Thelonious Monk - Greatest Hits

Thelonious Monk | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 9, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002ALI
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,768 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Well, You Needn't [Live]

2. Misterioso

3. Bemsha Swing

4. 'Round Midnight

5. Epistrophy

6. Ruby, My Dear

7. Crepuscule With Nellie

8. Blue Monk

9. Straight, No Chaser

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good starter set for the mystic Monk..., January 20, 2003

By 

William E. Adams (Midland, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thelonious Monk - Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

An earlier reviewer thinks it is disrespectful to Monk's other albums to create a "Greatest Hits." I disagree, because some beginners on low budgets need an entry-level CD to a musician this prolific and complex. I quickly learned in the late 50's and early 60's that I preferred my own tastes to someone else's selections, after investing in several "Greatest Hits" collections. I can't imagine anyone who buys this one either being unhappy with it, or ending here. You need to know this about Thelonious: he recycled his favorite compositions time and again, using different combos and soloists, leading with the piano or receding as he felt the spirit. "Epistrophy" on this CD takes only two-and-a-half minutes using TEN players. It takes three minutes on "Best of the Blue Note Years" with only four players. The version on "Greatest Hits" is from 1963 and the other one from 1948. Other tunes common to both albums, 15 years apart, are "Well You Needn't" and "Misterioso" and "Round Midnight" and "Ruby My Dear" and "Straight, No Chaser." Yet these are quite different recordings. I happen to like the '60's versions you are about to buy better than the '40's first recordings, but others will differ. It's comparing Mercedes to BMW, even though the versions were "written" by the same guy, and performed by the same cat. "Ruby My Dear" on Blue Note takes three minutes in a trio version. It takes twice as long on the Columbia disc although Monk plays it solo. "Well You Needn't" takes three minutes on Blue Note in '48 with a trio, and nearly 13 minutes on "Greatest Hits" with a quartet. You get the idea. Don't think that if you buy a Monk release with the same titles you'll be getting the same listening experience. That is part of what makes him fascinating. I believe the CD we are discussing is a worthy buy, especially for a newcomer. I also agree that no one who likes jazz or piano or genius can possibly stop right here and be satisfied.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2 stars PLEASE 0 stars 4U, February 27, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Thelonious Monk - Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

The 2 stars review is nonsense. I first picked this album up pon vinyl when I was a teenager (about 14). I was curious about it because of a version of Well You Needn't I had on an album by Kenny Burrell. "Greatest Hits" may have been a silly title for any release by Monk, particularly in the 60's. But the music it contained captured my attention and drew me to seek out more of Monk's music. Though I now own most of the albums from which these selections came, I still like the sequence in which they appear here. I purchased it again, when it came out on CD and was delighted to have it. Not a bad song or performance in the lot. Great as most of the Monk albums are, there is the occasional clunker that I skip at every play. Not so here. The Ruby My Dear gets me today, just as it did when I was a 14 year old kid and hearing it (and being amazed) for the first time.
If your curious about Monk, jump in right here, the water is fine (and plenty deep).

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous!, June 29, 2000

By 

Chris Simpson (Claremont, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thelonious Monk - Greatest Hits (Audio CD)

Although I haven't listened to enough different recordings of Monk to compare the quality of the tracks found here to other Monk albums, I was absolutely wowed by the quality of the music. This isn't the kind of "good music" that you have to try hard to appreciate. It just sails along through the afternoon with you, and it definitely had me up dancing and grooving along at some points. Best of all, it got me out of a rut that I'd been in with my poetry. Jazz, great jazz, should have that effect. To try to pick my favorite tracks would be ridiculous; they're all sublime. Perhaps the ultimate compliment is that listening to this CD made me want to get my hands on more of his music. Bravo to a true musical genius, Thelonious Monk!