Information Society - Greatest Hits: Strange Haircuts/Cardboard Guitars/Computer Samples

Information Society | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 24, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Ada
• ASIN: B00005BI7E
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,998 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Running

2. Walking Away

3. Repetition

4. Lay All Your Love on Me [Metal Mix]

5. What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy) [Mix]

6. Think

7. How Long

8. Crybaby

9. Peace & Love, Inc.

10. Going, Going, Gone

11. Strength

12. A Knife and a Fork/Think Tank [The Massively Parallel Mix][*]

13. Running [Victor Caldernoe Remix][*]

14. What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy 2001) [Junior Vasquez Remix][*]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long Overdue Greatest Hits!, June 11, 2001

By 

Kevinduran (Indianapolis, Indiana USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Information Society - Greatest Hits: Strange Haircuts/Cardboard Guitars/Computer Samples (Audio CD)

This is a GREAT collection of Information Society's greatest hits- the remix of "A Knife And A Fork" is basically the regular version of the song with an extended remix tacked on to the end. (I have always wondered if the voice that says "A knife and a fork, a bottle and a cork, that's the way to spell New York! was Jay North from "Dennis The Menace". That's who it sounds like to me!) All of the singles are here, with a few extras. Personally I would have included "Now That I Have You" and "Mirrorshades" from their best (in my opinion) album "Hack" and the hard to find track "Hit Me" (from the "Earth Girls Are Easy" soundtrack.) The b-side "Strength" (from the "Going, Going, Gone" cd single) IS included, and that's a great inclusion. The packaging leaves A LOT to be desired. It's packaged in a cardboard sleeve (like a cd single). No booklet, no lyrics, hardly any photos (just the tops of of their heads.) Information Society deserved a little better, design-wise, than what they ended up with for a retrospective of their career, but I guess I cannot complain TOO much because I'm THRILLED this exists. I met James from Information Society back in the late 80's after they jokingly announced their hotel AND their room number at a Club MTV concert. My friends and I marched right up to their room- I think InSoc were a little shocked that anyone took their hotel information seriously! (We got to ride on an elevator with one of Milli Vanilli's "background" lipsynchers... they were on the Club MTV tour too.) James was very gracious and met with us. (Kurt and Paul stayed in the room... the smell of a stinky cigar permeated the hallway outside their room!) I miss this incarnation of them and still listen to those cd's regularly!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Songs, Poor Track Selection., July 27, 2001

By 

Denmark Jensen (Carson City, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Information Society - Greatest Hits: Strange Haircuts/Cardboard Guitars/Computer Samples (Audio CD)

An Information Society "best of" collection. What a great idea. The problem is, as this product shows, not all great ideas are exectuted well. Instead of being a set of everything one might want by the band, this collection leaves out enough vital tracks to make its existance pointless. What about standout album tracks like "Now That I Have You" from Hack, and "Where Would I Be Without IBM" from Peace And Love Inc? I'm certain that there was more room on the CD, and in any case, some of the remixes could certainly be left out. Currently, one can quite easily purchase all three original albums and the Going Going Gone Single (for "Strength") used, all for the same price as this collection. So, what's the point, unless you really like remixes?

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING, January 29, 2002

By 

Patrick J. Neals (Toronto, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Information Society - Greatest Hits: Strange Haircuts/Cardboard Guitars/Computer Samples (Audio CD)

I have followed Information Society since the beginning, and it is great to have this collection. A few songs don't seem to fit and others were missed that should be here, but all in all this is a great collection for the die-hard fans and also those that don't have any of their material. I love the first three albums, and this album contains material from those. "Don't Be Afraid" and the subsequent remix album led them on a very sharp tangent, and I don't really care for these, so I am glad these were left out.

The remixes of Running, Lay All Your Love On Me, and What's On Your Mind are great.

You won't be disappointed with this one. Newcomers to Information Society will likely want to acquire the past albums if they like this one.

I am not very impressed with the packaging - it is cardboard and rather cheap, and doesn't contain any booklet with lyrics or band history. This would have polished off a fine CD.