Customer Reviews

Gold

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

 

 

Cameo no doubt is definitely one of the funkiest bands of the last 30 something years. They layed down some tight lyrics and beats. Even though this is a solid greatest hits cd and about as good as you can get with it, they still need to release some of their older individual albums on cd as well. "Alligator Woman, Feel Me, Single Life and We all know who we Are" just to name a few. The record companies have been sleep far too long and need to come up out of a coma and start giving us music fans, particulary the older ones what we prefer.

Although Cameo has been inactive on releasing new music for quite some time there seems no end to the repackaging of their best known tracks on one compilation after another. GOLD is the most comprehensive collection of the band's music thus far, stretching out to two discs (though it is notable to mention the tracklist follows 2002's Anthology to the letter). There is a least one song from each of the bands' first fourteen albums and ends chronologically circa late 80's, shortly after their highest commercial peak. The booklet includes many band photos (mostly as the core trio), an essay on the band's history, a tracklisting of the songs with chart positions and album cover artwork.

The first disc focuses on the band's early days as a multi-piece funk powerhouse. These early years contains "Rigor Mortis", the lengthy near-instrumental jam of "It's Serious", the dancefloor classics "I Just Want to Be" and "Shake Your Pants", and the wonderful ballads "Sparkle" and "We're Going Out Tonight". The second disc builds up more excitement, as the music transitions into electronic territory and the string of hit singles that Cameo will forever be best known for; "She's Strange", "Single Life", "Word Up", "Candy" and others.

Unfortunately, the majority of Cameo's backcatalog remains a scavenger hunt of out-of-print and import editions. This CD is ideal for those who desire the band's essentials yet curious enough to want a bit more. GOLD digs deeper by including each of Cameo's singles, despite how great or poor they charted, as well as a few choice album cuts that weren't released as singles. (Not everything represented here is quite as "gold" as the band's best work, some of the slower numbers I tend to skip.) For a more streamlined overview of the band's career the single disc The Definitive Collection would be an excellent alternative, as it includes the best selections from GOLD.

Favorite tracks: "Post Mortem", "Shake Your Pants", "Freaky Dancing", "Single Life", "I Want It Now"
Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars