Collected: 1996-2005

The Wallflowers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 16, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Interscope Records
• ASIN: B001PXYHDM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,895 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2009 collection from the American rockers led by Jakob Dylan. Collected features 14 classic tracks taken from their albums, plus two previously unreleased recordings. Includes the hits 'One Headlight,' '6th Avenue Heartache,' 'Three Marlenas,' and more. Mixing introspective singer-songwriter sensibilities with a commitment to genuine Roots Rock, The Wallflowers sold more than eight million copies of their catalog, topped the Billboard charts, scored a multiplatinum album, several Modern Rock hits, two Grammyr awards and a legion of fans. Collected: 1996-2005 is the definitive look at a critically-acclaimed favorite of the past decade, whose tales of disillusionment and perseverance were wrapped in a sound both gritty and polished, melancholy and aggressive.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Generous serving of the Wallflowers, June 20, 2009

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Collected: 1996-2005 (Audio CD)

The Wallflowers was one of the bands whose sound shaped, or certainly represented, the mid-1990s like few other bands, with their sophomore album "Bringing Down the Horse" being a multi-million seller. The band died a quiet death in 2005 with the "Rebel, Sweetheart" album that went nowhere. Since then winger-songwriter Jacob Dylan went on to a solo career, and now 4 years after the band's last album come a 'greatest hits' collection.

"Collected: 1996-2005" (16 tracks; 70 min.) appropriately rewrites history and completely ignores the band's 1992 debut album, given that it was dismissed/ignored by the public at large (and the critics as well). Five of the first 6 tracks from "Bringing Down The Horse" start off this collection, including "One Headlight" (the song you couldn't possibly escape in 96-97), "6th Avenue Heartache" and "Three Marlenas". The 2000 album "Breach" gets 4 tracks, including the minor hit "Letters from the Wasteland". The 2002 album "Red Letter Days" gets 3 tracks, and the last album "Rebel, Sweetheart" gets 2 tracks. This compilation is rounded out with an unreleased song "Eat You Sleeping" as well as the demo-track of "God Says Nothing Back" from the last album.

Overall, at 70 min. this is a very generous serving and overview of the Wallflowers, and aimed strictly at the casual fan. The more ardent fan (such as myself) will probably have these 4 studio albums already. If there is one thing I could change to this collection, it would be to add their cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" (from the 1998 n"Godzilla" soundtrack) as that was actually a radio hit. Back in the day, I really like this band and I saw them in concert a number of times. It's always been a mystery while they couldn't repeat the success of "Bringing Down the Horse" and my best guess is that they simply took too long (4 years) to come up with a new album, by which time the public either had forgotten about them, and/or had moved on to other things.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A decade of high quality songs, June 16, 2009

By 

William Merrill "eclecticist" (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Collected: 1996-2005 (Audio CD)

This is a very good collection for the casual Wallflowers fan (like me) who has seen the band once or twice in concert, and owns only a couple of their CDs. It's a chronological overview of their work from "One Headlight" ('96) to "God Says Nothing Back" ('05). Listening to this collection, I was impressed by how the quality level of the material rarely drops. Those first couple of hits (also incl. "6th Avenue Heartache") were heard everywhere during the mid-90s, following which the band's profile went down somewhat but the enjoyability of their music did not. Jakob Dylan's singing and songwriting justifiably got much of the focus, but this collection also reveals some other highlights in these recordings, particularly the strong drum work by Mario Calire, and Rami Jaffee's adept keyboard playing.

Here are two other notes about this album. First, I'm hoping other listeners don't experience the mixed sound quality I heard across these songs. To me, many songs sounded marvelous, such as the shimmering "Invisible City," but others sounded very harsh and tinny ("Letters From the Wasteland" and [sadly] "One Headlight"). Second, it's worth noting that one of the "big box" retailers is selling this with a bonus DVD including nine music videos for no extra charge. Just thought you oughta know.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Sampling of One of the 90's Best Bands, July 2, 2010

By 

Cesar Reyes (-------, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Collected: 1996-2005 (Audio CD)

A great introduction to an underrated legitimate rock'n'roll band that deserved a better reception after their breakthrough album, "Bringing Down The Horse". IF you only know the hits, pick this up as you might kick yourself for missing out on this great band.