Just Say Sire: The Sire Records Story [Box set]

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 27, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B000AQ69IG
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,695 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #88 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > American Punk

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Everybody - Madonna

2. Mirror In The Bathroom - English Beat

3. Kiss Me - Tin Tin

4. Oh L’Amour - Erasure

5. Tainted Love - Soft Cell

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Teenage Kicks - The Undertones

2. This Charming Man - The Smiths

3. I Melt With You - Modern English

4. Moskow Diskow - Telex

5. (I’m) Stranded - The Saints

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Alex Chilton - The Replacements

2. Come On Let’s Go -

3. The Paley Brothers And Ramones

4. Aloha Steve & Danno/

5. Theme From Hawaii Five-O - Radio Birdman

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. Pop Muzik - M

2. Rock ’N’ Roll High School - Ramones

3. Let’s Go To Bed - The Cure

4. A Little Respect - Erasure

5. Brass In Pocket - The Pretenders

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Sire Records founder Seymour Stein ostensibly seems a throwback to an earlier era when mini-moguls stamped their label's releases with their own idiosyncratic tastes. But the impossibly rich canon chronicled here argues Stein was driven more by a shrewd, far-ranging artistic vision than mere personal musical obsessions. Released to commemorate Stein and Sire's 30th anniversary with distributor Warners, the 81 songs here (spanning three CD's and a 20-video DVD) range across some of the most successful trendsetters of the era, especially the late '70s and '80s, a period when the label's fortunes and artistic philosophies welcomed even commercially risky, if ever artistically rewarding projects like Brian Wilson's long-anticipated 1988 solo album (represented here by the bittersweet "Love and Mercy"). Indeed, the Sire releases sampled here often virtually define both era and style, be it nascent ‘70s NYC punk (the Ramones, Richard Hell and the Voidoids), such blue-beat drenched British standouts as Madness and English Beat, the cream of ‘80s UK new wave and synth pop (Soft Cell, Erasure, Depeche Mode, the Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, Pet Shop Boys) or such disparate North American-rooted icons as Madonna, Talking Heads, The Pretenders and k. d. lang. Sponsoring those artists alone would have secured Stein's legacy, but this anthology argues he was never one for resting on his laurels, as later standout tracks by the Replacements, My Bloody Valentine, Barenaked Ladies>, Wilco Ministry and Throwing Muses attest. The label's one-hit wonders were often as intriguing, highlighted here by The Rezillos' manic "Top of the Pops," M's infectious "Pop Muzik," the electro-mordant "Warm Leatherette" by The Normal, Laid Back's slinky "White Horse" and the spunky, Gallic pop-bop of Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi." The liner notes may lean to often gushing personal tributes from Stein's artists, friends and associates, but the wealth of his label's musical riches sampled herein argue he's more than earned them. -- Jerry McCulley

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Popular Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 27-SEP-2005

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Portable Greatness, September 28, 2006

By 

Katherine McCarthy "kath e. miller" (Forest Hills, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Just Say Sire: The Sire Records Story (Audio CD)

I remember when Sire showed up and started signing up every group worth signing up in NYC in the '70's. They did the same in the U.K. And marched on to one-hit wonders worldwide. I, too, own nearly everything they produced from the late '76+. Some are on vinyl, others I replicated on cassettes, some are irreplaceable. I could quibble with what's left out. I view these box sets as portable greatness to take to parties, cruising in the car, on the boat, or anywhere where I can't grab ahold of the original. I invested so much in vinyl & cassettes I can't begin to replicate ALL of it anymore. I'm old and tired. I need something to remind me why I loved the music in the first place, that sends me back to the Closet of Death for my Lps and singles. Seymour Stein did the era proud. I wish more labels showed as much support for original music & let the Billboard Charts be damned! Sire was one of a kind. And if a Madonna (a long shot back in the day when she was a Danceteria regular) or Ramones or Talking Heads sold a few records, great! For each superstar, he signed cult faves like Radio Birdman and the Saints. Somebody had to. He did. Who's doing it today?

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a good label overview..., October 17, 2005

By 

Robert Keith "Baskervilles" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Just Say Sire: The Sire Records Story (Audio CD)

It's a good label overview from a GREAT label. Seymour Stein's taste is exemplary.

It's too bad this box didn't focus on the real glory years from 1976 - 1982. Just about everything that came out on Sire during that time was worth owning. M. Telex, Radio Birdman. Rezillos. Saints. Neighborhoods. Boney M. Flys. Dead Boys. Talking Heads. Ramones. Sire had the most amazing talent and there are still some out of print rarities.

Who is the box marketed for? This box has Sire's biggest hits, which most collectors will have. I would think that Madonna fans typically are not Radio Birdman fans (although I am).

Buy it for a 13 year old music enthusiast who doesn't know anything about the new wave. This is a good place to start.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fair... but get the "Just Say Yes" series instead, December 7, 2005

By 

Ivan Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Just Say Sire: The Sire Records Story (Audio CD)

The "Just Say Yes" series, from 1987-1994 provides a better cross-section, and more rarities than this boxset. The series was an annual sampler of the label's artists. This is somewhat akin to a sampler of those samplers...