Customer Reviews

Retrospective 1990-2005

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Similar in format to the recent 10,000 Maniacs Campfire Songs set, with one disc of greatest hits and one disc of rarities. The rarities set is the special disc in that it would be very difficult to acquire these B sides, guest appearances on other artists CDS, etc. This being said, not every B side she has done is available here (Sympathy for the DEvil, Babny I love You, etc are missing).
There is also a one disc greatest hits version and that would be good for the casual fan who just wants the hits. More serious fans will want this set.

Being a huge fan of Natalie's since her "Maniacs" days, it would be hard for me to be dissapointed in any of Natalie's work. This retrospective collection is a must have for anyone taken aback by Nat's smooth, smokey & angelic vocals. The second disc in the collection is full of rare recordings, b sides and new versions of old Natalie tunes. Natalie's progression to American folk music with "The House Carpenter's Daughter" brought her vocals and style full cirle. To me, it is the music she was born to perform. But here is a selection of Nat's several approaches to American music and has proven to be one of the most original & talented artists of our time. An updated version of "Cowboy Romance", recorded during "The House Carpenter's Daughter" sessions stands out as the finest of her finest, breath taking, soothing; the perfect soundtrack to this Fall season & for many years to come.

and has released this wonderful compilation of her career. I'm saddened that she didn't add Just Can't Last because that was a pretty good radio hit, alas she did add Build A Levee which makes it still good!

On the 2nd "disc", a sad version of Thick as Thieves, Ophelia's counterpart, "She Devil" (which should have been put on the record!), a great version of "Cowboy Romance" and many other B sides and collaborations make this CD a true MUST for a Natalie Merchant fan.

And Natalie has even put some copy in her own words describing the songs, which is pretty neat. Not too many artists will do that these days.

My suggestion, support a long-time, fascinating, genuine singer/songwriter who has grabbed millions and who has passed the test of time and grab this CD today, you'll be glad you did.

...I've been a fan of Miss Merchant ever since I heard her sing Candy Everybody Wants (the very first song by 10kM that I had ever heard) and her voice trapped me like a snare. And as excited as I am to have the second cd full of goodies, I still feel it's lacking somewhat due to the fact that most of these rarities are songs that can be easily found on other released albums. Where's "Baby I Love You", "Sympathy For The Devil (Live)", "Son of a Preacher Man (Live)", "In The Ghetto (Live)"? I love the re-recorded tracks, awsome work on those I agree, but I really expected more rarities, even though one new song was recorded for this album, maybe one more would have been nice. The inclusion of She Devil, the outtake to her Ophelia album was a great decision, it's a beaustiful song, now one of my favorites. Even a dvd would have been a nice inclusion, but as Natalie doesn't do what everyone else does, I'm not suprised nor am I complaining about that missing part. Idunno, I just ecpected a "bigger" package, you know, just a lil bit more. Nonetheless, it's still a great work to be added to anyones collection!

I'm a long time Natalie fan, used to talk with her when she and the Maniacs played locally around Rochester. The only solo studio cd from her I haven't been a big fan of was Motherland.

I picked up this 2-cd collection and was a little disappointed looking at the track listing on cd#1 that nothing from the live cd and neither of my favorite two songs from Motherland were included ("Tell Yourself", "Just Can't Last"). Here's the pleasant surprise: The songs that didn't make the cut are not missed. The "best-of" cd has a really good flow and I'd give it five stars.

The bonus cd: This cd has a really good flow to it despite the many different types of songs recorded under very different conditions from each other. On this type of cd you can expect a couple clunkers, and there are, but overall I'd consider the cd a very valuable listen.

AMAZING CD...but, she forgot "Just Can't Last" on DISC 1 and on DISC 2 she didn't add her versions of "In the Ghetto" from the Lilith Fair Tour, and her popular live version of "Sympathy for the Devil"..all 3 were MUCH bigger hits than some songs that were added to this Retrospective,,,,but still worth the $25

my husband surprised me with tickets to see one of natile merchant's private concerts and just fell in love with her music, it had been a while since i heard anything from her, i remember the early nineties. she just put out her newest album, i forgot what a great voice she had. this cd is great a lot of old favorites and others i've never heard. i also purchased her newest album as well. really beautiful music.

If you remember when music stores had the imports in their own special section, then you'll also recall that many import compilations were way cooler than then ones released in the US. This is one of those. 'Nuff said.

Finding myself not be able to choose wich of the two CDs incuded is the best, shows my deep appreciation for disc 2. It is a little more laidback than the first "hits" CD but still equally good.

Add to this a very cool package and you have the best anthology this year.

Of course this gets a 5 star review from me. I LOVE Natalie. But I thought she was recording 3 new songs for this compilation? The first cd is all about the hits (and should be hits) and includes the remixed version of Jealousy. The second cd is where things get interesting. She re-records three classic songs. A Cowboy Romance sounds even better than it did on Tigerlily. Thick As Thieves is stripped down to just piano and voice, lovely. And Tell Yourself get the acoustic guitar treatment. Perfection. So where are the new songs?
Elsewhere..we get One Fine Day from the movie of the same name and But Not For Me two classic songs that are given a cocktail lounge treatment that suits Natalie's voice just fine. "I Know How To Do It", proves that she is not some dour fuddy-duddy and shows she can have fun too. Party of God a duet with Billy Bragg is one that I have never heard but it is fantastic. It sounds like it came from her 10,000 Manaics days. (I downloaded this so no liner notes available :( We get an outtake from Ophelia called She Devil which is really nice and is a nice inclusion here.
I hope she tours behind this..doubtful though. This is a good place to start for someone who wants to check her out for the first time. And before I forget......Where are the new songs?????????????????????