Customer Reviews

Playlist: The Very Best of Eddie Money (Eco-Friendly Packaging)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Short and to the point. For some reason...for which we may never know...CBS has withheld for re-released, the rare and oh-so coveted SINGLE MIX of "TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE", that was originally pressed onto 45RPM phonograph record, back in 1977. COUNTLESS...yes, count them if you can...COUNTLESS Money compilations have showered the industry since as early as 1990...and none, yes, NONE have contained this special rare version.

Containing a completely different vocal take from Money, and the music instrumentation spliced together in different jigsaw puzzle forms...some audio analysts say the music tracks were completely different too...that is not a fact...the "basic tracks" are the same, however the lead guitar solo is indeed an alternate take, as well as the guitar embellishments that encompass the choruses...and the entire mixdown was tooled & leveled differently...HOTTER!

Nevertheless...we can go on & on, on just how this SINGLE VERSION differs from the Classic-Rock-Now-Radio-Friendly ALBUM VERSION...but the time has come to relax...CBS/SONY has tired of demanding us to cry 'UNCLE', and so it is now here for the taking...the SINGLE VERSION of "TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE", in all it's late-70's AM-Radio Glory! Shall we partake?

Note: On a SOLID GOLD episode in 1981 (yes, I know, that program reeked of CHEESE stench, from miles away) Eddie Money and a "Studio Musician" crew "synced" to that version! I bet you did not know that? The camera did a close-up on the blue-jeaned, white business collared shirt, lead guitar player...and he SHREDDED-OUT that "REMIX" solo...sync-played it...WITHOUT A HITCH! Amazing...!

I've been looking for the single version of "Two Tickets To Paradise" for months. This is the only cd with that version! It was well worth the money.

"Wooooo hooooo it's gonna be so nice!!!"

Yes, those are the missing song lyrics that we have been waiting for ever since radio stations stopped playing the 45 rpm record version of "Two Tickets To Paradise" way back in 1978. And finally, after all of these years, it has been released on cd. Miracles do happen! Eddie's vocal performance is much stronger on the single version than the album version, and the dual lead guitars add more depth to the song. Yes, the traditional extended guitar solo is gone; however, the single version of Two Tickets contained here is much more powerful and it is not much shorter in length than the album version.

I have always been a big fan of full length album tracks with no edits or alterations to the song; however, this particular song is a rare exception.

I didn't buy the cd, but downloaded the mp3 for Two Tickets to Paradise. Thank you amazon.com, and thank you Sony Legacy for releasing this.

Clara Beller would have asked, "Where's the beef?!!!" if she'd ever seen this "Playlist" rehash of mostly lesser unknown "hits" from the Money Man. Eddie had several hardcore rock FM Radio staple hit singles - actual "45"'s that were issued and got massive airplay - which desperately need representation on at least one of his countless "Hits" collections that have popped up over the years since he first took us rockin' down the highway. When will Sony/Columbia Records finally issue an ULTIMATE Hits Compilation or Anthology that does justice to this impressive rock vocalist's catalogue instead of reissuing mostly latter day throwaway singles grouped in with the mandatory half dozen or so Top 10 trail blazers Eddie gave us? Sorely missing for the umpteenth time release are his other high visibility & high priority "singles" tracks that made Eddie a household name, such as the memorable hardcore melodic rockers like "Gimme Some Water" - "Can't Keep A Good Man Down" - "Trinidad" - and - "Love The Way You Love Me". Keep the mandatory "hits" such as "Baby Hold On" - "Two Tickets To Paradise" - "Maybe I'm A Fool" - "Take Me Home Tonight" - "Shakin'" - "Think I'm In Love" - "Walk On Water", but, PLEASE add the meat & potatoes music noted above from his back catalogue. This set gets 3 stars only for that half dozen plus real hits Eddie Money delivered. Now...they're mostly out of print, can we have the rest?

For some of the more pedestrian fans like myself, this Eddie Money compilation makes a good companion to the "Essential Eddie Money", which was overall a little more definitive as a single CD collection. There's plenty of overlap between two, but there's JUST enough of a difference to make this worth getting if you have the other (it helps that this one comes at an economical price). What this CD includes that the other doesn't is the top 40 hits "The Love In Your Eyes", "Maybe I'm A Fool" and "Endless Nights"; the minor hit "The Big Crash", acoustic version of "Fall In Love Again" from his unplugged album and the remix/single version of "Two Tickets To Paradise". Others here have commented on "Two Tickets", and I totally agree with those assessments. This track is more streamlined with more guitars and vocal ad-libs than the original, which makes it much more dynamic than the album version and a real crowd pleaser. The only thing keeping me from giving this five stars is that the remastering, while still pretty good, is just a smidge below the remastered quality on the "Essential Eddie Money". The pdf version of the linear notes located on the CD (there's no physical linear notes) takes a few minutes to get used to, but it has plenty of pictures and good song information (such as how well these songs did on various billboard charts).

This is the best Eddie Money compilation to date. While some of his excellent album cuts, most notably "Trinidad," are missing, all of his biggest hits are all here on one CD. This is without a doubt a worthwile collection if you are a new fan or if you are looking to update an older greatest hits album (as I did). I was pleasantly surprised to find big hits ("I'll get by," "Endless Nights," "Maybe I'm a fool,")that are not included on some of his other compilations. Eddie Money never quite reached superstar status, but hearing hit after hit is a reminder that his most famous songs (such as "Baby Hold On," "Two Tickets to Paradise," and "Take Me Home tonight") rank as some of the best pop/rock songs in music history.

Being born in 1980 and preferring 70's - early 90's pop & rock as my favorite genre of music, not only was I an outcast in that area of life in school (new & current rap and alternative was what everyone else loved), but I had to be reminded and introduced to songs by artists by mostly hearing them on the radio.

I reviewed Eddie Money's Super Hits almost a decade ago and gave it 5 stars. At the time, I saw it as having the money man's 5 big hits and thought that was all he had. But years later, I see how incomplete it was and is. Playlist: The Very Best of Eddie Money is by no means complete either, but it's the most complete (Top 40 hits wise) compilation that this underrated artist has. This is the only compilation that includes all of his Top 40 hits, including the best knowns ("Baby Hold On", "Take Me Home Tonight/Be My Baby", Walk On Water", etc.), along with his lesser known and often forgotten hits. For me, the selling point was that it had all three songs I've heard since owning Super Hits that I loved and wanted badly: "Peace in Our Time", "The Love in Your Eyes", and "Endless Nights". And I'll drive the point into the ground even more and say that it's his only album that even includes all three of those, or the only one that even has "Endless Nights", which should've been a bigger hit than it was. However, it does not have some other songs that many Money fans would want, such as "We Should Be Sleeping" or "Trinidad".

The Playlist series for artists is always either big hit or big miss for me. This one is definitely one of the better ones. Look at some by other artists and they leave off several of their most noticeable songs, and I don't just mean artists who've had legions of hits. BUT, another issue I have with the Playlist series, this Eddie Money compilation DOES have, and that is that a lot more songs could have been included. This album totals about 52 minutes, so about 5 more songs could have been added, and should have...why waste space??

Another con for me, which, judging by the other reviews, is a major plus for most, is that the version of "Two Tickets to Paradise" featured here is the single version. Sorry, but I much prefer the one I've always heard on the radio. But the track list selection that IS here couldn't have been much better in my opinion, and the remastering is very good also. I'm a fan of liner notes, but to be honest, I have not yet put this CD in my computer and viewed them, but it states that liner notes, photos, etc. can be viewed via Adobe. My final recommendation is to just look at the track list and if you're like me and you see all the Eddie Money songs you like on this album, but not The Essential Eddie Money, Super Hits, or The Sound of Money, don't think twice about purchasing this Playlist!

If you like Eddie Money you will like this CD. It is worth the cost and wait to get it.

This is a good compilation of Eddie Money songs that includes all the greats and a few I never heard before. If you get to a song you don't like just skip it and get back to Shakin' the hits.

An excellent CD for Eddy Money fans. It has all of his best songs on it. It's a great collection.