hate & how many let a musical movement narrow their thinking to extreme levels of nothingness.

The band somewhat devolved from a post-punk dance/rock to a heavier sound comparable with The Clash, and then - with the addition of the legendary Ranking Roger - began to explore the ingredients that made ska essential and timeless.

Planet BAD is a great sampler and shows that a greatest hits package is only as good as the band whose name appears on the cover.

This is the quintessential BAD disc to own. It contains their best work from already fabulous works. I strongly recommend picking this up for those quick trips to pick up milk but you want a couple songs to jam to in the car. When I am at home I have the luxury of having many discs at my disposal which is not the case in the car or when I run. This is perfect for those times. Cheers to Mick Jones and the boys!!

This CD does a great job of compiling the best of Big Audio Dynamite and Big Audio Dynamite II. Maybe I'm getting old (no, I *am* getting old!), but this stuff still sounds fresher than a lot of stuff I hear today. Mick and the boys sure crafted some great songs. You can't miss with this one.

This obviously works well for someones first or only B.A.D. album, which of course is the intent. Everything that any casual fan might know is present. There's no doubt that the biggest hits here are "Rush" and especially "The Globe", but the rest is good too. Minus those two songs, the strongest stuff is the first 4-5 tracks. All are sample-filled and hit-worthy. The rest is decent and fun, which I think sums up the band as a whole also. Truth be known, if all you know is "Rush" and "The Globe", you may just want to get "The Globe" album. It has both hit songs and is solid front to back with killer tunes. Can't go wrong here though.

I was in highschool in the late 80s and loved this group then! I didn't realize, however, how many GOOD songs they actually had until I purchased this CD! It is a great compilation and when you hear it you'll be amazed at how many hits you'll hear! A great CD if you were a fan of B.A.D. in the past.

Big Audio Dynamite is one of those bands that did not achieve major crossover success, despite the fact that they appealed to so many different segments. Their Clash roots lent them punk and indie credibility. They also appealed to those who liked the new wave/synth bands of the 80's. Finally, their music was embraced by the dance community and was a staple of early 90's club play.

This CD assembles some of those excellent tracks, including their 2 biggest hits: "Rush" and "The Globe". But many other songs are good as well including "C'mon Every Beatbox" and "I Turned out a Punk". The one thing that hampers the songs and makes them seem somewhat dated is the often heavy use of sampling and sound bytes. I know sampling still goes on today, but I think it is more subtle now than it was then. If anything turns people off on this CD, I would say it is the fact that almost every track uses some kind of sound byte. The way these sound bytes have been used are often clever, but the songs stand up on their own and the sound bytes are not necessary. Recommended.

Big Audio Dynamite was always hard to pigeonhole during their decade-long run from the mid-80's thru approximately 1995. Were they a slammin' dance-rock group like New Order? A hip-hop crew that ranked with PE and the Beasties? A skankin' reggae dubstravaganza? Yes, yes, and yes.
PLANET BAD lays out all the group's notorious chart hits in all those varied styles, and gathers quite a few rarities as well: FREE, a hard-to-find soundtrack tune is included here, along with rare single or remix versions of tunes like V THIRTEEN, HARROW ROAD, RUSH, and THE GLOBE.
The good thing about BAD, that helps the cause of this CD, is that their 'hits' (BOTTOM LINE, CMON EVERY BEATBOX, RUSH, etc.) were all great tunes, truly representative of the group's sound. Therefore it's very fair to pluck those songs out of context and still have a solid overview of the big picture.

Big Audio Dynamite is in a category all its own. I was glad that Mick Jones decided to continue with his own music career after he got booted from The Clash. However, I don't think the first BAD group wasn't as tight as the second incarnation. Hence this I feel this collection lacks some great tracks from BAD II.

"Innocent Child" is suspiciously missing from this compilation, perhaps because Mick didn't feel it fit in with the more upbeat dance songs BAD had to offer. However, one can't help but feel short changed from this missing remastered track (As Innocent Child was definitely one of BAD's best songs) "City Lights" was another great cover by BAD II. Since it's only available on the Rush Single, a place on the Greatest Hits album would've given it the credit this recording deserved.

Also few live tracks from the Alley Pally Paradiso bootleg would've made this Greatest Hits compilation more enticing. I really enjoyed BAD's cover of the Prince song "1999". "All Saints Road" (live) would've been an excellent addition also.

All I can say is we need one more comprehensive BAD collection (a two-disc set) to right the wrongs done by this limited compilation. The other newer BAD compilations are even shorter than this one! Perhaps whats needed is a BAD BOX SET. Maybe well get whats needed after Big Audio wraps up their most recent 2011-2012 tour schedule.