Customer Reviews

Finest (Rpkg)

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4 star:		(3)
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So they only had two albums, big deal. This "Finest Hits" album easily includes everything it needs to. What's here is a good chunk of their debut, six tracks from the excellent "The Raw And The Cooked" album, and a few extras. I personally like the songs from their second album way more than the first, as they are all extremely good and catchy. They do a great cover of "Suspicious Minds" however. I'd say if you already have the second album this isn't neccessary, but otherwise this is the one to get. I'm sure I'm one of many that's still waiting for more music from Roland Gift. That really would be a "Good Thing".

This has quickly turned into one of my all-time favorite CD's. I've added almost every song to my iPod, and I am notoriously stingy about adding only my very favorites to the iPod. Love this band, and love this CD!

When the English Beat dissolved in 1983, guitarist Dave Cox and bassist David Steele were left out in the cold. They had to restart a band from scratch, and they went searching for a new vocalist. They found him in Roland Gift, an attractive man with a Sam Cooke voice. Gift was such a striking presence that he was given a Rolling Stone cover minus his bandmates and got named as one of People Magazine's "Most Beautiful People." They found a home on the quirky IRS label in America, so when General Public was getting a head start on chart success, Fine Young Cannibals had a minor success in England with "Johnny Come Home."

That led to the funky yet jazz-smooth debut in 1985, which also saw the band make waves with their soulful cover of Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds." It also delivered the politically slanted "Blue." The influences were a bit smoother than the Beat's ska inflection...touched of Motown, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding and jazz all make their forms felt.

While the debut didn't hit the huge acceptance target in 1985, "The Raw & the Cooked" scored a bulls-eye. After taking a four year break, the new album came with a hurricane force of soul, funk and danceable grooves. "She Drives Me Crazy" is blessed with an instantly recognizable guitar blast over a drum machine beat, and deservedly went to number one. So did the follow-up, "Good Thing," which was featured in the movie "Tin Men." (The delightful cover of Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen In Love" was recorded a few years earlier for Jonathan Demme's "Something Wild" soundtrack.)

"The Raw and The Cooked" remains both FYC's finest achievement and swansong. Gift was notoriously prickly on tour (I saw then in concert, they played 30 minutes, ended and no encores), and then just walked away. He embarked on a movie career that never took off, while Cox and Steele still occasionally release music.

Other than a forgettable remix album, this 1996 best of boasted the first new FYC song in a decade. "The Flame" follows the same easy jazz-pop of the Cannibals' best. What this CD seriously lacks is any liner notes or additional material. No essays, no chart info, nada. It would have been a much more interesting proposition to have this CD with a little something extra. Since this is effectively a compilation of a mere two CD's, I can enthusiastically recommend "The Raw And The Cooked" as a stand alone CD. But if you're just looking to get "She Drives Me Crazy" for your MP3 player, then "The Finest" will do.

THIS BAND WAS FUN TO LISTEN TO WHEN I GRADUATED IN 88' AND NOW 20 YEARS LATER THEIR A CLASSICS BAND THAT I'M INTRODUCING TO MY 8 YEAR OLD SON AND REMEMBERING THE GOOD OLD TIMES OF THE 80'S WITH THEIR BEST SONG "SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY".I LOST MY CASSETTE TAPE OF "FYC"SO I HAD UPDATE MY COLLECTION WITH A CD AND THEN I HAD TO BUY A CD PLAYER.AND WHEN I PLAYED THIS CD IT WAS WELL WORTH THE MONEY.GREAT MUSIC