Takes on the Hits

Tracey Ullman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 10, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Varese Fontana
• ASIN: B00006IK1G
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #340,024 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. They Don't Know

2. Little by Little

3. Long Live Love

4. Sunglasses

5. Dancing in the Dark

6. You Caught Me Out

7. Break-a-Way

8. Bad Motorcycle

9. Bobby's Girl

10. Give Him a Great Big Kiss

11. My Guy

12. Move Over Darling

13. Where the Boys Are

14. Baby I Lied

15. You Broke My Heart in 17 Places

16. I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten

17. I Don't Want Our Loving to Die

18. Alone [*]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine collection, September 18, 2002

By 

R. Riis "rriis" (NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Takes on the Hits (Audio CD)

This compilation overlaps on 12 tracks with the Rhino "Best Of", and on 10 tracks with the Stiff "Best Of". Still, there are four tracks ("Little By Little", "Dancing in the Dark", "Where the Boys Are", "Alone") on this CD not on either of those collections that may or may not influence your decision as to whether to spring for this disk. If you're only interested in one CD, I'd recommend the Rhino CD for its slightly better song selection. The Stiff CD comes in second, followed by this fine but redundant CD. Track listing for this CD :
1. They Don't Know
2. Little By Little
3. Long Live Love
4. Sunglasses
5. Dancing In The Dark
6. You Caught Me Out
7. Break-A-Way
8. Bad Motorcycle
9. Bobby's Girl
10. Give Him A Great Big Kiss
11. My Guy
12. Move Over Darling
13. Where The Boys Are
14. Baby I Lied
15. You Broke My Heart In 17 Places
16. I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten
17. I Don't Want Our Loving To Die
18. Alone

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vastly improved sound quality, August 6, 2003

By 

Ben Glenn (The nation's capital) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Takes on the Hits (Audio CD)

While I like the fact that the Rhino release reproduces the hilarious cover art of YOU BROKE MY HEART IN 17 PLACES, I always found the sound quality a bit "ragged." This package from Varese sports *vastly* improved sound quality and therefore I would recommend it over the Rhino version.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars '60s girlgroup meets '80s pop, November 2, 2002

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Takes on the Hits (Audio CD)

Ullman's canny mix of coy '60s girlgroup pop and moderne rock-of-the-80s production led to a singing career that was more of a detour (from her comedic acting) than a planned trip. Even more unusually, her early work found its home on one of the UK's most unusual indies (and the original home of Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe's solo work), Stiff Records. The results, as documented on this compilation, included a string of UK hits, a top-10 in the U.S., a pair of albums and some fine B-sides.

Ullman's songlist includes a few originals penned for her by Kirsty MacColl (including the title tracks for both of Ullman's LPs, "You Broke My Heart in 17 Places" and "You Caught Me Out") and producers Peter Collins and Phil Chapman (the "Iko-Iko"-like "Dancing in the Dark"). She also remade several songs from her label's catalog, including MacColl's "They Don't Know" (which gave Ullman a #8 in the U.S.) and Madness' ska-fueled "My Girl" (retitled "My Guy" for Ullman).

The bulk of Ullman's catalog, however, consisted of 60s girlgroup and girl-singer songs such as Sandy Shaw's "Long Live Love," Dusty Springfield's "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" and "Little By Little," Doris Day's "Move Over Darling," Marcie Blaine's "Bobby's Girl," Connie Francis' "Where the Boys Are," and The Shangri-Las "Give Him a Great Big Kiss." All were produced with a big studio sound that nodded to Phil Spector (and the drama of Shadow Morton), but kept its feet planted firmly in the aural conventions of '80s radio.

Varese's seventeen track collection joins a pair of earlier Ullman compilations, both titled "The Best of Tracey Ullman." Rhino's 20-track collection was originally issued in 1992, and Metro Music's 21-track disc dropped earlier this year; both are still in print. All three collections include the well-known hits and album sides, leading to significant overlap. This disc includes three tracks ("Little By Little," "Where the Boys Are" and "Alone") not anthologized on the other releases.