Read the Hits/Best of the 80's

Various Artists - Rock

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 15, 1994)
• Original Release Date: March 15, 1994
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sony Cmg Mkt Group
• ASIN: B0000029ID
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #75,634 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. And We Danced - The Hooters

2. Voices Carry - 'Til Tuesday

3. Love My Way - The Psychedelic Furs

4. Burnin' for You - Blue Öyster Cult

5. Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler

6. Goodbye to You - Scandal

7. Cum on Feel the Noize - Quiet Riot

8. Fight for Your Right - Beastie Boys

9. Walk on Water - Eddie Money

10. Flame - Cheap Trick

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Rosanna - Toto

2. 99 Luftballons - Nena

3. 867-5309/Jenny - Tommy Tutone

4. You're a Friend of Mine - Jackson Browne, Clarence Clemons

5. Goody Two Shoes - Adam Ant

6. When I See You Smile - Bad English

7. Walk Like an Egyptian - Bangles

8. Your Love - The Outfield

9. Let's Groove - Earth, Wind & Fire

10. Slipping Away - Dave Edmunds

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Music - but the idea of a compilation CD is dated, July 23, 2008

By	L.A. Scene (Indian Trail, NC USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Once upon a time, there was a time and place for anthology compilations of music. The typical marketing move was that you can get songs "in one place without having to buy a whole bunch of CDs". I often have not subscribed to this strategy. My main reason is that I often looked at a CD as a "body of work" by a particular artist. I often want to see the musical direction the artist takes - as wekk as even seek out a common theme by the artist. Yet, I can still understand why a casual music fan would be interested in an anthology compilation - for the exact marketing reason I gave above. However, with the recent wave of buying music online - on a song by song basis, it has almost eliminated the need to buy an anthology compilation. Online song purchases allow one to build a customized compilation. As a result, despite the fact that an anthology compilation could have a common theme (such as Love Songs, Heavy Metal songs, etc), I still think that the idea of buying music on a song by song basis provides for a much better way to build a compilation. The compilation - "Read the Hits - Best of the 80s" provides a compilation of music from the 1980s. It provides a nice mix of popular songs by both well-known artists and "one hit wonders". Still while this serves as a decent compilation, it like most compilations has passed its time.

"Read the Hits - Best of the 80s" consists of 24 songs from the decade of the 1980s. For the most part, it consists of songs that are a part of the Sony Music catalog (most of these songs were released on CBS Records - the label that would eventually be acquired by Sony). The 24 songs are performed by 24 different artists. They are arranged on two discs consisting of 12 songs per disc. There is no rhyme or reason for how the songs were divided - I think the producers just decided to arrange the mix of songs in an order that would sound nice. Personally I would have preferred to hear the songs arranged and ordered in chronological order. This would have allowed one to hear how the sound of the music of the 80s evolved and changed over time.

Here are ten thoughts (both good and bad) that I found as a result of listening to this particular compilation.

1.The version of Nena's "99 Luftballoons" is the English version. I personally have always found the German one to be more interesting. I also always felt the German version had more passion than the English version. Its a disappointment that the German version wasn't the one included.

2.I've always been a fan of Blue Oyster Cult's "Burnin' For You". To me this song just completely stands out - especially some of Allen Lanier's outstanding guitar works.

3-Speaking of guitar work, Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny" is often considered a cheesy 80s song, but this song is very underrated in terms of guitar work. The guitar work in this song is as good as I have heard in any song from the 80s.

4-When the Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)" was released, I thought of it as some sort of corny rap-like song from the 1980s. Now reflecting back to the 80s, I realize that this song was probably ahead of its time - a unique combination of rap and Rock guitar.

5-While R.E.O. Speedwagon's "Keep on Loving You" is a nice song, I probably would have included either their powerful ballad "One Lonely Night" or "Take It On the Run" instead.

6-I was very pleased to see the inclusion of Earth, Wind, and Fire's "Let's Groove". Sure I can do without the quasi-computer sounding vocals at the beginning, but once the main part of the song starts - this song really takes off. Most notably, I feel it is the high intensity of Verdine White's bass playing that really sets the tempo for this song. They just don't make songs like this anymore!

7-Bonnie Tyler's well-known power ballad "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is included on here. Many know that this was a number one hit back in 1983. However many may not realize that this song was written by Jim Steinman. Steinman is best known for being the songwriter force behind Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell" and "Back Out of Hell 2" albums.

8-Possibly the most underrated song on this collection is Dave Edmunds' "Slipping Away". This song went unnoticed to many music fans back during the 1980s. Even during the "revival" of 80s music in the 2000s, this song still doesn't get the respect it deserves. Many don't realize this song was written by Electric Light Orchestra's Jeff Lynne.

9-I could have done without the Psychedelic Furs' "Love My Way", Eddie Money's "Walk on Water", Cheap Trick's "The Flame", and Bad English's "When I See You Smile". To me these aren't bad songs, but they are just average.

10-The one song I didn't expect to like was Slade's "Run Runaway". The song has an 80s beat to it. I particular like the Irish-jig-like melody on this track - it gives this track a unique feel. While I mentioned I didn't like the ordering of the songs, this was the last track of the collection - and it was the perfect song to wrap up the collection.

Overall I had no complaints about the music of this collection. However I did mention there were some songs that I could have done without. Perhaps if I could buy the songs I liked on this collection online and add my own favorites - I would have a stronger collection. When buying this collection, I would advise pricing it and see if you can get your money's worth for this collection vs. buying the songs online that you like.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Listen to Read The Hits., February 21, 2006

By	H3@+h (VT) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I think I can safely say this must be the 400th 80's collection out there. Hey, choices are good right. Like any collection of this sort, the more songs you like on it, the better it is. I would call a dozen of these awesome, the other dozen not so. My favorites are from 'Til Tuesday, Blue Oyster Cult, The Romantics, Adam Ant, and The Outfield. Many others are good too, but then there's the ones we've heard way too many times also. I'd say give it a shot if it has that song you've been looking for, or if it's a few bucks used.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, January 16, 2004

By A Customer

It had been many years since I heard "Slippin Away" until I got this CD. It has the long versions of Total Eclipse of the Heart (so rare) and Run Runaway. The second disc is my favorite by far, but I like to just have the first one running while I putter around the house. puts me back in time. I have 2 other 80's Cd's with the German version of 99 Luftballoons on them & was very glad to get the English version on here.