Customer Reviews

Billy Ocean - Greatest Hits

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Born in Fyzbad, Trinidad in 1950, Billy Ocean grew up in England,where he began his career in London dance clubs. After a few lean years he began to make a name for himself a song writer, and when he recorded the self-authored "Carribbean Queen" in 1984 he suddenly emerged as one of the most popular tropical-inflected performers of the decade.

Ocean's best known work of the 1980s is collected in this greatest hit anthology of twelve recordings, which opens with "When The Going Gets Tough," a piece recorded for the film JEWEL OF THE NILE, and then winds it way through alternating dance floor favorites and lush love songs to conclude with "Tear Down These Walls." In both terms of performance and songwriting skills, each selection shows the artist near the top of his form.

Some twenty years after the peak of his popularity, Ocean's best known pop hits are considerably less dated than one might expect--largely because he did not rely exclusively on the heavily synthesized sound so typical of most 1980s performers. The best of his work, really, is in such ballads as "There'll Be Sad Songs," "Suddenly," and "Love Zone," but several of his higher energy dancefloor cuts also survive extremely well, most notably the sharply cadenced "Loverboy." It's a nice package, all of it easy on the ears, all of it playing out with good sound quality.

If Ocean's music has survived reasonably well, Ocean himself has not. Ocean was a very consistent performer and writer--perhaps a shade too consistent for his own good, for after several years there was a general sense that his music was repetitive in both style and content. When combined with changing tastes and a few brushes with the law, it was enough to precipitate a sudden slide from the glory days of fame to an almost complete obscurity; although he continues to write, record, and perform in Europe, he is now largely forgotten by the huge international audience he once commanded. Generally recommended, but primarily to those recall him from his 1980s heyday.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Billy Ocean deserves a lot more credit than he gets. He's probably one of the top five underrated singers of all time. After you listen to this album, you'll know why. This is some of the best 80's music that was ever made. The songs, "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car" and "When The Going Gets Tough" have become rock & roll classics that everybody knows. All the other songs are good too. This is timeless 80's music that has a great beat and catchy rhythms. I recommend this album to anyone.

The mid-80's was Billy Ocean's heyday, in particular, the period spanning the emergence of his first hit, "Caribbean Queen," the singles from his 1986 Love Zone album, and the first single from Tear Down These Walls, "Get Outta My Dreams." This collection of hits by Billy Ocean, nee Leslie Sebastian Charles, shows how he specialized in heart-melting ballads on one extreme and high-energy synth-pop anthems on the other.

Suddenly, his 1984 album, is represented by four songs. One is the catchy US #1 "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)", part of which borrows the syncopated rhythm from Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." The sound effects includes eerie laughter similar to Vincent Price in "Thriller" and some suggestive sounds, not surprising in this song about a Caribbean seductress with painted-on jeans. The highlight is V. Jeffrey Smith's brief sax solo. The title track is a schmaltzy ballad on how suddenly one wakes up and finds oneself in love. "Loverboy", co-written by producer Keith Diamond and Mutt Lange, has a wandering pulsing synth beat throughout and a kind of hard-driving chorus, while "Mystery Lady" is a mid-paced dance number.

"When The Going Gets Tough (The Tough Get Going)" from Jewel of the Nile, topped the UK charts, and nearly did so in the US, and is a feel-good dance anthem with funky synths. The male backups have a masculine growl on the chorus, while the female singers soften things up some of the refrains. This hit was co-written by and executive produced by Mutt Lange. This was also included in Love Zone, whose title track is a leisurely mid-paced ballad punctuated by lush synths and a funky bass.

However, the best song from that album and my personal Ocean song ever is the tear-jerker #1 "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)." The strings, quiet Clive Davis-like synths, and Ocean's falsetto all combine to make this a winner. In saying how love songs touch the very heart of someone, Ocean reprises what Elton John sang two years earlier, that "sad songs say so much."

Ocean's last big hit was "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car", another catchy dance anthem and another soundtrack song, from the Corey Feldman vehicle (no pun intended) Licence To Drive. Some eye-rolling suggestive car-talk involves, "touch my bumper" and "let me take your wheel" but this was big enough to reach #1. Also from Tear Down These Walls is "The Colour of Love," another attempt at a hit ballad, which doesn't have the same effect as "Suddenly" or "There'll Be Sad Songs."

Of the two new songs, "Licence To Chill" fits more in the dance pop category, and is a close cousin to "Get Out Of My Dreams." Mutt Lange's production touches are evident here, particularly in the anthemic refrain: "Yeah Billy, yo Billy, way to go Billy." Ditto for the funky masculine bed-hopping of "I Sleep So Much Better In Someone Else's Bed." I can't hardly imagine someone like Ocean singing something so sexist, but that aspect of the song is given by the Fresh Prince portraying the smooth-talking cad and Mimi the put upon woman in a typical lover's quarrel.

As this compilation is released by Jive Records, his late 70's hits, such as "Love Really Hurts Without You" and "Red Light Spells Danger," released on GTO Records, aren't included-that is on the Ultimate Collection, released last year. Still, a tighter and more cohesive package showing Ocean during his peak years.

I first heard Billy Ocean back in the early 80's when the video for "Loverboy" first aired. I fell in love with his music. My mother went and bought both of the Romancing the Stone movies when they came out, and when I heard "When the Going Gets Tough" I was sooooo close to hiding the video tape from my mother just for that song!
For those of you out there who have doubts about Douglas, Turner, and DeVito singing on that song - THEY DO!!! They aren't in the video just as actors... they actually recorded the background vocals themselves. Toward the end of the song, listen when he changes the melody of the chorus - you'll hear Michael Douglas' voice.

This album is an overall hit!!! It is a wonderful collection and I love it!

I didn't even know I'd become a Billy Ocean fan until long after it happened. I was looking through my Billboard's Top Hits CDs when I noticed that one of the artists' names seemed more... well, noticeable than the others. Upon closer inspection, I found that no less than 3 songs I loved were all done by the same guy! I looked ...[on-line], and found even more songs by him that I liked. I quickly dubbed myself a Billy Ocean fan.

This is a concentrated dose of some good Billy Ocean... um... goodness. At least half the songs on it are outstanding. A great album for anyone, whether or not you're a fan.

This greatest hits album contains the best of Billy, including "Carribean Queen" which continues to this day to send shivers down my spine. With the sensual eroticism of Billy's lyrics, no one can deny this man's inborn talent for molding a song into a timeless classic. "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" is essential to any music collection. This song marks Ocean's significance as a writer of romantic ballads - secondmost only to Lionel Richie in his importance to the music industry. "When the Going Gets Tough (the Tough Get Going)" is an inspirational pop tune and Billy's vocal stylings make this a classic anthem for the disenfranchised. I'll never tire of listening to "Out of My Dreams (and into My car)," with it's pulsating beat and killer riffs. This album is truly one of the best and I highly recommend it to any one who claims to be a connoiseur of of music.

This collection is a masterpeice, it has it all for any mood you may be in. A great mix of fast paced to soft love songs by a very underated 80's artist. I bought this in the mid 90's, and to this day it is the 1st tape I always grab whenever I take my nightly run or hop in the car for a drive. My favorite song of all time is "Get Outta My Dreams", if you can't get pumped up over that song, you don't have a pulse. This song was stuck in my head when I took my driving test and 1st heard it after seeing License to Drive in 1988 and this song blew me away at the end of the movie. A great voice, a killer beat, not too loud not too soft. I also love the way the lyrics come out, you can hear every word very clearly, a trait that is clearly lost today.

In my opinion, Billy Ocean is one of the most under rated male vocalist from the 1980's. His voice is very soulful. Great CD.

This is one of the best RandB singers with a soft touch I really did like his music he had so many good songs I really did like Billy I still hear his music on the radio now he sings so well that you understand every word that he says I would truly recommend anoyone who likes Rand B music to definitely buy this album because it contains a lot of good songs from Billy . It contains: Love Zone, Loverboy, When The Going Gets Tough The Tough Gets Going, Caribbean Queen, Suddenly, Sad Songs, and many other good songs so therefore this is a very nice album I really do enjoy this album!!!!

Billy Ocean. If you call him the poor man's Michael Jackson, you should be smacked upside your head! Despite "Caribbean Queen" having a keyboard part that sounds a little like "Billy Jean", Billy manages to diversify to cutesy dance pop, funky R&B to smothering slow jams. Take the get-up anthems "When The Going Gets Tough" and "Get Out of My Dreams", both fast paced grooving pop tunes. With peppy sing along tunes like those, it s nearly a crime that he wasn't crowned the King of the era. Then there are adult contemporary gems, which are sang sweetly and lightly like "Suddenly" and "There ll Be Sad Songs". Billy's funkiest track that hints of the islands is "Love Zone". "Loverboy" is a stomping rock beat dancer. "Tear Down These Walls" is a good combo of a pop song in a slower more romantic way. "Mystery Lady" is a romantic tribute. Also, Billy gives us guests like the Fresh Prince (now known as Will Smith) and Robert Lange (who produced heavy metal monsters AC/DC and Def Leppard before this and country queen wife Shania Twain after). Then of course, there is "Caribbean Queen", the blessing and the curse.

It's kind of sad that the despite being known before the breakout hit "Caribbean Queen", a funky fusion of dance pop and R&B suavness, that none of those tracks are included on here. Billy Ocean's "Greatest Hits" starts off with that unforgettable eighties jam (career wise, not by tracklisting) and touches on all 3 of his Jive albums, but nothing before or after that. Look at the date on this disc. 1989. Is that an omen? Unfortunately, all of Billy's other stuff appear to be out of print or only available as costly imports. When you listen to this disc, you will fell something, whether it is joy or sorrow. I almost second-guessed the man and thought the only songs I liked would the upbeat well-known radio staples. I didn t even remember the adult contemporary staple ballads. This album is essential 1980s! I guess some people have a time period in which they do their most successful work (not a real revelation by any means). But Billy Ocean wasn't just a part of the music scene during his run. Billy owned it! Here s To You, Mr. Ocean.