Oh Mickey!: Featuring the original albums: 'Word Of Mouth' & 'Toni Basil' [Import]

Toni Basil | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 15, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Snapper Music - Recall2cd
• ASIN: B00009PURB
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #562,884 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Nobody

2. Hanging Around

3. Thief on the Loose

4. Time After Time

5. Mickey

6. Little Red Book

7. Be Stiff

8. Space Girls

9. You Gotta Problem

Disc: 2

1. Over My Head

2. I Don't Hear You

3. Easy for You to Say

4. Suspense

5. Go for the Burn

6. Spacewalkin' the Dog

7. Street Beat

8. Best Performance

9. Do You Wanna Dance

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother..., July 16, 2003

By 

Dana C. Steinman (SyracuseNY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oh Mickey!: Featuring the original albums: 'Word Of Mouth' & 'Toni Basil' (Audio CD)

That's right, don't bother with this release. I had originally purchased this CD to FINALLY have Toni's perfectly robotic reading of David Essex's "Rock On" (or Michael Damian's version, depending on which generation you belong to) preserved on compact disc. Not so. While this two CD set claims to be the first time that both of Basil's LPs have ever appeared on CD in their entirety--true in some territories since this track was not issued in the UK--neglecting the inclusion of "Rock On" is a complete waste of effort on Snapper's (the record company) behalf since it has NEVER appeared on CD. With combined foreign and domestic compilations of Basil's work, most of the material on these two discs has appeared on disc somewhere--save "I Don't Hear You", "Suspense", and "Best Performance" from her S/T LP. Completists will want to own this set specifically for these tracks, however, be warned that many of the tracks on CD 2 play at a much slower pace--very annoying--than they should. And making this a 2CD set when the music spread over both would have more conveniently fit on one was just superfluous. Everything considered--notes, quality, content--this is waste of the import price. Perhaps an American reissue label will finally get this one right, including 12" versions, and the long overdue "Rock On".

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I'm a big fan...but!, April 20, 2006

By 

A. Griffiths "Adrian" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oh Mickey!: Featuring the original albums: 'Word Of Mouth' & 'Toni Basil' (Audio CD)

I was really excited to see all of Toni Basil's second LP finally on CD, but when I got it, I initially thought I was going mad - but I can see now that another reviewer has found the same problem as me - the second album has been transferred at the wrong speed, and every track is played TOO SLOW...what a shocking and shameful way to re-issue an album on CD...did nobody listen to the remastering before releasing this? Did anyone care? Obviously not. It's really quite insulting, not to mention disappointing as there are some tracks from Toni Basil's second album that have never seen the light of day until this release, but they've unfortunately ruined it.

And yes, a collection including the cover of "Rock On" would have been very welcome, but sadly this is a UK release, and "Rock On" was never on the original albums on the UK releases, it was only a b-side (to "Street Beat"). It could have easily been added, but it looks like the label responsible for this mess have pretended to be fans but actually don't know and/or care very much about the artist they are trying to promote here. If they did, they would at least have also added the other missing single, "Shopping From A-Z". And while we're on the subject, "Street Beat" was released in a two different mixes - as a single, with a sparser and more brittle sound, and then as the more mainstreamy album version. I would tell you which one is featured here but I can't remember - as I returned this CD for a refund as soon as I heard the mess of the second disc. Until someone makes a proper anthology of Toni's full 80's musical output, I'll stick to my old vinyl for now.
P.S. To anyone considering doing this: How about tracking down her two BBC tv shows which featured two still further unreleased tracks, namely "Walking the Dog" (the old Rolling Stones number - not the song on Toni's 2nd album) and "Romeo"...I double-dare anyone to find those tracks!!!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Close, but no cigar., October 23, 2003

By 

Invisiboy2001 "invisiboy2001" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oh Mickey!: Featuring the original albums: 'Word Of Mouth' & 'Toni Basil' (Audio CD)

Toni Basil's records are fantastic '80s pop. The songs are smart, uptempo and deftly produced...and Basil's songwriting and singing are unique and enjoyable. Any problems with this collection reflect on the record company itself, and not on Toni Basil.

So far three different Toni Basil "Best Of" CDs have been released and STILL Ms. Basil's excellent version of "Rock On" has not been released on CD. I realize that this CD is an import, and that "Rock On" was only included on the U.S. version of "Word of Mouth." But this set hypes itself up to be more than it is...it is, by no means, a complete collection. How hard would it have been to include "Rock On"? Because this is a 2-CD set, there was certainly more than enough room for it at the end of disc one. (Also, Shoppin' from A to Z has been left off this set!!!)

Additionally, the songs here have not been remastered, which is unforgiveable in this day and age. Perhaps some day the powers that be will release a complete collection of the songs Basil recorded during her brief pop-music career...remastered so that the music is allowed to shine, the way it's meant to.