Customer Reviews

Like, Omigod! The '80s Pop Culture Box (Totally)

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Be forewarned, the sugar-coated empty calories found in the LIKE, OMIGOD... box set from Rhino will just leave you wanting more. 142 tracks across seven CDs and it just scratches the surface on a shallow, yet oddly endearing decade.

LIKE, OMIGOD... hits almost all of the popularly acknowledged high points, including "867-5309/Jenny," "Tainted Love," "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," - as well as great novelty numbers and underground tunes like "Pac-Man Fever," "Da Da Da," and "Turning Japanese." While not in strict chronological order like Rhino's 70s set, HAVE A NICE DECADE, LIKE, OMIGOD... is well-sequenced and provides a relatively satisfying trip - as well as a great set for any party. No need for "random play" here - just load this set, hit "play" and dance away.

While this set is almost certainly a one-stop shop for the music fan simply looking for a well-balanced 80s collection, the completist and discerning collector will no doubt view this as the tip of the iceberg. Those such as myself, more enthralled with the simultaneous New Wave movement, will find lots more to love (approximately 300 tracks worth - with minimal duplication) in Rhino's 15-volume JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH 80s collection. Even then, LIKE, OMIGOD... will spur you on to fill up your shopping cart with with entire albums by Billy Squier, Duran Duran, The Fixx, Pretenders and more.

The only downside to be found is that LIKE, OMIGOD... also forces the listener to take the bad with the good (or the worse with the bad?), presenting end-of-the-decade stinkers such as New Kids on the Block and Richard Marx toward the end of the seventh disc. For this listener, those musical tragedies are still too recent, too terrible to revisit with any degree of nostalgia.

As gaudily packaged as the decade it represents, LIKE, OMIGOD... is presented in a hardcover book format identical to HAVE A NICE DECADE and contains a similar full-color booklet complete with essays, trivia, 80s timeline and notes on each of the performers and songs included. The sound of the CDs, as with all Rhino product, is pristine. As for the sound of some of the music - well, you can't blame Rhino...

Some fans of the 80's will find more songs in other box sets and even there might be better selections of songs. This compilation outstands from the rest since the quality that Rhino puts in their music is great and also this set comes with a 90 pages booklet that will bring information of every song on it along with pictures and headline news of the decade.

I was a teenager in the 80's and by listening to the songs, reading the booklet and watching the pictures I was able to go back in time and enjoy some precious memories that money can not buy.
Two kinds of people will enjoy this amazing box set,
1- Those who went to high school and had fun with the cheesy pop and soft rock from the 80's.
2- The newer generations trying to go back in time to find out the roots of some of the popular tunes of nowadays.

Song buyers will complain that a lot of the popular artist from the 80's will be missed in this compilation, but most of the real 80's fans will rather have songs that are barely played in the radio but still were popular in our scenarios than big stars that are easy to find in CD and are still played in a lot of the radio stations around the world.
This is the key of success for these products from Rhino.
Go and buy yours, do not even attempt to download the music. It is worth to collect these songs on these 7 CD's.

If you are a child of the '80s, you have to have this set. I hadn't bought any '80s collection until this one because none of the others were ever comprehensive enough, nor did the others have the one-hit-wonders that I loved. This set has them all -- indeed, preserves them for posterity. Very representative of the entire decade, with all the songs I loved, from the most hokey to the utterly heartbreaking. Plus, the sizeable book that comes in this package is terrific, with smashing color photos and graphics on glossy paper, a world-events timeline keyed to informative paragraphs about the artists and the tracks, and provocative essays about the music and other pop culture of the decade by pre-eminent figures from the '80s media. A very, very good read, this book stands on its own but adds immeasurably to appreciation of the music. My recommendation: just slip a CD in the player, take the book in hand, and travel back in time. This is the life!

My biggest gripe is this: there are seven CDs in this package, and my CD player only holds five CDs! :-(

OK, seriously, this is quite a comprehensive collection of 80's music, and just about every genre is represented to some extent. There's Eddie Rabbit, Blondie, New Edition, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Devo, Simple Minds, Duran Duran, just to name a few. Of course, though, it is heavy on the pop numbers, and it certainly brings back memories of high school for me, particularly since the collection seems to lean heavily toward early to mid '80s music. There's not much on it after 1987, which doesn't bother me personally, but I would have liked, for example, "We Didn't Start the Fire," by Billy Joel.

Indeed, that is the one problem with this collection, but that can be said for any collection. For all the wonderful songs on there, so many more were left off. There's nothing by A Flock of Seagulls, Journey, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and each artist that is there is represented only once. Why was The Thompson Twins represented with "Lies" and not "Hold Me Now" or "Doctor Doctor"? Where was Howard Jones? Still, it was well worth the money.

Now, I just need a CD player with more spaces . . .

This collection will save you alot of money. Think if you were to go out and buy every CD that these songs are on. Here you get over 141 top hit songs of the 80's on 7 discs plus an awesome collectable box and a novelty 80's book with facts and pictures for every single year. Information about all the songs, artists, events , tv shows, movies and happenings during the 80's. Open up the Box and you see all the popular dances of the 80's including the Head Spin, The Wave, The Tick, The Mannequin and more. It also shows you how to do them with pictures step by step! The box is truly unique. Heres the song listings disk by disk.

Disc 1-
1.Devo- Whip It
2.The Buggles- Video Killed the Radio Star
3.Meco- Empire Strikes Back
4.Queen- Another One Bites the Dust
5.Kool and the Gang- Celebration
6.Kurtis Blow- The Breaks Part 1
7.Pete Townshend- Let my love open the Door
8.Blondie- Call Me
9.REO Speedwagon- Keep on loving you
10.The Vapors- Turning Japanese
11.Air Supply- Lost in Love
12.Dolly Parton- 9 to 5
13.Eddie Rabbitt- I love a rainy night
14. Christopher Cross- Sailing
15.Grover Washington Jr- Just the 2 of us
16.Gary Numan- Cars
17.Donnie Iris- Ah!Yeah!
18.Frankie and the Knockouts- Sweetheart
19.The Cars- Shake It Up
20.Billy Squire- The stroke

Disc 2
1.Billy Idol- Dancing with Myself
2.Loverboy- Working for the Weekend
3.Rick Springfield- Jessie's Girl
4.Tom Tom Clun- Genius of Love
5.J Geils Band- Centerfold
6.Billy and the Beaters- At this moment
7.Quarterflash- Harden My Heart
8.38 Special- Hold on loosely
9.Joey Scarbury- Theme from Greatest American Hero
10.Bob and Doug Mckenzie- Take off
11.Rick James- Super Freak Part 1
12.Tommy Tutone- Jenny/867-5309
13.Kim Carnes- Bette Davis Eyes
14.Alan parsons project- time
15.Laura Branigan- Gloria
16.Hall and Oates- Maneater
17.Theme from Hill street Blues
18.Frank Zappa and Moon Unit- Valley Girl
19.Trio- Da da da
20.Gap Band- You dropped a bomb on me

Disc 3
1.Duran Duran-Hungry like the Wolf
2.ABC- The Look Of Love
3.Soft Cell- Tainted Love
4.Stray Cats- Rock this Town
5.Thompson Twins- Lies
6.Missing Persons- words
7.The Human League- Dont you want me
8.Haircut One Hundred- Love plus One
9.Men at work- down under
10.Joe Jackson- Steppin Out
11.Bow Wow Wow- I Want Candy
12.Dexies Midnight Runners- Come on Eileen
13.Toni Basil- Mickey
14.Golden Earing- Twilight Zone
15.Melissa Manchester- You should hear how she talks about you
16.Bertie Higgins- Key Largo
17.Buckner and Garcia- Pac Man Fever
18.Bonnie Tyler- Total eclipse of the heart
19.Toto- Africa
20.Scandal- Goodbye to you
21.Taco- Puttin on the Ritz

Disc 4
1.Greg Kihn Band- Jeopardy
2.Thomas Dolby- She blinded me with science
3.Eddy Grant- Electric Avenue
4.Eurythmics- Sweet dreams are made of these
5.Madness- Our House
6.Martin Briley- The salt in my tears
7.Cyndi Lauper- Girls just want to have fun
8.The romantics- Talking in your sleep
9. Peter Shilling- Major Tom coming Home
10.Naked Eyes- Always somthing there to remind me
11.Big Country- In a Big County
12.The Fixx- One thing leads to another
13.After the Fire- Der Komisser
14.The Motels- Suddenly Last Summer
15.Culture Club- Karma Chameleon
16.The Cure- Lets go to Bed
17.Kajagoogoo- Too Shy
18.Michael Sambello- Maniac
19.Night Ranger- Sister Christian
20.Quiet Riot- Cum On Feel the Noise

Disc 5
1.Yes- Owner of a lonely Heart
2.Styx- Mr. Roboto
3.Pointer Sisters- Im so Excited
4.The Pretenders- Back on the chain gang
5.Foreigner- I want to know what Love is
6.Corey Hart- Sunglasses at Night
7.John Waite- Missing You
8.Nena-99 LuftBalloons
9.General Public- Tenderness
10.Tracey Ullman- They dont know
11.Bryan Adams- Heaven
12.White horse- Laidback
13.Shannon- Let the music play
14.Deniece Williams- Lets hear it for the boy
15. New Edition- Cool it Now
16.Ray Parker Jr- Ghostbusters
17.Kenny Loggins- Footloose
18.Twisted Sister- We're not gonna take it
19.The Scorpions- Rock you like A Hurricane
20.Sheila E- The Glamourous Life

Disc 6
1.Animotion- Obesession
2.Tears for Fears- Shout
3.A-Ha- Take on me
4.Simple Minds- Dont you Forget About Me
5.Katrina and the Waves- Walkin on Sunshine
6.Til Tuesday- Voices Carry
7.Oingo Boingo- Weird Science
8.Dead or Alive- You Spin me Round like a Record
9.Jan Hammer- Miami Vice Theme
10.Dream Academy- Life in a Northern Town
11.Mr. Mister- Kyrie
12.Paul Young- everytime you go away
13.Starship- We Built This City
14.John Parr- St Elmos Fire
15.Robert Palmer- Addicted To Love
16.Harold Faltermeyer- Axel F
17.Debarge- Rhythm of the night
18.Billy Crystal - You Look Marvelous
19.Don Johnson- Heartbeat ( Dont know why they put this one on here) lol
20.Wang Chung- Everybody have fun Tonight

Disc 7
1.Bananarama- Venus
2.The Bangles- Walk like an Egyptian
3.The Art of Noise With Max Headroom- Paranoimia
4.Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark- If you Leave
5.Georgia Satellites- Keep your hands to yourself
6.INXS- What you need
7.Run-D.M.C.- Walk this Way
8.Timex Social Club- Rumors
9.Crowded House- Dont dream its over
10.Simply Red- Holding back the Years
11.New Kids on the Block- i'll be loving you forever
12.The Fabulous Thunderbirds- Tuff Enuff
13.The Outfield- Since youve been gone
14.Debbie Gibson- Only in my Dreams
15.Rick Astley- Never gonna give you Up
16.Los Lobos- La Bamba
17.The Escape Club- Wild Wild West
18.Bobby Mcferrin- Dont worry Be Happy
19.Richard Marx- Right Here Waiting
20.The B-52's- Roam

Is missing some great artists from the 80's but overall it's a nice collection of songs and would make a good gift for anyone who loved the 80's. 4.5 Stars.

hello! i am only 11 yrs old, so i missed the decade of excess :( but i love the songs for some reason. i got this cds from my birthday and i cant stop playing it.

firstly this complation has all the great 1 hit wonders that you cant get on a cd nowadays. for all the people complaining that it doesnt have madonna, the jacko etc-----wouldn't you rather hear a song that you cant find anywhere on cd then a madonna which you can get easily?

the booklet is great! so much i have learned from it. i suggest to any 80s fan to get this radical complation TODAY!!!

This is an awesome retrospective of the 80's top 40 music sound. I would like to point out a few things not mentioned in the other reviews. This 7 disc set has all of the single/45RPM versions of all the hits. Like the hard to find single versions of Styx-Mr. Roboto, The Fixx-One Thing Leads To Another, John Waite-Missing You, Debbie Gibson-Only In My Dreams, Kenny Loggins - Footloose as well as other hard to find original single releases. Most 80's hits packages have the standard album versions because they are easier to find. So, hats off to Rhino Records for finding these songs as I heard them on 45RPM record back in the 80's. I'm sure that it also made it easier to fit more songs on each of the discs. The sound quality is perfect. A personal standout favorite of mine is the very rare and hard to find song by Martin Briley - The Salt In My Tears from 1983. I don't think that this hit has shown up on any other 80's collection prior to this one.
As for the reason there is no Madonna, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Talking Heads or Bruce Springsteen in this collection... Rhino needs to have the permission from the lables who own the master tapes to put them in an 80's collection. I'm sure that if Rhino could get those rights, they'd have some of the above artists mentioned included in this collection. It's all about money and copyrights.
It would have been nice to see some of the other hits by artists like Rick Springfield. Is it some kind of law that every 80's collection has to have Jesse's Girl on it? What about I've Done Everything For You. Or, Find Another Fool by Quarterflash. And Billy Chrystal's You Look Marvelous? Wouldn't Juice Newton's Queen Of Hearts have been a better choice? It was a #1 hit. But all in all, this is a very very good collection of hits from the 80's. These are all the original hits as you remember them. NO RERECORDS in this package. So, if you loved the top 40 radio of the 80's. You will not go wrong with this collection of pop and rock memories from the "big" decade.
P. S.
The booklet is also outstanding!

Track listing
Song title, then band, then time, then year
Disc 1 (21 tracks)
1. "Whip It" -- Devo 2:39 (1980)
2. "Video Killed the Radio Star" -- The Buggles 3:27 (1979)
3. "Empire Strikes Back (Medley)" -- Meco 3:03 (1980)
4. "Another One Bites the Dust" -- Queen 3:34 (1980)
5. "Celebration" -- Kool & the Gang 3:43 (1981)
6. "The Breaks (Pt. 1)" -- Kurtis Blow 4:09 (1980)
7. "Let My Love Open the Door" -- Pete Townshend 2:44 (1980)
8. "Call Me" -- Blondie 3:32 (1980)
9. "Keep on Loving You" -- REO Speedwagon 3:22 (1981)
10. "Turning Japanese" -- The Vapors 3:44 (1980)
11. "Lost in Love" -- Air Supply 3:54 (1980)
12. "9 to 5" -- Dolly Parton 2:46 (1980)
13. "I Love a Rainy Night" -- Eddie Rabbitt 3:10 (1980)
14. "Sailing" -- Christopher Cross 4:16 (1980)
15. "Just the Two of Us" -- Grover Washington, Jr. and Bill Withers 3:58 (1981)
16. "Cars" -- Gary Numan 3:57 (1980)
17. "Ah! Leah!" -- Donnie Iris 3:43 (1980)
18. "Sweetheart" -- Franke and the Knockouts 3:49 (1981)
19. "Shake It Up" -- The Cars 3:34 (1981)
20. "General Hospi-Tale" -- The Afternoon Delights 4:01 (1981)
21. "The Stroke" -- Billy Squier 3:37 (1981)

Disc 2 (20 tracks)
1. "Dancing with Myself" -- Billy Idol 3:19 (1981)
2. "Working for the Weekend" -- Loverboy 3:41 (1981)
3. "Jessie's Girl" -- Rick Springfield 3:15 (1981)
4. "Genius of Love" -- Tom Tom Club 3:30 (1981)
5. "Centerfold" -- The J. Geils Band 3:38 (1982)
6. "At This Moment" -- Billy Vera & The Beaters 4:14 (1986)
7. "Harden My Heart" -- Quarterflash 3:37 (1982)
8. "Hold on Loosely" -- .38 Special 3:55 (1981)
9. "Theme from 'Greatest American Hero' (Believe It or Not)" -- Joey Scarbury 3:14 (1981)
10. "Take Off" -- Bob and Doug McKenzie 2:43 (1981)
11. "Super Freak (Pt. 1)" -- Rick James 3:20 (1981)
12. "867-5309/Jenny" -- Tommy Tutone 3:47 (1982)
13. "Bette Davis Eyes" -- Kim Carnes 3:45 (1981)
14. "Time" -- The Alan Parsons Project 4:32 (1981)
15. "Gloria" -- Laura Branigan 4:52 (1982)
16. "Maneater" -- Hall & Oates 4:32 (1982)
17. "The Theme From Hill Street Blues" -- Mike Post 3:14 (1981)
18. "Valley Girl" -- Frank Zappa with Moon Unit 3:48 (1982)
19. "Da Da Da (I Don't Love You You Don't Love Me Aha Aha Aha)" -- Trio 3:25 (1981)
20. "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" -- The Gap Band 4:03 (1982)

Disc 3 (21 tracks)
1. "Hungry Like the Wolf" -- Duran Duran 4:05 (1982)
2. "The Look of Love (Pt. 1)" -- ABC 3:31 (1982)
3. "Tainted Love" -- Soft Cell 2:42 (1981)
4. "Rock This Town" -- Stray Cats 2:40 (1982)
5. "Lies" -- Thompson Twins 3:14 (1983)
6. "Words" -- Missing Persons 4:24 (1982)
7. "Don't You Want Me" -- The Human League 3:58 (1981)
8. "Love Plus One" -- Haircut 100 3:37 (1982)
9. "Down Under" -- Men at Work 3:43 (1982)
10. "Steppin' Out" -- Joe Jackson 3:47 (1982)
11. "I Want Candy" -- Bow Wow Wow 2:46 (1982)
12. "Come On Eileen" -- Dexys Midnight Runners 4:14 (1983)
13. "Mickey" -- Toni Basil 3:27 (1982)
14. "Twilight Zone" -- Golden Earring 4:51 (1982)
15. "You Should Hear How She Talks About You" -- Melissa Manchester 3:58 (1982)
16. "Key Largo" -- Bertie Higgins 3:07 (1982)
17. "Pac-Man Fever" -- Buckner & Garcia 3:55 (1982)
18. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" -- Bonnie Tyler 5:35 (1983)
19. "Africa" -- Toto 4:19 (1983)
20. "Goodbye to You" -- Scandal 3:47 (1982)
21. "Puttin' on the Ritz" -- Taco 3:25 (1982)

Disc 4 (20 tracks)
1. "Jeopardy" -- The Greg Kihn Band 3:47 (1983)
2. "She Blinded Me with Science" -- Thomas Dolby 3:42 (1982)
3. "Electric Avenue" -- Eddy Grant 3:49 (1982)
4. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" -- Eurythmics 3:36 (1983)
5. "Our House" -- Madness 3:23 (1982)
6. "The Salt in My Tears" -- Martin Briley 3:30 (1983)
7. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" -- Cyndi Lauper 3:53 (1983)
8. "Talking in Your Sleep" -- The Romantics 3:57 (1983)
9. "Major Tom (Coming Home)" -- Peter Schilling 4:12 (1983)
10. "Always Something There to Remind Me" -- Naked Eyes 3:41 (1983)
11. "In a Big Country" -- Big Country 3:55 (1983)
12. "One Thing Leads to Another" -- The Fixx 3:24 (1983)
13. "Der Kommisar" -- After the Fire 4:08 (1983)
14. "Suddenly Last Summer" -- The Motels 3:42 (1983)
15. "Karma Chameleon" -- Culture Club 4:08 (1984)
16. "Let's Go to Bed" -- The Cure 3:34 (1982)
17. "Too Shy" -- Kajagoogoo 3:36 (1983)
18. "Maniac" -- Michael Sembello 4:11 (1983)
19. "Sister Christian" -- Night Ranger 4:21 (1984)
20. "Cum on Feel the Noize" -- Quiet Riot 3:27 (1984)

Disc 5 (20 tracks)
1. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" -- Yes 3:51 (1983)
2. "Mr. Roboto" -- Styx 4:49 (1983)
3. "I'm So Excited" -- The Pointer Sisters 3:50 (1984)
4. "Back on the Chain Gang" -- The Pretenders 3:53 (1982)
5. "I Want to Know What Love Is" -- Foreigner 5:00 (1984)
6. "Sunglasses at Night" -- Corey Hart 3:54 (1984)
7. "Missing You" -- John Waite 4:02 (1984)
8. "99 Luftballons" -- Nena 3:53 (1983)
9. "Tenderness" -- General Public 3:31 (1984)
10. "They Don't Know" -- Tracey Ullman 3:01 (1983)
11. "Heaven" -- Bryan Adams 3:58 (1985)
12. "White Horse" -- Laid Back 3:53 (1983)
13. "Let the Music Play" -- Shannon 4:31 (1983)
14. "Let's Hear It for the Boy" -- Deniece Williams 4:10 (1984)
15. "Cool It Now" -- New Edition 4:09 (1984)
16. "Ghostbusters" -- Ray Parker, Jr. 4:00 (1984)
17. "Footloose" -- Kenny Loggins 3:44 (1984)
18. "We're Not Gonna Take It" -- Twisted Sister 3:39 (1984)
19. "Rock You Like a Hurricane" -- Scorpions 4:12 (1984)
20. "The Glamorous Life" -- Sheila E. 3:42 (1984)

Disc 6 (20 tracks)
1. "Obsession" -- Animotion 3:58 (1985)
2. "Shout" -- Tears for Fears 4:06 (1985)
3. "Take on Me" -- a-ha 3:47 (1985)
4. "Don't You (Forget About Me)" -- Simple Minds 4:20 (1985)
5. "Walking on Sunshine" -- Katrina and the Waves 3:59 (1985)
6. "Voices Carry" -- 'Til Tuesday 4:23 (1985)
7. "Weird Science" -- Oingo Boingo 3:49 (1985)
8. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" -- Dead or Alive 3:17 (1985)
9. "Miami Vice Theme" -- Jan Hammer 2:27 (1985)
10. "Life in a Northern Town" -- The Dream Academy 4:17 (1986)
11. "Kyrie" -- Mr. Mister 4:15 (1985)
12. "Everytime You Go Away" -- Paul Young 4:16 (1985)
13. "We Built This City" -- Starship 4:56 (1985)
14. "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" -- John Parr 4:10 (1985)
15. "Addicted to Love" -- Robert Palmer 4:01 (1986)
16. "Axel F" -- Harold Faltermeyer 3:01 (1985)
17. "Rhythm of the Night" -- DeBarge 3:54 (1985)
18. "You Look Marvelous" -- Billy Crystal 3:58 (1985)
19. "Heartbeat" -- Don Johnson 4:17 (1986)
20. "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" -- Wang Chung 4:11 (1986)

Disc 7 (20 tracks)
1. "Venus" -- Bananarama 3:50 (1986)
2. "Walk Like an Egyptian" -- The Bangles 3:23 (1986)
3. "Paranoimia" -- Art of Noise and Max Headroom 3:18 (1986)
4. "If You Leave" -- Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark 4:26 (1986)
5. "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" -- The Georgia Satellites 3:24 (1986)
6. "What You Need" -- INXS 3:35 (1986)
7. "Walk This Way" -- Run-D.M.C. 3:39 (1986)
8. "Rumors" -- Timex Social Club 3:33 (1986)
9. "Don't Dream It's Over" -- Crowded House 3:57 (1987)
10. "Holding Back the Years" -- Simply Red 4:12 (1986)
11. "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)" -- New Kids on the Block 3:57 (1989)
12. "Tuff Enuff" -- The Fabulous Thunderbirds 3:23 (1986)
13. "Since You've Been Gone" -- The Outfield 4:13 (1987)
14. "Only in My Dreams" -- Debbie Gibson 3:52 (1987)
15. "Never Gonna Give You Up" -- Rick Astley 3:32 (1988)
16. "La Bamba" -- Los Lobos 2:54 (1987)
17. "Wild, Wild West" -- The Escape Club 4:06 (1988)
18. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" -- Bobby McFerrin 3:55 (1988)
19. "Right Here Waiting" -- Richard Marx 4:25 (1989)
20. "Roam" -- The B-52's 4:04 (1989)

After all, that's why you're staring at this page, isn't it? (hee hee)

Got to hand it to the folks at Rhino records - they really know how to get these things right. Even though I've heard most of these songs on numerous occasions since their initial popularity, hearing them all together in one place produced some really strange and unexpected sensations... Some were like seeing an old friend (Joe Jackson, Men at Work), some made me laugh out loud (Taco, Eddy Grant), and a small few were reminiscent of a punch to the gut (Night Ranger, Escape Club).

Now, obviously, even with seven discs, you can't include every memorable song from a decade or era, but Rhino has managed to hit most of the important bases while leaving most of the real dreck behind. The only really glaring omission that I can see is something from Huey Lewis and the News (like 'em or hate 'em, they were certainly around). Another neccessary inclusion might have been "Drive" by the Cars, which was one of the most omnipresent songs of 1984, and is in many ways the epitome of the smooth synth-pop that came to dominate the airwaves in the mid-80's. But again, we're dealing in personal preferences here.

You know you're getting old when you fork out [money] to hear the same songs that annoyed you as a kid. This amazingly evocative collection will immediately transport you back to those long gone days of big hair, Tammy Faye make-up, flourescent fashions, and Member's only jackets.

By (thankfully) sequencing the songs pretty much in chronological order, Rhino sends the old brain cells on a vivid trip down memory lane. While the focus is on top 10 hits, it's the inclusion of less popular gems by The Cure, Scandal, and Trio that really brings this box set to life. Just like eighties radio, there's a little bit of everything in this jumbled chaotic hodge-podge, from the ... novelties "Pac Man Fever" and "You Look Marvelous" to the sublime "Back On The Chain Gang" and "Life In A Northern Town". It also comes with a fantastic and often hilarious booklet that touches on everything from the Smurfs, Miss Pac Man, Vanna White, Martha Quinn, and "What'choo talkin' 'bout Willis?"

Another great thing about this box set (at least to these ears) is that there is a lot more focus on the goofy early MTV era new-wave bands and less emphasis on the late '80s hair bands, teeny-bopper bubblegum, and AOR schlock that made the waning days of the decade so dreadful.

The bizarre "embossed" relief lettered rubber box cover, complete with flourescent geometric shapes and graphics, looks like one those mid- 80s school notebooks. Even before you get to the music, the cover is enough to fire the old synapses into full-steam retro gear. Wow!

Embarrass yourself, annoy your friends, regress, buy this!