Customer Reviews

Essential

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

 

 

It is nice to have re-mastered cleaner versions of songs, but the song selections are pretty much the same as the ones on Classic Masters. In fact the first four songs are in the exact same order!

The differences between this collection and Classic Masters and Essential are three songs. Classic Masters has Mexican Moon and Essential has Happy Birthday and Sun. I was happy to see Sun on a re-mastered CD, but there are many more songs that could have been included. Essential also fails to give you your money's worth as far as number of songs.

I would recommend Still in Hollywood or Recollection as a starting point for Concrete Blonde, but neither of them have the re-mastering. Still In Hollywood has some unique songs that are not on other CD's, and Recollection has more of the best songs. But both have more of the Best songs than either of the re-mastered CD's.

Essential went to cut-out status in less than two months, and that is when I picked up my copy. Not because the songs are not good, because they are, but since I own every Concrete Blonde CD, there was no hurry to get this one.

My personal "Best Of" for Concrete Blonde is:
01-Still In Hollywood
02-True
03-Jenny I Read
04-God Is A Bullet
05-Fried
06-Probably Will
07-Bloodletting
08-Walking In London
09-Everybody Knows
10-100 Games of Solitaire
11-Sun
12-Roses Grow
13-Someday?
14-Joey
15-Roxy
16-Tomorrow Wendy
17-Carry Me Away

And that was before Mojave came out...I can find songs from there to put on a Best of CD such as Ghost Riders in the Sky or Tornado at Rest...

The omission of Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) and Everybody Knows makes Essential and Classic Masters both incomplete.

I am also amazed that there are four Greatest Hits CD's for Concrete Blonde and not one of them has the song Carry Me Away on it...or that none of the 3 later Best of CD's has 100 Games of Solitaire on it...

My three star rating is more due to lack of originality of this collection rather than music.

I wonder when the 5th greatest hits CD is due out...

Keith S. :{)>

I'm not sure what the point of this collection is. Despite the fact that is was released in 2005, it only includes songs up through the 1992 album "Walking In London". Nothing from "Mexican Moon", "Group Therapy", or "Mojave". Plus the only extra here is the b-side "Little Wing", it's good, but c'mon. Of the period represented I would call this their greatest hits, but again, just the first four albums? Just 13 tracks? However, the songs that are here are excellent, this is better than the "Classic Masters" collection, and the cover is pretty cool. I suggest searching out the "Recollection" best of in your local used store, it's alot better overall. Or pick this up with the past few albums.

This is a great collection of songs, but recollection is the better cd. The only reason for the non-casual buyer to get this cd is because the version of Sun on here is different than the original version on "Free". I'm not sure if it was a mistake with the masters or done on purpose but this version of sun has a different vocal track and is about 18 seconds shorter than the original. It was a nice suprise when I got the CD (Sun is one of my favorites), but the casual fan that these collections are aimed at probably won't care.

As most have stated, this is incomplete as many of their best songs are not here. My favorites not included here are "Heal It Up", "Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man" and "Bloodletting". It's a shame because at 54 minutes, they could have put 5 or 6 more songs on here.

But let's talk about the positives. It is simply essential to hear these tracks remastered - they sound great. I have been waiting a long time to hear the the gritty beginning of "God is a Bullet" remastered. And it is spectacular. Also, two songs from the first album, "Still in Hollywood" and "Dance Along the Edge" - two of the absolute best songs in all of rock in my opinion - sound so super remastered here that is a must for any fan of this band. So this certainly is essential.

The other songs here also sound spectacular. "Sun" is a beautiful surprise - such a clean vocal and acoustic guitar. The echoing guitars in "Tomorrow Wendy" just make it a totally different song. And "Caroline" - wow, I feel like I'm there playing the bass guitar!!!

We may not see another collection from this band but they really need to issue a 2 CD remastered set with all the songs from this CD combined with the remaining songs on Recollection and Still In Hollywood, a few from the new albums and then include some lesser known beauties like "Days and Days", "Woman to Woman", "Why Don't You Hear Me", "I Wanna Be Your Friend Again", "Jonestown" and "When You Smile" to fill the 80 minutes on each CD - all remastered. Would I buy it? I sure would.

This is one of the BEST ROCK BANDS EVER and why they are not better known is astonishing to me.

I am a large fan of Concrete Blonde. I became frustrated while I was playing my Gibson to find the range that the lead guitarist used during the Album. I bought a Fender Strat that solved the problem. This is a solid Album that can be played over more then once without being annoyed.

Even a die hard fan would already have these in their collection, and remastered. I love what Concrete Blonde had done over the years, but I would be hoping more for a box-set including rarities and whatever other gems they have accomplished. This is a great re-introduction set for those who knew Concrete Blonde but want to get re-acquainted with their material and artistry. For me there is so much more that could be packed into an "Esstential" collection, this doesn't even touch the surface.

Let me just start out by saying that Concrete Blonde can do no wrong in my eyes. I have all their albums and I listen to them religiously.

That being said, this is a slightly disappointing collection. I would have loved to see some songs off of Mexican Moon. Hell, I would have loved to see a CD that had a few more songs on it.

It's a nice way to get started on a Concrete Blonde addiction, but a better way would be to pick up Recollections or Still in Hollywood.

Okay, if you're a real fan of this band you should already have all the necessary albums in your collection. If you are somehow new to this band, save your money and opt for "Recollections" or, better yet, grab the "Still In Hollywood" disc, which showcases so much more of the reasons we all came to love the band in the first place.

Yet, for the novice, pick up the first (self-titled) album if your looking for the more "balls out" stylings. Then get the "closer to goth" Bloodletting album, for when your feeling a bit dark. For the undecided, the in-between releases serve as a nice and rather smooth transition between both styles. Anything released after "Walking In London" should be left to the fans, because otherwise you may face some boredom and/or dissapointment. Although, by this time you should already be a fan and therefore they truly can do no wrong.

Oh yeah, please don't forget to check out the Pretty & Twisted release. Should be just the thing to keep you going until the upcoming Johnette solo release hits the stores.


Personally, I lost count of just how many times I've seen CB (or various incarnations, thereof) live. Some of my favorite being simply Johnette alone with a guitar and a dozen candles. Always a pleasure, despite the fact that I hate when she decides to inflict "mercedes benz" upon us. Although, this was a crap song originally, so I can't completely fault her for the somewhat fanatical (yet stupid) following.